Should i sell my oscars?

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Oscar98

Oscar98

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
1,722
Location
millville pennsylvania
So my very very first cichlid ever was my red oscar. My mom hates it and my dad kinda likes it but doesnt really care. I like it but it doesnt let anything else survive with it other than other oscars or a big bully type fish. If i would sell my two oscars it would free up a LOT of room and bioload room in the 150 im setting up. I dont want to but im ready to move on to some more advanced type cichlids and just dont have the room because of the oscars. I get attached to animals better than i do humans lmao (and im only 15) i have read on here about some people selling there prized fish/a fish they have had for a very long time. I dont want them to go to a lfs and sold to some idiot that keeps both in a 55 for life :( . I know, some of you will prob say you bought them and you should be responsible and keep them. What should i do????
 
How many oscars do you have? It's really up to you. I personally really hope to have another Oscar some day. I had one and rehomed it. They have a lot of personality and are fun. But if its just 1 Oscar it may be used to living alone, so it's claimed the whole tank.

If u have room for other fish, try taking the Oscar out for a bit if u have a spare tank, put the new fish in the oscars current tank to let it establish itself, then put the Oscar back in. I've heard that helps.

It also depends on what your trying to mix it with. Oscars should only be housed with certain fish. What fish have you tried?
 
Well i have two 55 gal tanks setting up a 150 soon. The oscar has always been with a jack dempsey and recently another smaller oscar. So i have two oscars. It gets along with other fish but will just beat on them till they die the only exceptions are the jd and the other oscar. She has killed a foremouth, male convict, jack d, and a green terror. I like them but all they do any more is eat and ****. The big one just ignores me lol. The little one welcomes me. But like i said i want to move onto more advanced cichlids but idk what to do. My friend really likes them and i may sell them to him but only if he gets at least a 75 gallon tank.
 
Right. I made sure before I rehomed my Oscar that the person took proper care of fish. My Oscar and his Oscar actually try to breed often and she's doing well. It's nice to find someone to take them that'll give you updates.
 
Also, once you move the current stock to your 150, it might help lower aggression. A 55 for those fish isn't adequate. So once you put them in the larger tank, they might allow more fish because they'll be more space. Just make sure you have adequate hiding spots also! :)
 
I'm from the side of fish keeping that its my "hobby" not a "pet". I have never sold or traded a fish and felt bad about it. I get more frustrated when another aggressive fish kills off my stock for the simple fact I WON'T be able to sell or trade the dead fish now.

You shouldn't feel to bad, Oscars are almost 95% of the time what starts everyone's love for the bigger SA/CA cichlids. I have prolly kept over 10-15 of them the past 20 years. None in the past 5-6. Just as you stated, ready to move on to more less common cichlids.

If I were you I'd sell them. Oscars are a fish that will never go away, unlike some of the other cichlids which are rare/uncommon. A 150g tank is a good size tank for a nice breeding pair and maybe some dithers/targets. As you move away from oscars but stay with aggressive cichlids you will learn that most oscars are puppy's compared to a lot of CA cichlids. Unless you plan for a comm tank with geo's and such. I don't know to much about them because they bore me.

Good luck on your decision.
 
Ok thanks! Ya ik they are puppies haha my red devil almost killed the big oscar the other day because she got past the seperator. Im prob going to sell them and put the money towards a pair of festae or a single female.
 
Oscar98 said:
Ok thanks! Ya ik they are puppies haha my red devil almost killed the big oscar the other day because she got past the seperator. Im prob going to sell them and put the money towards a pair of festae or a single female.
Click to expand...

Eh, I think I'm the only one currently keeping fish that are over the who festae fad... Everyone is keeping them now.

If it were me some of my top choices for a pair would be, Red tiger motas, lyonsi, hogabomarum, chancho, loiselle, fredricstalli, managuense, trimac, buttikoferi(is actually African). Just to name a few. With the exception of the jag most of these are fairly Un common in the hobby. I mean festae are to a degree but they have become so popular over the past few years its become no problem to find them. Even at lfs.
 
Im still prob going to go with the festae. They are vey hard to find around here even at the lfs. So i can sell them to the lfs and make some money back. Jaguars are pretty common around here not as much as oscars but more common than festae. Never saw a trimac around here never saw lysoni either. But i am going to a lfs i have never been to before tom so if they have anything rare ill get it if its within my price range.
 
Pretty much everything I mentioned, I would only get from a vendor. Just so I know I'm getting what I paid for. Or a trusted club member.

Specially trimacs, they are the main fish used in making flower horns and because of that there are many low grade hybrid fh's that are often passed off as trimac.

Lyonsi are endangered in their natural habitat, if you wanted something to sell back, they would be my first choice. Besides the fact they are awesome looking. To me, I'd pay far more for lyonsi fry/grow outs before festae.
 
Well crap. I have been researching festae for about two weeks everyday lol.
On here lysoni are only $5 if they are so rare why are they so cheap?
 
With out a doubt the man you wanna go through for your fish is Jeff Rapps.

Tangledupincichlids.com

As far as why were the lyonsi so cheap? Because not many people really know about them minus a small following of serious hobbiest. I didn't even know about them until hukit mentioned them to me like 2 years ago.

At the end of the day it's you who has to look at the tank and maintain it. Get what YOU want. Regardless of others opinion.

I'd much rather have common fish that I enjoy keeping, then something I don't care for and could make a couple a bucks every other month.

That's why I have yet to stock my 135 I can't make my mind up. For ex. I love jags, but they are so common I couldn't give the fry away. Where as I just like lyonsi and could sell fry all day long.

Anyways let us know what ya chose. Good luck with it.
 
Ok thanks! I will sell the two oscars. Idk what i want to do with the red devil yet. But i really like grammodes i may get 6 and grow them out in a 55 to pair and pit them in a 75 to breed them. Festae are pretty expensive so idk bout them yet. But i will let ya know!
 
Good luck with the grammodes, they are among the nastiest fish I have ever kept. My 4" female was a pure nightmare killing off basically all my stock. Not to mention they are not that cheap in their own right. Think I paid like 13-15$ each for mine. Started off with 4 and with in 24 hours had just the female left.

They are also painfully slow growers, like 1/8" a month. So takes some time and dedication to grow out a breeding pair. They certainly are not a glass banger type ime, a very timid fish when it comes to people. From a far I could watch her murder my tank. But when I'd walk over to feed would dart off to a cave.

Very cool fish, I just don't have the patients to try and grow one out again. If you do go that rout, I'd be very careful as they grow out. As soon as a pair, pair off I have no doubt the others would be not just picked on but flat out killed.
 
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