Will they grow?

[darkxrose]

My father has taken interest in buying an aquarium after watching me raise fish for a while now and today he bought two tiger oscars in a tiny 10 gallon tank . Of course he wasn't convinced and is reluctant to buying an appropriate tank until the oscars grew considerably(they look like they are two-three inches.) I also have absolutely no room for these fish either. Do you guys think these oscars are capable of growing noticeably in such a small environment?

 

[Luna112]

It's not so much of them growing, it's them surviving. They will probably die because of the ammonia. They produce a lot of waste.

 

[darkxrose]

I do not think that will be a problem as I put a lot of my filter floss from my established tank into his filter (which is rated for 20-30 gallons.)

 

[jetajockey]

Even with adding some beneficial bacteria by seeding with used filter media, it still takes time for the biofilm to form and for the bacteria to establish in the new tank. By that time, if frequent water changes aren't performed, 2-3 inch oscars will have the ammonia level off the charts.

Hopefully you can get him to do frequent water changes, or at least test the water quality often. As far as stunting goes, I'm not sure, I've never kept a fish in way too small of a tank long enough to find out.

 

[gkuzel]

I agree with jeta. I don't think they will last long, at all. About two weeks tops. I'm not the stocking police, by any means. But make sure that your dad knows that the fish themselves will grow to the size of the tank, or larger. Like, I mean, the whole tank. (I'm sure you know this.)