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my soninlaw at the moment is running a 30gal community tank and is thinking of getting an "Oscar" he knows it will eat any smaller fish, so should he start a separate tank or will the Oscar live with the larger fish?

thanks for any info

papasan ><((((O>

Oscars get large. Quite large, actually -- think 30+ cm. Heck, they are sometimes sold as food fish in their native habitat. A single Oscar should, at a minimum, be kept in a 75 gallon. 125+ is even better, especially if you are planning on keeping it with other largish fish. If he really wants one, he'll need a tank at least twice as big as he currently has just to keep it.

thanks for your info joe i thought as much he has saved for a bigger tank so i think he has to go down that line

papasan

>>((((O>

Deffinetly not a good idea to drop a oscar of any age into a community tank. This is not to say they are as agressive as they are thought to be. Actually they are pretty timid compared to most other cichlids. Often they are put in with bullies because most think their size makes them able to handle punishment. Their natural defense is to play dead so you can imagin what kind of trouble this gets them in a tank.

Anyway back on track. Nice or not it comes down to this. If the other fish in the tank are 25% larger or less then his mouth then its on the menu. Most will say same size of their mouth but in my experience oscars dont carry tape measures. "close" is enough to either become food or become a punching bag from trial and error.

So in short 75g is good, 125 is better. the more room you give the more they will swim and "look cool" Dont be afraid to hand feed young with bloodworms ect. This can lead to some serious interaction later. They love getting rubbed on thier sides if they know you arnt gona eatem lol.

thanks for your input SIS i found it very useful as well as witty i have passed all info onto kev and he has decided to run two tanks.

thanks again

papasan ><(((O>

Papasan. if you wish, you could actually have two oscars in a 125 (i know most will say it is a bit cramped, but it can work) also with oscars you will want VERY good filtration and water movement. i would say 75% more than a tank "requires" so if you were to get a 125g, i would suggest filtrations rated for at least a 200g or more.

also what age does he plant to buy his oscar? juvie or adult? if he was to buy juvie he could get a smaller like 20g for the first year or two then upgrade as the fish grows (less money upfront) or he could get a handful of them in a 125 and hope a pair establishes then sell off the rest of them as they get older. but if he plans to breed get a much larger tank!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Only really want to put Oscars with other large and considerably robust fish really - not just anything 'large'.