Wild Oscars

[Rivers2k]

Jeff Rapps at tangled up cichlids gets wild caught oscars all the time. He should be able to help you out 90 gallon is perfect.

 

[Aquaenthused]

Jeff Rapps at tangled up cichlids gets wild caught oscars all the time. He should be able to help you out 90 gallon is perfect.

Thanks!!! I am gonna go for it, it's meant to be!!

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[Salty_Dawg]

Looking good. Looks almost identical to my wild caught at that age. Yours may end up looking like mine when older(see earlier pics I added to this thread). Mine has grown to over 9 inches in 5 months from 1.5 inches when I got him. And to Salty Dog that asked if they are more aggressive... yes, a lot more than farm/captive raised oscars. I have a hard time cleaning the tank any more. Mine stalks my hand and pushes back when I try to scoot him away with gravel vac. Every time I feed him he wants to jump at my hand and I don't leave the canopy door open for long, I'm sure he'd jump out.

Yikes, I thought I was risking my life putting my hand in my blood parrot tank . Have to say they are much nicer looking than their captive raised cousins. What do you keep him with?

 

[Jmunroe]

I agree. They do look better than the captive raised ones. I keep mine with a school of 10 silver dollars. He bosses them around with the occasional nips and chase but the are too fast and the school is big enough to confuse him. Most of the time he ignores them and has accepted them. It's me he doesn't like being in his tank lol

 

[Jmunroe]

http://youtu.be/PmhgAPyNCR4

 

[Aquaenthused]

He is soooooooooooo awesomely pugnacious... His attitude and the darkness of the eyes remind me of my very first Oscar, Oscar the grouch!!! Beautiful video!!

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[Rivers2k]

Beautiful Oscar! Nice tank so good to see this fish in a good size tank to many cramp them into time tanks.

 

[Jmunroe]

Thanks all. He's a well looked after fish. 125 gallons basically all to himself since the silver dollars school together so tight most of the time, they take up less space than an oscar. They give him every inch of the tank as well. Also most people don't know that silver dollars will actually eat oscar poop. Oscars only partially digest food and the dollars grab it before it hits the sand most of the time. Helps a bit with keeping the tank clean.

 

[Aquaenthused]

Thanks all. He's a well looked after fish. 125 gallons basically all to himself since the silver dollars school together so tight most of the time, they take up less space than an oscar. They give him every inch of the tank as well. Also most people don't know that silver dollars will actually eat oscar poop. Oscars only partially digest food and the dollars grab it before it hits the sand most of the time. Helps a bit with keeping the tank clean.

thank you for pointing that out most people that understand the sloppy eating bioload is actually lessened by certain other smaller load fish can virtually cancel themselves out...

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[Rivers2k]

I sadly had to get rid of my Wild Oscar this weekend. He was looking very beautiful and very interactive very personable, but he is a mean little guy at only 3" he was terrorizing the tank all other fish where larger than him. Since I didn't want to do an oscar only tank I had to rehome. Thanks all to those who were following. When I get a bigger place and have room for more tanks I will try another oscar but I think I will stick with captive bread.

 

[Jmunroe]

That's too bad. For the best I'm sure. They really are much more aggressive than the captive oscars. Mine is around 10 inches now and still acts like a manic 3 inch oscar still moving quickly around with constant smashes and splashes in the tank as he try's to upend everything. It scares my wife when were upstairs, she thinks someone is breaking into the house downstairs. Still working on not getting bitten every time I put my hand in the tank for maintenance. I shove him away with the gravel vac while he stalks my hand and he pushes back. I push him away with my hand if he's back to it trying to get him used to my hand. It doesn't bother him to be touched but if I push to hard or push him more than a foot he turns and snaps at me. When I feed him he looks like he's ready to pounce out at any minute. Keeping yours with other fish I'm sure was a handful. I've partitioned of one end of my tank and made a rock pile and put a couple Honduran red point cichlids in to see if he will get used to seeing them and maybe leave them alone when I take the partition down. Allowing them to grow a bit first and get used to the rock pile so they escape fast if need be.

 

[Rivers2k]

Yes definitely for the best. It is amazing how different they are from captive bread counterparts. I now know why people keep oscars such a personable fish. Maybe one day I will have another.