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I don't have a question, I just want to vent if thats OK..... I bought 2 Tiger Oscars about 2 years ago (They were about 8" long)then I ended up rescuing 2 others about a year and a half ago (They are now 12 - 13" long and became a breeding pair, with no successfull hatchings). Then a dear friend asked if I could take his 11" female because they were moving). So, now I had 5 O's in a 130 gallon tank..... other than a very small spat here and there I had no problems, when my pair decided to spawn they quite peacefully kept the others at the opposite end of the tank. It was becoming alot of work with water changes, and it's not really fair to them all. I found a person at work that was very interested in getting 2 larger oscars, Beautiful... I thought... so in exchange for a few other cichlids I gave them to them.

When I got there I found out that they were being put in a 30 gallon for a week, two tops while they organize their 100 gallon..... It is now two months ago and I saw the lady in the store the other day to find that they started fighting and one died!!!!!!!! I was stunned to find out that they never moved them to the big tank!!!!! I am so mad, I stressed to them that they can't stay in the 30 gallon...... I could spit nails!!!!!!!!!!

omg that must be realy upsetting to have put all that work in on them and caring for them and then some one not treat them right. But i know how u mean i gave a friend some dwarf gourami fry and he just foggot to do water changes and they died so i understand how u feel. How silly though not to move them to a bigger tank it would have made it easyer for him as well not only the fish.

Yeah, that sucks, id have probably gone off like an atom bomb at that one. Practically need to give people psychometric testing before you can trust them with animals sometimes. Bloody people innit. I totally sympathise, I had to rip animals back off people in animal rescue cos they abused adopted animals. They get to learn why nobody sane does that in my presence. I always make sure it costs them.

Must be heartbreaking, sorry for the loss.

I so want to get the other O back, but it feels really awkward. There was another oscar I had given away to my son's teacher...... she insisted that she was going to get a bigger tank, since he was only 6" long I felt she had lots of time....... she put him in with a couple of gold fish and it was all good until she had a problem with fin rot,afterr a lengthy battle she asked me what to do, I told her what, but it was too late... he died!!!! And she never did get a bigger tank.

I realize that fish keeping is alot of learn by your mistakes but it really bothers me that it is at the expense of the helpless fishes life's. As far as I'm concerned it doesn't matter if it is a plane old gold fish. What's worse, is the fact that evan I am guilty of that. However.... I believe that most of the blame should be layed on the LFS who just want to make a sale rather than tell (evan if they actually know) people the true facts about the fish they just bought. Another sin lies with the people who are told the facts, but ignore them.

Thanks for your your comments, and time to listen to me vent.

Lesson to be learned here: subject potential owners of much loved large Cichlids to a thorough vetting procedure before passing them on.

Oscars in particular suffer a LOT of abuse from being housed in woefully inadequate quarters. It's refreshing to hear that you put yours in a 130 gallon - that's the kind of treatment these intelligent and personable fishes deserve.

Now if you'd come to me and said "Can you take a couple of Oscars off me?" I'd have said flat out, NO. Because I don't currently have an aquarium big enough to do them justice. But if I had a basement and an 8 foot tank going spare, it would be a different story ... and I'd SHOW you the Oscars settling in to their nice big new home because to me, treating these fishes right is a matter of pride. Some people think I'm nuts because I do twice weekly gravel vacs on the Panda Fun Palace, but the results speak for themselves - rampant spawning is the order of the day, and Panda Corys don't do that unless they're happy.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Calilasseia;

I for one do not think your nuts, if we feel we have the right to take living creatures and make them totally dependant on us for their basic needs for survival then we have the responsibility of taking care of them properly, it makes me sick when I hear of the abuse we inflict on other helpless creatures. I can't for the life of me understand how people can be so selfish, and cruel.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback,

i would deffinetly insist on the other oscar back. even a single oscar cant be doing well in a 30g. simply teller you have seen how capable she is keeping them and she has had time to get the bigger tank. its obviously not gona happen and its not fair to the fish. have call you back when she has a bigger tank.

The thing is..... they already have it, they just needed to move them over !!!!!! It makes me sick when I think about it.