Oscar

[mike47517]

Hey everyone.
My friend bought an oscar yesterday and will have a 70 gallon tank for it after a while. he's thinking the taank will be ready (and cycled) by march. he has it in a five gallon aquirum now. i told him it would die before then but he was anxious. well i want to save it to the best of my ability. and he finally said i could keep it in my 38g till his tank was ready. my question is will it live till then and how fast will it grow? thanks.

 

[DallasFish]

How big is the Oscar? If it isn't huge I don't see a problem for the Oscar for a couple of months. But if you have other fish in your tank, be careful. They'll be a buffet for the Oscar.

 

[rob28]

is there a particular reason the tank wont be cycled till march??

yes, the oscar will be fine in the 38gal.

 

[bluerose]

Might be better if you could help him set up his tank and give him some filter media so he can get it in the bigger tank... is the 5gal cycled?

 

[black hills tj]

Hold up a second...last I recalled you had just gotten the 38gallon tank as an early Christmas present. Unless you transferred some of your filter media over, your tank is no more ready for fish than his 70g. In which case, why not just give him some media so his 70g will be ready soon?

 

[mike47517]

yes i had just got a 38g but i switched with my dads friend (The one who told me about the 38g and where to get it for sale{70% off only 100$ with every thing needed including hood, filter, and heater.). his tank was in new condition and looks new still and he has more than one tank and he's moving (so the new one still in the box is better for his shipping). And the oscar and all i couldnt resist. So now i have a cycled 38 gallon. I have always wanted an oscar and all but could never aford a 70+ gallon tank. nows my chance to have 1 for awhile. oh and its only 1 1/2 inces now.

 

[Alaris]

How big is the Oscar? If it isn't huge I don't see a problem for the Oscar for a couple of months. But if you have other fish in your tank, be careful. They'll be a buffet for the Oscar.

I don't know if you read this. The Oscar will eat your other fish.

Oscar Fish - Astronotus spp.

Temperament / Behavior : They can be aggressive if not given a large enough aquarium.
Compatible Tank Mates : Not many - Bala Shark, Silver Dollar, Pleco and Jack Dempsey fish are some acceptable tank mates. However, don't put in any fish that are small enough to fit in the mouth of this fish.

From: Darrel
These fish are seriously aggressive! I have had many over the years and all have been fighters. If the fish are small enough they will be eaten, only compatible sized fish should be kept in the same tank. I had a 7 inch oscar eat a 5 inch pictus cat head first, with all 3 spines stuck through the head of the oscar. The pictus died but the oscar survived with a little torque jaw after snipping the pictus spines off with diagonal cutters and pulling the fish out.

So the Oscar may be ok size-wise for now, but it might eat any fish you add to the tank.

 

[mike47517]

ok thanks and all thats gonna be with him is a pleco and the pleco is bigger than him.

 

[Mudfrog]

By March that Oscar should be in the 7-8" ballpark.. probably larger if given the needed space and requirements, way to big for a 5g or even a 38g.

 

[mike47517]

But it will be better than a 5g right? i got it today and the pleco the tank looks empty now cause he is so small but soon he will have to go back to my friend. maybe if i can get a 70g soon i will just by my friend a new one cause i know i will be attached to it by march. oh and its the most agressive fish ive ever seen i fed it a baby guppy aprox. 3/4" (he devourered it) and he's only 1 1/2" now.

 

[black hills tj]

You may want to watch what you feed it. If you feed it live fish too often, it will get awefully spoiled and refuse to eat anything else. IMO, while they are aggressive fish that will eat anything that fit in their mouths, their are much healthier foods specifically designed to meet the needs of their diet.

 

[mike47517]

whats IMO oh and he's not gonna get live food real often i have some pellets for his base diet.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

IMO= In my opinion
IMHO= In my honest opinion

 

[mike47517]

oh ok thanks SpeedEuphoria.

 

[mike47517]

Well ive had the oscar in with the pleco and fake plants and other stuff in the tank for a day now and the oscar seems to be enjoying the space (since he's so small to him the tank is huge) he loves feeding time he already knows that when i come to the tank its feeding time. he's cool and he will hide a lot but i have had fish that were much more shy. he loves earth worms he has had a couple chunks along with some flakes and a couple pellets today he's a pig the food is in the water for 30 seconds topps. i already have a feeling that im not goin to want to part with him in march. maybe soon he will eat from my hand. he is a very active fish alot like a cory he never stops moving and he's playful he will pick up rocks carry them around then go to the top of the tank and drop them back where they were.

 

[billijaywest]

i had a oscar at that size and in the space of 2 months it grew to 7 inches(live food)

 

[mike47517]

good gosh. well he's stayin til my friends ready. its the best i could do and afford.

 

[billijaywest]

ul be alright, a sign he isnt happy is if he sits on the bottom of the tank looking sad, to much of that and he will DIE, apart from that he will be like a dog (always wanting feeding) feed him sparingly best once a day otherwise he will get to fat and DIE

ok mate

albino or tiger

and why dont you give him some of your filter media? apart from wanting to look after a fish of cause

 

[mike47517]

ul be alright, a sign he isnt happy is if he sits on the bottom of the tank looking sad, to much of that and he will DIE, apart from that he will be like a dog (always wanting feeding) feed him sparingly best once a day otherwise he will get to fat and DIE

oh ok i wil remember that thanks.

ok mate

ok

albino or tiger

Tiger and nice looking one at that

and why dont you give him some of your filter media? apart from wanting to look after a fish of cause

because he's got a different type
of filter mine has a blue slab with carbon rocks in side he's got some weird filter thing i have never seen one like his. and he says he thinks that just getting some of my media would kill his fish ive told him otherwise but he's pretty ignorant.

 

[billijaywest]

oh well you cant blame him