TELL ME ABOUT OSCARS

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khristen0628

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Feb 23, 2004
Messages
1
Location
Pennsylvania
Here is the deal I had 2 oscars, now I have one. they were both approx. 3 years old and between 9 and 11 inches long. The smaller one sied recently, but in a weird way, for about a week it was putting its forehead out of the water, and when it died I found it bobbing like a bobber, but the other oscar is fine, hasn't had much of an appetite lately. My question is what do you think my little one dies of and what is the average lifespan for an oscar in captivity?
My tank is 55 gallons, so its plenty big enough for them other then my algea eater they were the only fish in the tank.
 
55 is the absolute minimum for a pair of oscars, and is really quite a bit too small. Some people suggest a 75 gallon PER oscar.

This could have attributed to death, but is probably not the only factor, if at all.. What kinds of food did you feed the oscar? What kind of water parameters do you currently have? Oscars are very very susceptible to a disease called "Hole in the Head" which can lead to their deaths. It is generally brought about by improper diet and small confines.

I'm unsure of their life span, but its many many years. I suspect they can live well past 10 years.
 
*nods and agrees with ferret*

First place to check is water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrates) whenever there are problems. And yeah, 55g surprisingly isn't big enough for 2 oscars. Keep in mind, when figuring out what size tank for what sorta fish, you have to include surface area, need for swimming space, territorial issues and effect on bioload. And oscars are VERY messy, with plecs almost as bad; hence the need for so much tank space needed.

My off the cuff guess is your lil guy had some sort of swim bladder issue, possibly due to infection or poor water husbandry. How often do you gravel vac/water change and how much? How long has the tank been up and running? Is it fully cycled?
 
Ally - Welcome back - how's things over on that side of W. county. :)

Yeah I have to agree on the oscars, but if ya' love 'em and your willing to send them to another home when they grow up, you can probably get away with a 55 for a little while, assuming you are one diligent care taker. As Ally said - they are some messy folk.

But those guys were likely way too big for a 55. The 2 of them end to end were 20 inches more than a 1/3 of the tanks length and almost twice its width. Yikes.
 
*nods and agrees with ferret, Allivymar, and TheMadNucleus*

I'm sorry for your loss. Read up on "Hole in the Head" disease--it's pretty gross and keep an eye on your other oscar. And as soon as you post your water parameters, we can help you better.
 
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