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I bought a fourty-gallon setup tonight that came complete with two fish.. a 10-11" albino oscar and a 6" pleco that I'll have to have identified because it doesn't look like a common pleco. I'm already trying to find the oscar a home in a bigger tank since I really don't have enough room for a 125, and the pleco is going to my friend who has a 125 and doesn't want an oscar.
I -really- only wanted the tank, and I figured the fish would be better off with me (and a second filter) than with the guy I bought them from. The tank was so horrible that the oscar actually had dirt -hanging off of her- and she's kinda greyish-looking. I'll have to post pics.
Since the tank cleared up a little while ago, the oscar has been at the front of the glass staring at me and following my finger if I move it across the tank.
Assuming that I can find someone to take the fish, what large-ish cichlids can I put in the tank? I really dig the way the oscar interacts.. are there smaller cichlids with this much personality? (No convicts or firemouths.. I've had them before and the fry nearly drove me insane.)
Also, is there anything I can do for the fish besides daily waterchanges?

Last edited by bananacoladafuze at 18-Nov-2005 00:55

Last edited by bananacoladafuze at 19-Nov-2005 17:12

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Cake or death?

Where do you live. I know someone to give the oscar to in SE Massachusetts.

20 Gallon Long:
Aquaclear 300
2 Bolivian Rams, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus: Gumby and Pokey

Ermm. I'm in San Jose, California.


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Cake or death?

Update: I watched the fish for a while yesterday and today. I looked at oscarfish.com and compared pictures of healthy oscars to my oscar. Turns out that she's already stunted. Since I haven't kept an oscar before, I didn't realize that her spine shouldn't be as curved as it is.

I explained the situation to my dad and showed him my oscar and the pictures of the other oscars. He told me that I should keep the fish and try to find a bigger tank for it. (I -love- my dad!)

I went on a classified ad site and found a 175 gallon setup for $250. Needless to say, I flipped out, called the guy, and talked to him for a while. Turns out it's a complete setup, but I'll need to get a second filter for it because the filter that is currently on it isn't quite big enough. The only other 'problem' with the setup is that the doors on the wooden stand need new hinges. The price worried me a little, but the guy assured me that the tank -does- hold water, and I think I'm going to have him fill it up for me before I give him the money. The guy agreed to sell the tank to me when I get payed on Thursday.

I'm gonna do the fishless cycling thing. How long does that usually take on a tank this size? Is it safe to continue doing daily waterchanges until the new tank is cycled?

So far, I'm eventually going to have one oscar, one sailfin pleco that I already have, and one common pleco in the the tank. Turns out that the pleco I got with the oscar -is- common, and it just had lighter coloring when it was in the bucket because it was stressed. I'd like to get a second oscar, but I'm worried that this oscar won't like having another oscar in the tank. What other fish can I put in the tank? I keep hearing different numbers when it comes to how big the sailfin (Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps, right?) is going to get. Do any of you have experience with adults? One person told me it could get 20" long.

Is the oscar -ever- going to be normal, or is it always going to have a curved spine? The guy I bought her from told me she's four years old. If she grows any more, will her spine kinda.. shift down? Do you think she will grow any more? She can't be comfortable with her back all bent.

Oh, and can anyone point me in the direction of a place with names for fish? I'm getting tired of calling her 'the fish' and 'the oscar'.

Thanks!

Edited -again-:
The filter that comes with the tank is a HOB. My godmother uses a sump for her 125, and I'm thinking that I should get a -really- good filter since oscars are so messy. Can any of you suggest a good brand?

Last edited by bananacoladafuze at 19-Nov-2005 17:41

Last edited by bananacoladafuze at 19-Nov-2005 17:42

Last edited by bananacoladafuze at 19-Nov-2005 23:37

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Cake or death?

Well a 175 is def big enough for two oscars but not much else and theres only one way to tell if your oscar would get along with another one and thats to put one in, my guess is that it probably would. You could maybe put a red bellied pacu in with it or a couple other large cichlids in ( but nothing to agressive cause they might kill the oscar) or try a leporinus, i have one and he gets along with almost everything, but again temperment varys on a fish to fish basis.