# First Oscar (kept by myself)



## cannibal.prodigy (May 23, 2014)

I hope this is in the right section. I didn't see any general discussion or welcome post areas. Anyway, my name is Christina and I have been keeping various aquariums for about three and a half years now. I've dabbled with all sorts of fish on my own, as well as been part of a family that has typically always had one sort of fish or other. My bio-dad kept several tanks from the time I was a toddler. I'll never forget the 12 inch monster of an oscar he kept in my bedroom. It is the first fish I can remember, and I loved that beast with all my heart. He's also kept goldfish, tropical fish, and ponds. My adopted parents also had a koi pond with a 17" butterfly koi that was absolutely stunning.

I myself started with a single goldfish, moved up to tropical schooling fish and finally a marine tank. Now I've decided to break myself into the world of medium-large cichlids because I feel more comfortable with myself. My current cichlid set up is 75g, kept right around 79.5-80.5 degrees with an canister filter (Marineland C-360) and a shatter-proof heater that I'm looking to change when my oscar gets a little larger. (Any suggestions would be very helpful!)

Current stock: 1 x Oscar, 1 x Jack Dempsey, 4 x Silver Dollars. I'm looking to add a medium to large pleco at one point, but other than the pleco I am done adding fish.

Stopped cycling and added my fish May 11th.









{Leo on May 12th}

















{Leo on May 17th}

When I picked up my oscar, he had some interesting black hints on his fins that have already gotten darker since I first got him. I was worried he was getting nitrate burns and checked my levels (only with the easy test strips, so I don't have a precise reading) and neither the nitrate or nitrite levels are up. So I don't know what his 'deal' is. Has anyone had an albino/lutino (I think (s)he is lutino) oscar with darker patterns? Is this typical?









{Leo & Django on May 17th}

So far, I've had no issues with the JD or the Oscar. The JD has taken up 'residence' on the right side of the tank, and the oscar has claimed the left side-- and a little of the right. I know this might-could change as they age, but I'm hoping that growing up together will keep them civil. As for the silver dollars, they both like to chase them off of their 'property' but haven't done any damage and the chasing isn't relentless or violent. Also, something I know could change in a heartbeat. The funniest thing I've seen, is one of the silver dollars swimming towards the oscar and the oscar high tailing away in terror. So far, I haven't seen any acts of over-aggression. Normal spats.

The tank is currently in a very 'ideal' state. I've got 'pretty' decorations that I know won't stand up to the oscar once he gets larger, but that's alright. I'll re-decorate accordingly in the future. I have a ton of bubbling accessories, four in total. Does oxygenation help out at all, as far as water quality goes? Right now I'm keeping a very close eye on my levels (checking every other day) and am definitely not looking for an 'easy' way out. Just curious on whether the bubbles make a difference at all, or just look pretty. Also, another kinda 'pointless' question-- all the JDs I've seen at that size are usually really light in color. Why is my JD darker? Just the luck of the draw?

TL;DR--
What's a good 'oscar-proof' heater?
My Oscar has black patterns on his fin that are getting darker, nitrate & nitrite levels are 0-very low. Natural, or something to worry about?
Albino? Lutino? What is the difference, and which is my oscar?
My Jack Dempsey is darker than the ones I've seen for sale online, what's up with that?


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## aicardi (Sep 15, 2012)

If you are planning on keeping this stock long term you are going to need a much larger tank.


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## cannibal.prodigy (May 23, 2014)

aicardi said:


> If you are planning on keeping this stock long term you are going to need a much larger tank.


Why yes, I do intend on keeping the stock long term. I don't purchase a fish unless that is the case. I've always been very modest with my stocking choices. (2 clownfish in a 75g, 2 white skirt tetra & 2 red eye tetra in a 10g, 1 veil tail goldfish in a 20g.)

When my goldfish died unexpectedly a month and a half ago, I decided that while I find goldfish aesthetically pleasing, they aren't my favorite. So I switched my clownfish into my 20g and started cycling the 75g for freshwater. My 75g is a few years old and came with a very basic stand. I am currently setting aside $50 a week from my paycheck, and this is my 'I want a giant, beautiful tank' fund. The goal is to have enough money in six or so months so that I might have my dream tank. If I had my druthers, 200g but I'll probably end up at 125-150g.


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## aicardi (Sep 15, 2012)

A 125 would do nice for the Oscar and JD. Oscar, JD, shoal of 4 Silver Dollars, and a Pleco you need a 300 at least for long term.


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## cannibal.prodigy (May 23, 2014)

aicardi said:


> A 125 would do nice for the Oscar and JD. Oscar, JD, shoal of 4 Silver Dollars, and a Pleco you need a 300 at least for long term.


I don't currently have a pleco, I can nix that plan. My only thought was that it would be nice to have for substrate foraging/stirring.

O, JD, 4 SD in 125?


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## aicardi (Sep 15, 2012)

According to this, I'm conservative.  
http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-Silver-Dollar-Fish

I do know both Oscars and silver dollars get big. They aren't slow growers either. The 12" Oscar you were referring to as a monster is really not that big for an Oscar. 
I would think a 125 would do fine for a good while.


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## cannibal.prodigy (May 23, 2014)

aicardi said:


> According to this, I'm conservative.
> http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-Silver-Dollar-Fish
> 
> I do know both Oscars and silver dollars get big. They aren't slow growers either. The 12" Oscar you were referring to as a monster is really not that big for an Oscar.
> I would think a 125 would do fine for a good while.


Trust me, to a six year old girl, a foot long fish definitely seemed like a monster. (Especially when I'd go to a friend's house, and they would excitedly show me their guppies or goldfish.) My bio-dad raised three more oscars after that, one reached 15" and he had to find a new home for it because it just wasn't happy in the size tank he could afford. Not sure what happened to the other two. My bio-dad was a huge believer in over-stocking, I definitely see that now that I've gotten into the hobby myself.

Thank you for the link, I didn't visit that site. When I chose the small school of silver dollars, I based my choice off the following 2 articles:

http://www.oscarfishlover.com/keeping-silver-dollars-members-articles-114
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/silverdollarspacus/p/silvedollar.htm

Guess this is just another case of 'should have done even more research' because I really thought the six fish was a modest-fair stocking. Oh well, hopefully the SDs stay on the smaller size, and then they'll all do very well together when I upgrade.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Welcome to the forum Christina!

There used to be a sub forum for Oscars only here. If you use the 'search' function on the home page you can find tons of info from older posts. I'm not sure on the color variety you have, but perhaps you could find answers in the search.

aicardi touched on tank size and it's good that you're prepared for the eventual size of your O. A 125 would be the minimum size tank, IMO, for an Adult Oscar.

I'm a bit concerned about your test results. How did you cycle the tank? What is your ammonia? The 0 nitrate reading indicates a tank that is not cycled or has just had a 100% water change. Then again, test strips are unreliable. Best to get your hands on a kit that has the liquid droppers and test tubes.


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## cannibal.prodigy (May 23, 2014)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Welcome to the forum Christina!
> 
> There used to be a sub forum for Oscars only here. If you use the 'search' function on the home page you can find tons of info from older posts. I'm not sure on the color variety you have, but perhaps you could find answers in the search.
> 
> ...


Well, I'd never done it on quite this scale before, but way back when I first started I upgraded my veil tail goldfish from a 10g to a 20g after about six months. When I did that, I took all of the filtration 'stuff' from my 10g filter that came with the box kit I bought from Walmart, and squeezed it into my new and larger filter. I also soaked the 'stuff' in the water and left it in the tank for a week. At that time, I had the goldfish in the 20g for the entire process which was probably not the best way to go about it, in hindsight. I just checked my levels daily, did water changes if I noticed either the nitrite/nitrate levels shifting and everything worked out for three years until my goldfish died a month and a half ago. He or she had managed to wedge themselves into a precarious spot, and was already gone by the time I found them.

That is when I decided to convert my 75g marine into a freshwater, and downgraded my 2 clownfish into my 20g. At that point, I bought a new filter for the clownfish, and had a ton of 'beneficial goo' in my canister filter to put in their new filter. After I salvaged what I could from the canister, I cleaned it out with regular water (I have a well, no chemicals or treatments) and dumped what I could from my goldfish's old filter into the canister filter and let it percolate (so to speak) for about five weeks before adding first the Oscar and JD, then the silver dollars about five days later.

Now, my nitrate levels are not at 0. According to my strips, my nitrite is at 0, My nitrate is around .5 and my ammonia is also .5.

Are those ideal levels, or was my cycling not effective?  Like I said, I've been checking the levels every other day since adding the fish, and haven't seen a change. I also just performed my first water change about 3 days ago (30%)

Should I be concerned?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

The ammonia is a concern, yes. Nitrate of .5 is very low but I'm not familiar with test strips so much. A very low reading would be 5 ppm.

What did you dump from the goldfish filter into the canister? Just dirty water?


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## cannibal.prodigy (May 23, 2014)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> The ammonia is a concern, yes. Nitrate of .5 is very low but I'm not familiar with test strips so much. A very low reading would be 5 ppm.
> 
> What did you dump from the goldfish filter into the canister? Just dirty water?


If I am reading the instructions right, the measurements on the chart are in ppm. So .5ppm Nitrate and .5ppm Ammonia, and 0ppm Nitrite. Or maybe 0-20ppm actually, it changes color just slightly, but it's not enough to be considered the second block up. First block is 0ppm, second block is 20ppm. The first block is beige, the second is blush pink. it's got a tint of pink, but isn't bright enough to be at the second block's level, if this makes any sense.

You're right, I need to just get the vial test and learn how to use it. I've always used the test strips and as long as everything stayed in the 'safe' zones, I never worried.  Just when I think I've got a decent handle on this hobby, I realize there is so much to learn.

What I took from the goldfish tank was the insides of an Aquaclear external filter. The 50 model that is for 20g-50g. It packed a bit of a punch at the outtake (and would send the goldfish for a ride when he ventured under), but I figured with a goldfish's bio-load, the extra filtration power couldn't hurt. If you are unfamiliar with Aquaclear filters, they have three levels. At the bottom is a rough sponge-like foam filter, followed by a bag of charcoal and topped off with a bag of Aquaclear 'biomax'.










I dumped all of the water that was in the filter into the canister, along with some water I saved from the 20g tank. I squeezed out all that I could from the sponge layer, and even 'rinsed' it in the actual tank when I filled it with water to try and get everything out that I could. Then I did the same with the bag of carbon and rinsed the biomax in the tank too and let it sit at the bottom.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

If the sponge or media from the AC filter was not used, and only water and squeezings, then it's highly likely that you most definitely have an uncycled tank.


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## cannibal.prodigy (May 23, 2014)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> If the sponge or media from the AC filter was not used, and only water and squeezings, then it's highly likely that you most definitely have an uncycled tank.


I let the biomax sit in the tank the entire five weeks it was cycling, as for the sponge and carbon I 'cleaned' them in the tank water rather vigorously.

But if that wasn't enough, and the tank was uncycled before the introduction of fish, I'm day 11 with no spikes. I suppose all I can do now is keep a very close eye on it?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

When you cycled, were you adding a food source for your bacteria?


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## cannibal.prodigy (May 23, 2014)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> When you cycled, were you adding a food source for your bacteria?


Whoops, yeah! I should have mentioned that. I used the leftover goldfish food I had, that pellet kind from Tetra if memory serves. Maybe I didn't use enough?


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## cannibal.prodigy (May 23, 2014)

Oops, and I just did another water test. I had my nitrate and nitrite mixed up. My Nitrate is between 0-20ppm and my Nitrite is at .5ppm. And ammonia is still at .5ppm. No change.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Your nitrate reading will be inaccurate when there is nitrite present in the tank. But certainly tough to tell with strips. If there is that much ammonia present then I'd suggest at least a 50% water change.

Using a product like Seachem Prime will remove chlorine/chloramine but also binds up ammonia, detoxifying it.


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## cannibal.prodigy (May 23, 2014)

I'll pick up the vial test kid and the Seachem Prime or whatever equivalent I can find, and I'll do a 50% water change right now. Thanks for the advice and the suggestions!


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