Me and my little Oscar

[mylittleoscar]

Hi everyone, I'm new here.
I have a 55 gallon tank and I bought my new red tiger oscar yesterday.
I was torn between a normal and an albino!

My question is would it be okay to get an albino aswell?
I'm guessing it would mean I'd need to buy a larger tank sooner if I were to go and buy a 2nd fish...

Would it be best to get the 2nd one now or wait until this little guy settles into his tank first?

Thanks!

[asudavew]

If you are seriously going to by a bigger tank.... at least 100 gallons for 2 Oscars. Then I would get them both, so they grow together and are the same size.

But you really need to be committed to buying a huge tank.
And trust me 100+ gallon tanks are huge, heavy, expensive, and require more expensive equipment to run properly.

[mylittleoscar]

Oh ok, I wasn't looking at buying a bigger tank now, I was planning on buying a larger one by next year.
He'll just have to be happy enough by himself in that case!
Thank you!

[asudavew]

I still don't think it would be a problem to buy two.
As long as you are committed to buying the bigger tank in a year.

Try to buy really small Oscars, so that they take longer to grow.

I wasn't trying to stop you from buying two. Just letting you know that you really will need that LARGE tank within the next year or so.

Good luck, would enjoy knowing what you decide.

BTW, Oscars make wonderful pets.

[mylittleoscar]

I decided to get another oscar. It's the albino..very pretty
My normal tiger, the first one I got, is still sulking, hiding behind the plant, only coming out to gobble up his food.

[asudavew]

They are pretty. My wife has one, and sometimes it turns a dark pink.
Really neat.

They do like to sulk, but he should snap out of it soon.
Just make sure they have some nice caves to hide in. They enjoy doing that.

Good luck and don't forget those PWCs, they get messier the bigger they get.

[mylittleoscar]

They've been locking jaws a fair bit, I don't think it looks like they are fighting so is this a terrotorial thing? Do juviniles get territorial? Or are they pairing or something?

Thanks in advance!

[asudavew]

Do they have some rocks to claim and hide under?

They are territorial and need to have their own rock.

[mylittleoscar]

Thanks! I went and bought another hiding spot today.
I think they may be having a disagreement about WHO gets to claim the new hiding spot.
Silly things.

[asudavew]

Great. They sure are fun.
Pretty soon they will be swimming to the front of the tank begging for food every time they see you. (if they aren't already)

Good luck

[SWerner13]

If they are already locking jaws make sure you keep an eye on them. Change up the decor in the tank every once in a while and it will reduce aggression. Also I have no experience with it but I have read a slightly lower temp like 76,77 seems to lower it a bit. When your oscars reach sexual maturity is when their aggression is going to start to peak I think around 7 - 8" or 7-8 months give or take.