Clams and oscar gish

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Luexiong2

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 9, 2013
Messages
16
Ok I just heard that clams act Like a filter. They eat leftover and help clean the tank. The question is. Is it possible to have clams with my oscar fish? He is about 6 inch in a 55 gal.
 
Ok I just heard that clams act Like a filter. They eat leftover and help clean the tank. The question is. Is it possible to have clams with my oscar fish? He is about 6 inch in a 55 gal.

Unfortunately, the pollutants from an Oscar will probably overwhelm a clam and kill it. Chances are not in your clam's favor. Clams are better for smaller fishes such as tetras, barbs, gouramis, etc. The waste material from them is less polluting.
Sorry, but an Oscar's best friend is a bigger filter and frequent water changes. No shortcuts for them :nono:

Hope this helps (y)
 
Unfortunately, the pollutants from an Oscar will probably overwhelm a clam and kill it. Chances are not in your clam's favor. Clams are better for smaller fishes such as tetras, barbs, gouramis, etc. The waste material from them is less polluting.
Sorry, but an Oscar's best friend is a bigger filter and frequent water changes. No shortcuts for them :nono:

Hope this helps (y)

Lol aight thanks a lot makes sense
 
And you knowing that but still done it isn't right. We are trying to help the op here!
 
Ok I just heard that clams act Like a filter. They eat leftover and help clean the tank. The question is. Is it possible to have clams with my oscar fish? He is about 6 inch in a 55 gal.

I would have to agree with Andy that is not a great idea. Clams are actually pretty sensitive, they typically don't do well in the aquarium the clams normally end up dying and foul the water.

Not if you're trying to speed growth.
I used to feed my oscar every 1-2 hours witch comes to around 8 times a day.
It speeds growth to extreme levels. It diminishes life span a bit.

Fish only need to be fed every 2-3 hours when they are in the first week or so after absorbing their yolk sacs. Twice a day is more than adequate amount to feed to juvenile fish. A 6" Oscar in a 55 gallon only needs to be fed once a day otherwise the water will foul quickly. Mentioning that you feed your Oscar 8 times a day is really not valid in this situation and if it was meant as advice, it's terrible advice. We are suppose to provide advice that is best for the overall health of the fish, so why post something that will pose a health risk to the fish?!
 
I would have to agree with Andy that is not a great idea. Clams are actually pretty sensitive, they typically don't do well in the aquarium the clams normally end up dying and foul the water.

Fish only need to be fed every 2-3 hours when they are in the first week or so after absorbing their yolk sacs. Twice a day is more than adequate amount to feed to juvenile fish. A 6" Oscar in a 55 gallon only needs to be fed once a day otherwise the water will foul quickly. Mentioning that you feed your Oscar 8 times a day is really not valid in this situation and if it was meant as advice, it's terrible advice. We are suppose to provide advice that is best for the overall health of the fish, so why post something that will pose a health risk to the fish?!

Well mine is about 6" in a 55 gallon. So u say I should feed once a day but how much. I have medium size cichlid gold and small stable...medium omega pellet and omega one krill
 
Well mine is about 6" in a 55 gallon. So u say I should feed once a day but how much. I have medium size cichlid gold and small stable...medium omega pellet and omega one krill

Well consider this, his stomach is roughly the size of his eye, so I would feed 2-4 medium size pellets
 
Fish only need to be fed every 2-3 hours when they are in the first week or so after absorbing their yolk sacs. Twice a day is more than adequate amount to feed to juvenile fish. A 6" Oscar in a 55 gallon only needs to be fed once a day otherwise the water will foul quickly. Mentioning that you feed your Oscar 8 times a day is really not valid in this situation and if it was meant as advice, it's terrible advice. We are suppose to provide advice that is best for the overall health of the fish, so why post something that will pose a health risk to the fish?!
Wasn't advice, i was stating that it might be the goal of the OP. Also, at the time, i did not know that it diminished the life span. I was ignorant, but i knew that what that did and the effects of it.
 
Wasn't advice, i was stating that it might be the goal of the OP. Also, at the time, i did not know that it diminished the life span. I was ignorant, but i knew that what that did and the effects of it.

Exactly so there is no point is posting something that the OP can misconstrue as good advice, when it is actually bad for the fish.
 
Exactly so there is no point is posting something that the OP can misconstrue as good advice, when it is actually bad for the fish.
I stated that it was bad for the fish and could reduce it's life span. Also i said it ''might'' be the goal of the op.
 
For what it's worth, feeding fish (especially of this nature) only once a day is not (IMO) correct. I always fed all my fish 3-4 times per day. The goal was not to FILL up the fish with food at each feeding but to encourage them to always be foraging which is what they do in nature. If you have 4 different types of foods, consider giving your fish a small amount (per feeding) of each one at different feedings. 1 food type at each feeding. As to how much? You'll see your fish's sides start to bulge from the food. STOP when they start to bulge especially if they retreat and go "take a nap" so they can digest what they just ate. It's a balancing act that takes a few times to get straight. If you are concerned about over feeding, remember: underfeeding more often is better than overfeeding less often.

Hope this helps
 
For what it's worth, feeding fish (especially of this nature) only once a day is not (IMO) correct. I always fed all my fish 3-4 times per day. The goal was not to FILL up the fish with food at each feeding but to encourage them to always be foraging which is what they do in nature. If you have 4 different types of foods, consider giving your fish a small amount (per feeding) of each one at different feedings. 1 food type at each feeding. As to how much? You'll see your fish's sides start to bulge from the food. STOP when they start to bulge especially if they retreat and go "take a nap" so they can digest what they just ate. It's a balancing act that takes a few times to get straight. If you are concerned about over feeding, remember: underfeeding more often is better than overfeeding less often.

Hope this helps
You're right. But after a bit of research on oscars and other fast growing or big growing fish, they need to be fed 3 times per day or 4 if they're small, the more they grow, the less you feed but in bigger portions.
 
Well consider this, his stomach is roughly the size of his eye, so I would feed 2-4 medium size pellets

You're right. But after a bit of research on oscars and other fast growing or big growing fish, they need to be fed 3 times per day or 4 if they're small, the more they grow, the less you feed but in bigger portions.


I guess this is where I disagree with the science and rely more on the experience. This was my feeding schedule for my breeders as well. Most of my breeders were 12" -15" with one pair being 22" & 24".

For the same reasons you don't eat once a day at any age, I didn't feed my fish that way either. The results spoke for themselves. ;) But who am I to say :blink: :D
 
I guess this is where I disagree with the science and rely more on the experience. This was my feeding schedule for my breeders as well. Most of my breeders were 12" -15" with one pair being 22" & 24".

For the same reasons you don't eat once a day at any age, I didn't feed my fish that way either. The results spoke for themselves. ;) But who am I to say :blink: :D
I think you're right, but bigger fish need bigger meals, and maybe fed a bit less then 3-4 times a day?
 
For what it's worth, feeding fish (especially of this nature)The goal was not to FILL up the fish with food at each feeding but to encourage them to always be foraging which is what they do in nature.

If we were truly trying to duplicate feeding conditions in their natural habitat then we'd actually feed every 2-3 days, in the wild fish will not have a reliable food source like they do in your aquarium, they will have to go looking for their food which may result in them going hungry for a day or two. In the dry season when the waters recede fish can often go without food for weeks. But who are we kidding as these types of store bought fish are so far from wild caught it's silly.
 
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