Oscars
- Thread starter Catfish23
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
Those fish are going to outgrow that tank relatively quickly ( fyi) so she'd be better off investing in a larger tank than a different filter. You want a longer tank more than a higher tank. The longer the better. Oscars can grow to at least 12" long and that is actually short because my Mentor had a pair that were 22" and 24" back in the 1960s. Mine were anywhere from 15" - 18" long. All the commercial breeding has made the fish smaller but they have the ability to get very large. Once she decides on the tank, then get a filter that will turn over the volume of water at least 3 times per hour even up to 5 times per hour.
Another option is to rehome these Oscars and get fish that are better suited for a tank that size. These will be fish that do not grow very large. That's a large selection of fish.
Okay thank you ill let her know she didnt listen to me i told her get the long tank but she didntThose fish are going to outgrow that tank relatively quickly ( fyi) so she'd be better off investing in a larger tank than a different filter. You want a longer tank more than a higher tank. The longer the better. Oscars can grow to at least 12" long and that is actually short because my Mentor had a pair that were 22" and 24" back in the 1960s. Mine were anywhere from 15" - 18" long. All the commercial breeding has made the fish smaller but they have the ability to get very large. Once she decides on the tank, then get a filter that will turn over the volume of water at least 3 times per hour even up to 5 times per hour.
Another option is to rehome these Oscars and get fish that are better suited for a tank that size. These will be fish that do not grow very large. That's a large selection of fish.
Colin_T
Aquarium Advice Addict
Minimum size tank for a couple of Oscars is 6 ft long x 2 ft wide x 2ft high.
They are predators and eat meat foods (fish, prawn, squid). They will also eat non-toxic insects and insect larvae. They eat earthworms and most frozen fish foods like brineshrimp, daphnia, mysis shrimp. However, as they get bigger you are better off using frozen bait for fishing (mulies/ blue sardine, white bait, prawn, squid, etc).
You can give them dry pellet foods for cichlids in addition to the frozen foods. feed the dry food first, then offer a bit of prawn or fish. Make sure the frozen food is defrosted before feeding.
Don't feed them live foods like feeder goldfish or guppies. It's not necessary and increases the chance of the Oscars getting worms and possibly Fish Tuberculosis.
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Because they are meat eaters and they eat a lot, they produce a lot of waste and you need to do big (75-80%) water changes at least once a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
You need to monitor nitrates and keep them as close to 0ppm as possible and below 20ppm at all times. If the nitrates go up, there's a good chance the fish will develop hole in the head disease.
The tank should be gravel cleaned every time it is water changed.
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Established filters should be cleaned at least once a month. An established filter is one that has been running for more than 2 months.
They are predators and eat meat foods (fish, prawn, squid). They will also eat non-toxic insects and insect larvae. They eat earthworms and most frozen fish foods like brineshrimp, daphnia, mysis shrimp. However, as they get bigger you are better off using frozen bait for fishing (mulies/ blue sardine, white bait, prawn, squid, etc).
You can give them dry pellet foods for cichlids in addition to the frozen foods. feed the dry food first, then offer a bit of prawn or fish. Make sure the frozen food is defrosted before feeding.
Don't feed them live foods like feeder goldfish or guppies. It's not necessary and increases the chance of the Oscars getting worms and possibly Fish Tuberculosis.
-------------------
Because they are meat eaters and they eat a lot, they produce a lot of waste and you need to do big (75-80%) water changes at least once a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
You need to monitor nitrates and keep them as close to 0ppm as possible and below 20ppm at all times. If the nitrates go up, there's a good chance the fish will develop hole in the head disease.
The tank should be gravel cleaned every time it is water changed.
-------------------
Established filters should be cleaned at least once a month. An established filter is one that has been running for more than 2 months.
Okay thank you i will pass this info along!!!
m.j.gomez
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hello, show your mom this pic. It's a 125gal(72x18x21)& these Oscars are 14in.+ big. Hope this helps!!!!!
Okay thank you shes just looking for a stand now for the bigger tank shell be upgrading again very soon i think yours are abit bigger then hers currently is it normal for then to get excited for food they jump out of rhe tank and they always act starving how often/how much should they be eating in a day ( she uses the medium cichlids pellets) her oscars are about 4 inches long now
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
In a word, YES. LOL Oscars are very intelligent animals and recognize people and circumstances so whenever they see the thing that brings them food, they get overly excited. Couple that with the fact that a pair of Oscars produce anywhere from 500-1000+ eggs which means any of the fish will have anywhere from 499- 999 + brothers and sisters so they have to be quick to get whatever food is available. It's no wonder they would jump out of a tank to get the food.
m.j.gomez
Aquarium Advice Freak
It's best to feed them 2-3x a day when small. They grow rapidly around 1/4in a week. When growth slows you can feed once a day. I feed cooked market shrimp, boiled white meat chicken, super worms, boiled deshelled peas, boiled broccoli & cichlid sticks. No feeder fish. Most are kept in bad conditions overcrowded & often quarantined in pet shop tanks so afraid of parasite or disease.
Its funny beacuse only the one will jump out and stuff the other one wontIn a word, YES. LOL Oscars are very intelligent animals and recognize people and circumstances so whenever they see the thing that brings them food, they get overly excited. Couple that with the fact that a pair of Oscars produce anywhere from 500-1000+ eggs which means any of the fish will have anywhere from 499- 999 + brothers and sisters so they have to be quick to get whatever food is available. It's no wonder they would jump out of a tank to get the food.
When you say superworms can u elaborate ( im a reptile keeper i hear superworms i assume its what i buy the live big worms)
Doing bould stuff like chicken you cut it up small right? Is that better then the feeders my mom just got them feeders they eat them really fast
m.j.gomez
Aquarium Advice Freak
Correct or meal worms depending on sz of fish & sometimes I'll switch up & feed live crickets too. Market shrimp I pop into microwave about 30sec & cut into manageable pieces, chicken breast I boil whole & cut same. Cooking not over cooked is easier for them to digest.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
You can always breed your own feeder fish to ensure having healthy ones.
I had to learn how to breed goldfish because my mentor told me, " If you want to keep all those Oscars, you'd better learn how to breed food for them." (I ended up with 13 breeding pairs of them. 
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