# kind of noobish question sorry



## Fergee54 (Apr 10, 2009)

I have a 46 gallon bow front tank. I was thinking about getting a Tiger Oscar but is that like a definite no? I saw a recommended 55 gallon tank suggestion but would 46 be out of the question?


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## ScoobyRacing03 (Mar 1, 2009)

Most people on here will tell you no it won't work no way no how. To them I disagree. Yes it can work, yes you fish can be happy and yes your fish can live a long healthy life too. Make sure you have enough filtration for them and regular water changes and give them a good variety of food. 
What part of Illinois are you from I'm originally from the Aurora Naperville area myself.


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## earth intruder (Oct 14, 2008)

What are the dimensions of the tank?

I would be inclined to say no, it won't work no matter what the dimensions are, but if the tank isn't very long, that would be an even stronger "no."


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I too would be inclined to say no. definately no. I know how big 46 bow fronts are, and definately no. Unless you like stunted oscars. You'd have to do atleast 20% water changes every other day on order for it to not be stunted. Would you like being crammed into a small space like that?


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

i kept an oscar in a 30gallon long for a year and a half, he reached about 9'' and was a beautiful fish, he was always happy and always came to greet me when i was in the room. Unfortunatly i decided to start over and bought a 55 and a whole new bunch of cichlids who i plan to grow out. I traded him in at my LFS and they told me that he was one of the best looking oscars they have gotten from a trade in. it worked just fine for me, but if you want to listen to everyone else just get a swimming pool and throw him in there.


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## earth intruder (Oct 14, 2008)

No offense to anyone intended, but I feel like those who recommend very small tank sizes may be unaware of the fish's natural behaviors that they'd be observing in a larger tank. So, the fish may appear happy to them, but to someone who has kept that same species in a much larger tank, behaviors indicative of contentment will be lacking. Once you go larger, it becomes harder to go back in good conscience.


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## moto_master (Jun 23, 2006)

My opinion is in the middle. I say it will work fine, especially at first when they're small. But when they start getting bigger I'd suggest getting a larger tank. Oscars can easily get 12 inches long, and there are some stories of them getting to 18 inches. As if being in a cage your whole life wasn't bad enough, the least you can do is give them a tank that they can turn around in with out having to bend their tail... Just my opinion.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

9" at a year and a half old is a bit small in my experience. A bit stunted in fact. Stunting shortens a fishes life. Hence, getting the proper sized tank.

I'm not saying get a pool, but if you could, do it. The bigger the better. I would, and have.

In my *opinion* a standard 55 gallon or four square feet of swim space is the absolute minimum for an oscar. BUT bigger is better in my EXPERIENCE.


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

I'm not saying go with a smaller tank, all im saying is that you can have him in a smaller tank if you cant afford/dont have room for a bigger, and he'd be ok. And if he gets too big for your likeing then upgrade or trade him in. I'd put him in my indoor river if i had one, but i dont!


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## under_control (Jan 9, 2008)

cichlidfeesh said:


> I'm not saying go with a smaller tank, all im saying is that you can have him in a smaller tank if you cant afford/dont have room for a bigger, and he'd be ok. And if he gets too big for your likeing then upgrade or trade him in. I'd put him in my indoor river if i had one, but i dont!


If you can't afford(which is ****. You could sell that 46 and get a used 75 for the price, or bigger(craigslist, classifieds...)) then DON'T force the fish to live in what you can provide.

Say you can't afford to buy the right size kennel for your choc lab. Instead you put it in your old beagle's kennel. THe lab will prob be SOOooooo happy to see you when you take him out. He might even look great. Does that mean it is good for them?


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## earth intruder (Oct 14, 2008)

cichlidfeesh said:


> I'm not saying go with a smaller tank, all im saying is that you can have him in a smaller tank if you cant afford/dont have room for a bigger, and he'd be ok.


If you can't afford or don't have room for a fish, you shouldn't get that fish. There are plenty of fish to choose from, and there are always cool fish that will fit in the tank you _can_ afford.


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

Well im not going to win this one so i only have one thing left to say.If you plan on getting an oscar, plan on upgrading your tank to meet his needs


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## ScoobyRacing03 (Mar 1, 2009)

cichlidfeesh said:


> Well im not going to win this one so i only have one thing left to say.If you plan on getting an oscar, plan on upgrading your tank to meet his needs


typical case of people know it all. same with any forum. if it doesn't meet what they think is right you are wrong no matter what.

First of all sorry about the image quality pictures are rather old, digital cameras weren't that great back then and well I really didn't have much luck getting good pic with that cam of fish. but here are my 3 Oscars in a 30 gallon long, not stunted in growth at all. Each of them were ~11" each and a pleco of about ~15" The Oscars lived for over 9 years in that tank the Pleco was still alive after 14 years when I gave him to a pet store before I moved from the Chicago area down here. I also had a black convict in the tank with them for a number of years as seen in the first pic and in the last pic there was a Jack Dempsey in there too both were much smaller than the Oscars but they all got along.
To those saying they are caged up, so are the fish guys fish in his 1600 gallon tank still not as big as the waters they come from in nature and guess what they act different in the wild than they do in any size tank. And really what dog is happy in any size cage? Nope that I have ever seen.


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## earth intruder (Oct 14, 2008)

ScoobyRacing03 said:


> typical case of people know it all. same with any forum. if it doesn't meet what they think is right you are wrong no matter what.


I'm not trying to be a know it all, I'm just an LFS employee who sees the results of people buying fish they can't afford daily, and it's not pretty.


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## under_control (Jan 9, 2008)

JUST BECAUSE YOU DID SOMETHING DOES NOT MEAN THE FISH WERE HAPPY OR HEALTHY. Just because you did something does not make it right or that you should recommend it.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

under_control said:


> JUST BECAUSE YOU DID SOMETHING DOES NOT MEAN THE FISH WERE HAPPY OR HEALTHY. Just because you did something does not make it right or that you should recommend it.


Exactly. Case closed


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