Oscar Questions

[wheelergoley]

I currently have a 15 gallon tank set up until I can get it approved by the management here at the apartment complex I live in to set up a 55 gallon tank. I currently have two 3"-4" Tiger Oscars living in this tank. Filtration is decent it is a tetra filter for up to a 30 gallon tank. The filter is also soon to be upgraded. There is a 300 Watt heater in the tank also. There are currently no decorations in this tank as of yet. I am currently hunting for a root piece of real driftwood. All I have been able to find around were I live is driftwood meant for a terium. I should probally also mention that I have ordered a Red Tail Hybrid Shovelhead Catfish to go in this tank. The diet that my Oscars are currently on is Omega One pellets (22 per a day, 11 in the morning and 11 at night) and every for days they get between a dozen and two dozen feeder rosy reds. I bought three small goldfish to try them on today. These are not the first oscars that I have ever owned but this is the first time that I have actually set down and researched their diets. I have read that it is not a good idea to feed Oscars live fish. Is this true? I am concidering going to shrimp and fruit and vegitables. Can someone please give me some opinions on diets for my Oscars. Also is live plants a good idea with Oscars. I am concidering bamboo and bannana plants. Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[Convict2161]

Did you say you have 3 tiger oscars in a 15 gallon tank?!

1 oscar would need a 55 or better yet a 75. A pair would be ok in a 125 with adequate filtration. I hope for the fishy's sake I read your post wrong.

 

[tarpon]

Okay, a 55 isnt big enough for 2 oscars when theyre full grown. And idk about your species of shovelnose but the last one i saw was like 4feet. Whats the max length on it?

 

[Gboy66]

Did you say you have 3 tiger oscars in a 15 gallon tank?!

No, 2, still terrible!

OP, you need to make some changes. a 3" oscar will have a huge bioload in a 15 gallon tank, much less 2 of them. The minimum tank requierment for two adult oscars is 125 gallons, as these things can get over a foot long and can grow as much as an inch a month.

I also dont recommend feeder fish. They can carry many diseases, and i would only recommend breeding your own guppies, or shrimp preferably.

 

[wheelergoley]

There are two in this tank yes. I have had up to 3 in a 29 gallon tank before and they have done perfectly fine. I am going through the stages to have it approved to have a 55 gallon tank in my apartment since all I can have without special approval from management is a 15 gallon. My main thing I am trying to figure out is what a good diet for the Oscars is.

 

[wheelergoley]

Max length on a red tail hybrid shovelnose catfish is 18 inchs. I am also planning on upgrading tanks as needed with these fish. I had a set of 3 year old oscars in a 55 gallon tank with 3 red tail cats before and everything worked out perfectly fine. A 55 is the biggest I can get right this second approved until we can show that it will not cause harm to the apartment in any way (such as leaks). If you dont suggest feeder fish what do you suggest as a diet. Is it ok to do feeder fish for vacation times. I am asking because my wife and I go to her fathers on my four day vacations and I give them feeders to last this time.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Rehome one of them and then put the one oscar in your 55. A good diet would be blood worms IMO.

 

[tarpon]

3 red tail cats in a 55???? Uhmmmm....
I hope to god you mean red tail sharks

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

u do need a huge tank, and unless u keep well on top of pwc u dont have much time keeping them in the 55 before they either out-grow it or get HLLE from the bioload they produce.
the minimum is actually 75 - like mine, however lots of people say the bigger the better and this is true.
the two oscars u own have not yet hit sexual maturity, so they may end up fighting too much and u may have to rehome one anyway. so the 55 should be ok for a single oscar.

the red tails are too much for the bioload and territory space imo. u can try to keep them but ur gonna have some crazy pwcs to keep up with!

feeder fish are for exercise really - they have next to no nutritional value. its much better to stock them up with pellets then leave them like that - they often have hunger strikes that last up to a week or more anyway, so they wont die x

live plants? it all depends. mine never touched the plants i had, the lighting was just inadequate. so some oscars are ok with them. bamboo is not the best idea as it can be sharp or get stuck in their throats, oscars are clumsy and some are known for attempting to eat anything! ha

decos HAVE to be devoid of sharpness, have to be large enough for a big oscar to not get stuck in, have to not be swallowable and need to have no bad chemical traces.

driftwood is fairly easy to get in a normal pet shop - u can even get about 4-6 pieces and silicone it into a structure for them to explore.

blanch any veggies and fruit, then its easier to eat. i like to feed mine peas, its good for their systems and looks radioactive when they poop it :L

i hope this helps xx

 

[kelbaker79]

I would Rehome one of the oscars, and put the other in the 55. Do NOT add any others in with that one!!! I've had my fair share of Oscars, they need LARGE tanks. Please don't be cruel. I'm not trying to be rude, but would you like to spend your life in a bathtub?? I'm just saying to think about it, its not right. ONE Oscar needs more room than a 55, much less a 15!!!!

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

the 15 is temporary as he said. he's getting a bigger tank. the 55 is too small i agree but at least he's trying to sort the problem as opposed to hoping for the best. lots of LFS are misinforming for the sake of a sale and i think that may be whats happened x

 

[ronnieroach]

i thought just like you when i started but everyone on here is right. a 55gal will cause problems as they mature if you keep both. eventually, they're gonna fight over territory.

do yourself a favor now, pick your best & boot the other. & tell management to chop chop lol

& just so you know, a 10inch oscar makes the same waste as one hundred 1inch oscars. so if you have two 3-4inchers, your bioload is basically that of 60-80 1inch oscars. & in a 15gal, thats just nuts lol

but regardless of all that, i fed my oscar cichlid delight frozen cubes & he went nuts for em.. also made him grow CRAZY fast

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

i found my oscars grew 2in in a month, then 1.5in the next, then 0.5 this last 2 weeks. i feed good old hikari gold cichlid pellets. seriously - the 1inch a month thing they tell you? ohhhhh nooooo its not a fixed guideline :L

 

[kelbaker79]

i found my oscars grew 2in in a month, then 1.5in the next, then 0.5 this last 2 weeks. i feed good old hikari gold cichlid pellets. seriously - the 1inch a month thing they tell you? ohhhhh nooooo its not a fixed guideline :L

Yea, I agree. Mine were all about the same...lol