FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Don’t feed your Oscars feeders because they will get hooked on them and only want to eat live fish and then there is the disease factor. Your Oscars will be a lot healthier if you stick with a pellet diet and frozen krill every couple of days…my Oscar loves cocktail shrimp.

PS: what size tank do you have them in?

Last edited by Clown_Loach86 at 06-Jan-2006 16:12

it's ok.. i understand.. I mean if someone's gonna ask for your input then just ingnore it they might as well keep their mouths shut. Thank you for the apology..

my aquarium is a 60gal. high..so 4 feet long, 2 feet high and 1 foot wide... which i think is too small for one of these guys.. I was really happy about owning them..

hopefully good news comes from the next reply.. if not well i'll get something i can accomodate..

if you can measure the tank length and width it would help us know if a full grown oscar would be ok in that tank. as far as water volume is concerned thats enough to handle one oscar alone with decent filtration so the actual "footprint" of the tank would be the deciding factor.

and please excuse my slight outburst previously. theres no excuse but previosuly stated we often get ignored and we typically know the end result far before it happens so its fustrating. The majority of the people who frequent such sites as this are beyond "fish keepers". Terms like "addicts" seem to fit the majority far better and those that dont fit this description are more then likely coverd under "gone to far" or "there is no stopping him/her now" lol. We tend..or atleast i do, get a bit TO involved sometimes but i like to think its what makes us better then the 16 yr old at the local shop still stumblign over phrases like "they will only grow as big as the tank". anyway please accept my apologises its been a long holiday and a bit of miss placed fustration on my part.

thanx for your help...... i'm gonna look into bringing them back now...

If you can return one back to the LFS, then you may be advised to do so, especially before you get to attached to them both. A 60 gallon tank is going to be crowded with just the one oscar let alone two. A great fish, but needs a lot of space and as stated the minimum, for the fish to be comfortable would be a 75 gallon.

Jim

---

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

I would say a 75g long tank would be the best for one oscar.
You would really have to measure your tank. The measurement of width from front of the tank to the back
is most important. The fish needs to be able to completely turn around without touching the sides.
So, a 16 inch fish must have a minimum of 18 inches of width in which to turn around. That would be the best
suggestion I can offer.
I have seen some literally massive Oscars.
We know its not your fault Bratty - we have all been
victims of pet store lies and misinformation. Thats why we are all here!
If I were you, I would take your newfound knowledge, return to that pet store employee, remind them of the two oscars they sold you and then ask very nicely, how they could figure a 16 inch fish would be ok in a tank that measures 24x12x12? (30g)
Pet stores really work on the idea that you the customer want what you want, and they will sell it to you. They often dont educate their employees, and I know around here, retail experience gets you hired over and above knowledge, which is really wrong in my opinion. But they are a store, and their goal is sales.
Recently a fellow at a good fish only store, when seeing my intense fascination with an ornate bichir, said it would be perfectly fine in a 25g tall tank.
I politely turned to him and said no sir, I do not think a fish that grows to about 18-24 inches long would be suitable in any less than a 75 to 100 gallon tank.
How quickly they find they have to remove their foot from their mouths.
Anyway, Bratty, we just try to do our best here, and give the best advice we know as individuals and as a group. It can be incredibly frustrating when people refuse to listen, as happens all the time. Our success with our advice really depends on the persons willingness to listen.
I myself have had to return several unsuitable fish early in my fish keeping career due to store misinformation.
Its tough, but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and realize the fish you chose just arent suitable for your tank. Keeping a fish temporarily because you "maybe might possibly" upgrade later on doesnt really work. Either you will upgrade or you wont, dont make the fish suffer because of it.
Good luck!


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Ok so let's say for one minute that I bring one back... is a 60gal. enough for 1 oscar to live a long, happy and healthy life? I mean I do want the best for them and I don't think I can afford getting a bigger aquarium. If I did... you say 110 is the bare minimum..but it can be done right? I want all the best requirements for them if possible. I might have to rethink all this.. I do have the 2 week grace period to bring one fish back..

any information is greatly appreciated..thanx

"but if i notice their doing ok in it.. i might leave them"

this is the statement that says they arnt listening.
the problem with this is oscars are hardy. they can deal with alot of abuse. that doesnt mean they should be abused. what happens is you wont see issues till you wake up one morning and your left with one oscar instead of 2.

There will be fighting, if not then there will be a dominate fish takeing majority of the food and giving alot of abuse. stress and agrivation will ruin a fish. also might be stunting due to 2 very messy fish being crowded. cant see stunting visually till its an issue. These are things that will happen if they dont kill each other or get serious diseases due to stress.

Hole in the head due to bad water is also an issue. ulser on noses when they try to turn and bump the glass repeatidly. fin rot from nipped fins getting infected.

I'd like bratty_girl29 to come to my place and look at our 2 fully grown oscars in a 110 gal tank and think that a 60 gal could possibly be anything but terrible for these guys
I personally would say that the 110 gal is BARE minimum for 2 adult oscars and even then I know that our guys would be much happier in a larger tank

Please don't take what the pet store employee told you as the truth, alot of them tell you what you want to hear and don't care at all about the future welfare of what they're selling you.

Oscars are puppy dogs with fins and need to be happy to have a full life

[/font]

She said the pet store employee told her 60 was good for 2 oscars. This was before she was here. S-in-S She didn't ignore your advice but she didn't have that benifit when she bought the tank.
The 60 will be ok if it is temporary. But you will notice them outgrowing it sooner than you think though.

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

(sigh) 60g is to small for 2 oscars...this conversaton gets so old. its especielly annoying when your advise is ignored. someone else can talk sense im done.

thanx again for all your tips. So I do have them both in a 60 gal. I hate how the LFS will mislead you into thinking they can be housed together. bc the one employee did tell me that rule of thumb is 55g for 1... but 30g for one is ok as long as the aquarium is clean. She said this rule of thumb is mostly used bc of their waste, so as long as I feed them right and clean the tank properly every week or two, that they'll live a happy life.

I'll keep them in this until I can..if I can afford a bigger tank I will go for it...but if i notice their doing ok in it.. i might leave them. It's a 60gal high if that makes any difference lol.

and again....thank you SOOOOO much for your replies... and again....more if there are!

good site about oscars: http://www.theoscarspot.com/

ok the 1st mistake most people make is the tank size for oscars. oscars can become as long as 16 inches long but more often 12-14 inches. A 55g tank is 12 inches wide. Ever tried to have fun in a closet?? lol. 75g tank is perfect for a single oscar, has the wider base for easy turning and more room to swim and relativly little money difference between a 55g and a 75g.

The next mistake is thinking 2 oscars will keep each other company. IF they are a pair (male and female who chose each other) then this arangement often works. If they are just random fish chosen from a tank then its a 50/50 chance they are male/female and that doesnt garantee they will become a pair. The issues become apparent when they reach about 7 inches or so and become territorial. The will litterally kill each other in a small tank. I would suggest nothing smaller then a 125g for 2 oscars. 90g would be the smallest for a -pair-.

The next mistake is feeders. Feeders are an issue that most people dont ever associate with a sick oscar. Feeders can shorten the life of an oscar in alot of ways and yes this includes platies and home grown feeders.

Store bought is the worst. These things are comparable to you eating food at the waste removale plant (dump). FULL of disease, parasites, ect.

now your asking yourself what could be wrong with home grown feeders. Well oscars in the wild dont eat just fish. They eat anything that will fit in their mouth. This includes fish but isnt restricted to. So when you feed an oscar feeder for most of their life they miss alot of nutrition in their diet. This can lead to hole in the head (HTH) which is a serious apperance problem and can be deadly. it WILL lead to liver issues causing an early death. The list of problems just go on and on.

Feeders should be a treat but there are much better treats. Allways keep a varied diet.

a great staple food is "Hikari" cichlid pellets. has great nutrition. dont forget pellets expand as they get water logged in the stomach so you wanna prevent to much. either feed less then needed to prevent bloat or other issues or you can presoak the pellets in a cup. Oscars will eat themselves to death and enjoy it. Just watch what your doing and be smart about it.

Dont let the above scare you. oscars are very hardy and can deal with most problems. the above are problem you can prevent just by knowing they exist. Good filtration - good diet - and clean water. These will get your oscar to spend many yrs with you.

Hope this helps, the rest is up to you
Good luck and enjoy.

Sin

Platies are larger and way healthier than
guppies. Much less chance of passing on diseases
to your oscars.
And the two of them will soon need a tank 100G or larger.
They grow big fast, and get to 14 inches or more.
Great fish.
I would feed them a varied diet, flake, pellets,
bloodworms, tubifex worms, etc.
Live food isnt really necessary for these fish.
Crickets are super high in fat, so I would feed them
only as a treat on occassion.



Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Why are platies better than guppies?


______________
Cake or death?

Ok, you want to know about oscars...
I've raised several to a ripe old age of 8 or so LOL..
No longer keep them though... But have a few tips to share as they are still one of my fave fish.

You want 55g of tank per oscar minimum when full grown.
They appreciate excellent water quality..
Good filtration and a weekly water change which involves a shallow surface vac of the gravel.

Feeders are ok, but not store bought.
Raise your own, feed them nutritious foods only,
use platies, not guppies.

Yup, the cocktail shrimp they love..Hikari floating cichlid pellets. African cichlid flakes, spirulina flakes.
thawed and de-shelled frozen peas. (mush it some too)

Shrimp pellets, crickets, earthworms (washed) make nice treats.. Pieces of fish fillet too !

Large fake plants with a sturdy base only..
They'll rip up everything else.

Enjoy your oscars

The Amazon Nut...

for clownloach86.. my tank is a 60 gallon. Like I said I got mixed information for the LFS...the first employee told me 55 gallons for one..the second that advised to stay away from live told me 30 for one is good...so I could easily keep the 2 in it.

Thanks so much for the information.. I love knowing that these fish have personalities of their own.. I've had the Albino one for 2 days and the tiger for 1.. and they seem to be rubbing each other constantly.....following each other and always swimming over and under .. i'm wondering if i maybe have a female and a male. I know that it's all internal.. but i like to think they're in love haha No one tell me different hahaha

So they like vegetables then...and it's better to freeze it for them first??? I did notice that the albino oscar (his name is oscar lol) does go for the pellets alot more than the tiger oscar (ozzy)... but I did notice that today they seemed to be a little more responsive to me in my bedroom.

And a ping pong ball? really? That's cool.. Right now my setup in the aquarium is a big piece of driftwood with flat slate rocks piled and plastic plants... so they hide from time to time...and i also have a bubble wall in the back..and they love to lay against the back of the aquarium and let the bubbles float hehe

so again...thank you SOOOOOOOO much for all your suggestions, and again.....if anyone else has anything else to tell me or advise me...please do so!

bratty_Girl

I used to raise my own feeders for the oscars but that was another tank and another mess, so i went to the bait shop got night crawlers and minnows, the oscar loves it and it is relatively cheap with no hassle. Also i feed the oscar some vegetables, peas and carrots mushed together with a lil bit of garlic minsed up very fine almost invisible with a lil water so it freezes, good source of vitamins for the big O.Still they accept the dry foods the sinking pellets and the freeze dried bloodworm as well. Also tryin putting some toys in there for them to fool around with maybe a ping pong ball or 2 maybe some marbles that they wont swallow, the oscars love to play around.

tank size is important, as if ur new to oscars they are on my trap fish list, which often trap new fishkeepers and are not aware of their care/size needs.(not saying that this is you). but on topic...

they should be fine eatting dry good foods. give it a few days and they should start feeding the dry goods.

hi
I just recently bought two oscars, one albino and the other tiger. When I went to the LFS to buy the first one, the employee there told me I had no choice but to feed it live in about two months. I went the day after to purchase the second and the employee working that day told me I didn't if I didn't want too..that there could be parasytes and they would transfer to my fish.
My question is, can i keep an oscar for a long period of time and feed it only crickets and pellets... or is it much better to do the live? I'm just really tossed, and I want to do what's best for these guys.
any other suggestions or tips about owning oscars would be greaty appreciated.
bratty_girl