Oscar advice?

[trevorSB1004]

When I turn 14 (6th year of fish keeping) I am getting a 75 gallon tank which I plan on putting an Oscar Cichlid in. It will have a HOB and a canister filter. Any tips for me on Oscar food, substrate, water parameters, or anything else would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[icydeath]

That is a pretty awesome birthday gift. When I turned 14, I got okay'ed to build an indoor pond.

Food: A varied diet goes a long way, but this should help. Feeding Your Oscar Fish - What Foods Are Suitable for the Oscar

Substrate: Bare bottoms work best for oscars only because they poop a lot like goldfish.. lol. Look on youtube how to paint the bottom og a bare bottom. You can run a powerhead so all the poop collects in a corner and you can siphon it out. Sand works too and so does gravel. They aren't picky, but it is some extra maintenance gravel vacuuming. With a bare bottom, it is also easier to keep clean which is a plus.

Parameters: Ammonia, 0
Nitrite, 0
Nitrate, less than 40, aim for under 15 after a water change
pH, 6-8
Temp, 74-81

These sites should help. Caresheet 1, Caresheet 2

 

[trevorSB1004]

Wow, great response icydeath, and an indoor pond sounds pretty awesome!

 

[icydeath]

Haha thanks.

Glad I could help. Good luck! Also, join that OscarLover site. It will be useful to have a specialized forum.

 

[trevorSB1004]

Yeah i actually did. Lol on one of the reviews of the other site you linked me was this: it was pretty funny

 

[icydeath]

Omg those are all in a 10 gallon.. XD That reply "900 gallon tank" < true but depressing.

 

[Fishy Smell]

Sounds like BS to me. There's no way even a group of Juveniles of those would be able to fit in a 10G.


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