oscars n stuff

[astrocella]

i've got 2 little oscars (1.5-2 inches) in my 29 gallon... i just added a cool, tiny (1 inch) $30 pelco to the tank to keep things clean... the guy at the store said they won't bother it, and so far they haven't. but will they? i could put him in the 55 but the (big) claw frog might eat him?

what do you think..


i got a heater for the oscars and they seem much happier (the tiger's markings are really defined now) i keep it at about 78 degrees.. that's good huh? BUT, i've been hearing how they tend to break heaters when they're older/bigger.. this is a glass encased heater... if they break it would it send electricity through the tank??? that could get ugly.....

i know 29 gallons isn't enough for 2, much less 1 really... so if they're about 2 inches now, how long do i have until they are big....

so yeah, is my new pelco safe..? should i put him in the 55? how long until these oscars are too big for the 29 (i know someone's gonna say they are already)? is this heater danegerous? (heetmaster 15")....... and, they hide behind plants a lot.. is that normal

thanks

 

[Jacob Morgan]

From what I know about oscars. You never keep 2 oscars. you keep one or you keep many (school) or you keep none.


The weaker oscar wil not eat as much and will be MUCH skinnier and stressed then the other oscar. You might wanna consider moving one to another tank or returning one. IMO...


Our larger oscar in the 55 has killed everything we put in its tank cept a pleco. We put a huge pleco in there and it has yet to kill it (been in there for months). The oscar has killed a red tail shark (i think thats wat it was called) a Jack demsis(which wsa in there from the git go with the thing..) and one other fish I cannot remember. I think your pleco wil be fine.


good luck




Jacob

 

[CRaZeeeBiTcHisH]

they will outgrow your tank pretty fast, i have 2 that aren't a year old and they are about 9 inches long--yours will probably grow a little slower because of the small space, and if you don't do really frequent water changes you may stunt their growth and development ....it's normal for youngsters to hide, as they get older they get much braver and more boisterous (sp?)--and yes they will probably attack your heater when they get a little older, and mine tormented the 12-13 inch pleco that has been in their tank since they were babes...you will have troubles keeping them together if you have 2 males. or 2 oscars that just don't like each other...which is quite likely since you haven't let them pick their own tankmate...if your plec is little he will eventually be dinner, as soon as the oscars mouths get big enough to get a good hold on him, he will likely be gone...and the oscars grow much faster than a plec. 29 is NOT big enough for one oscar, let alone two...you may come home to a dead oscar and a wet floor one day. 55 for one oscar is debatable..these fish get really big and they aren't just long, they are big...12-14 inches if they aren't stunted or something--that big of a fish would hardly be happy in a 29 gallon tank...mine rearrange everything, have already demolished a thermometer, rammed a clay pot into the side of the tank, i have heard them hit the top from upstairs! i would suggest you do a lot of research on oscars and decide if you are willing to give them the care they need, or consider returning them to the petstore...

 

[astrocella]

The weaker oscar wil not eat as much and will be MUCH skinnier and stressed then the other oscar.

i can already tell which one is dominant.. :?

I think your pleco wil be fine.

if your plec is little he will eventually be dinner

who do i listen to? ahhh.. i moved it to the 55 today. these oscars are vicious.. they eat the hell out of feeders, it just *feels* like it's a matter of time until they eat the pleco... so yeah, i moved it. but now i'm worried about my claw frog devoruing him :? the little guy just sticks to the driftwood all day, so i think he'll be ok. they grow fairly fast too......

speaking of feeder fish.. i get the oscars and my frog 12 cent rosey reds.. now, the oscars will more or less eat as many as i put in there.. today they ate 7 of them. 8O is this something i should keep doing (i want them to get HUGE ) but maybe they should just be treats? you tell me.. i don't trust the 16 year olds at the LFS

and yes they will probably attack your heater when they get a little older

that's fine (kinda funny) but i'm very concerned with the fact that this heater is GLASS.. if they even crack it.. wouldn't it electrocute them? i could be wrong.......

29 is NOT big enough for one oscar, let alone two...you may come home to a dead oscar and a wet floor one day.

i WILL be moving them to a 55 in a few months. early next year at the latest i'd say. then, if i have the means i'll upgrade for them for sure. i really do want these guys to be happy, huge, and kosher with everything... i've got like 12 fish and the oscars are my favorite. such personality.. (already...!)

mine rearrange everything, have already demolished a thermometer, rammed a clay pot into the side of the tank, i have heard them hit the top from upstairs!

that's so cool

i would suggest you do a lot of research on oscars and decide if you are willing to give them the care they need, or consider returning them to the petstore...

i've been doing some reading on the net.. this message board is great though.... so far it's my main source for info.... so, (hehe) there's a lot of questions here... any help/advice is greatly appreciated. real people vs. text.....

 

[Jacob Morgan]

Listen to him.. it depends on the size of the pleco. The pleco we added to the 55 was larger then the oscar itself so all the oscar could do is nip at it....

I suppose you could find a large pleco and maybe it would grow enuf not to get ate? who knows.. our pleco has done fine thats all i know.


Also Smaller plecos in the 29 with a oscar and in a 30 with a oscar have done fine. We might of been lucky the plecos in the smaller tanks are decent size.





I have herd of Oscars litterally going THROUGH the tank with there toys. So be carefull what you put in the tank. Mine likes to pick up its gravel and move it to one side of the tank..

very picky lol



Jacob




Jacob

 

[targaboy78]

Let me qualify my following post by saying that "I don't know anything about Oscars... except what I read in this forum"...

However, if you are still worried about your heater being broken, I have 2 suggestions that you may consider.

1> You can buy a plastic heater cover/protector from your LFS. (I can't vouch for the quality, but they they are so cheap it's not like it's an investment).

2> There are titanium heaters available on the market. I found one on a site called foryourfish.com. (I am not endorsing these guys) They just happen to be the place where I saw them first.

http://www.foryourfish.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/FYF-HC-H6.htm

Hope this helps.

 

[CRaZeeeBiTcHisH]

listen to him who? as you stated, you added a 'huge' pleco -- as stated previously, oscars and fast growers, plecs not so fast, so if you have similar sized fish to start, your plec will not reach 10 inches at the same time your oscar does, that stated if it will fit in your oscar's mouth, it will get eaten, anyone who has kept oscars for any length of time will tell you....mine have eaten large crawdads with large claws, so how do you think a small plec will fare?..and NO feeders should not be their primary diet, you are asking for hole in the head and disease introduced by your feeders, a 55 gallon is NOT big enough for 2 full grown oscars, you should think about upgrading or getting rid of an oscar, and the keeping of one oscar in a 55 in debatable because of the eventual size of the fish vs. the width of a 55 which is 12 inches...they can have difficulty turning their large bodies around...and while this site is a good resource for hard to find questions, or questions that only someone with experience can answer, or something you have read with conflicting views, it is in everyone's best interest for you to do some research on your own and then ask qustions...that is your responsibility. you can do search's on websites for ppl's previous postings and on google groups for ppl's previous postings and learn quite a lot...