# Thinking about an Oscar...



## Snailbait (Jul 24, 2012)

Hi there,

I'm new to the forum, but I've been lurking around reading things for a bit. I wouldn't say that I'm a hugely experienced fish keeper, but not a total novice either and I have been doing my research (...still have plenty to do) and have kept several types of fish before. The usual goldfish or 20, and then we moved on to some tropical fish but eventually sold them as the tank took up too much room. I also kept/bred Axolotls for a number of years and have a very good understanding of tank cycling etc. and am keen to get things right the first time around. 

Anyway, I haven't kept any big aquariums for ages and am dying to get one again! Now I wish we still had the 6ft tank we sold. :roll: I do have a little tank at the moment, it just has some tiny fish I caught in my creek. They're really boring little things though, and so dull to look at. I've had them for nearly a year now and I must say they are hardy little things that require hardly any care. I feed them and keep the tank clean, that's about it. :zz: Boring!

Back on topic - I was at a LFS a few months ago and they had a big Tiger Oscar in there. I fell in love with him instantly, he was so cute. He'd follow me back and forth in his tank and seemed so friendly. ( I hope he got a knowledgable owner if he's not there anymore.)

So, ever since then I've been trying to read up as much as I can on these fish. So far I've just managed to make myself even more uncertain. I keep reading conflicting opinions and decided I should just come here and ask my questions directly.

First question is about keeping them in general. Are they considered a difficult fish to own? Do they (assuming they are correctly cared for) develop many health problems? I don't want to get attached to my fish only to have him randomly die on me. 

Tank mates - the question every one asks. :wink: I'm uncertain here as I keep reading completely different opinions. Some people say you should only keep one Oscar, others say two is fine if they grow up together and have enough space. Which one is it? I don't yet know if I'd want to keep two of them, but would like to know the answer anyway. What about other fish? Again, I have read so many different opinions. I'd like to put something else in the tank, I like catfish, pleco type things.  Are there any of these that could be kept with an Oscar? (I'm in Australia.) Assuming I have a large tank (sorry, not quite sure what size it'll be yet) with plenty of hidey holes etc. how many would you recommend? I _definitely_ don't want to go overboard with too many fish. Ideally, my tank would contain one Oscar and maybe say... 5? other things? Is this way too many?

Substrate - what do _you_ use? I used sand with my Axolotls (they swallow gravel) and found it reasonably easy to clean, but I'm assuming a large Oscar would be more messy. Opinions?

I have loads more to ask, but will leave it at this for now.

Thanks in advance!


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## Phill0046 (Nov 9, 2011)

The first questiin would be what size tank are you going to be using? That would have a lot to do with what you can put with him


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## smitty (May 7, 2004)

The thing with Oscars is that they can be messy eaters. You can not allow metabolic waste to build in there tank because it can cause hole in the head. But none of that should be an issue if you are going to be responsible and stay up on water changes.


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## alexisonfire92 (Apr 10, 2009)

i have the same question about tank mates. i have a 60gal.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

alexisonfire92 said:


> i have the same question about tank mates. i have a 60gal.


Dimensions? If this is 12" wide, I might think about either a larger tank, or a different fish than Oscars.


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## Zombie Cichlid (Jun 26, 2012)

Alright, so i've been keeping Oscars for some years now and i love them.
They are amazing pets but require more work than any other cichlid, mostly because they get huge(10" inchs) and they eat A LOT, therefore too much waste on the water making nitrites and nitrates to raise and cause hole in the head disease.
If you don't do water changes every week and you don't feed properly your Oscar (which means NO FEEDERS) he will die with HITH in less than 1 year (in good condition they live 10 years or more).
Feed him Hikari Gold Pellets, bloodworms and frozen fish, that way they will grow health and well. Avoid feeders as their nutritional values are questionable and they are the main cause of lethal HITH in your Oscar.
For a 60 gallon aquarium i'd put 1 pleco(to clean the algae) 1 raphael catfish(to clean the grave) and just 1 Oscar, you can't put anything else for 2 main reasons, first, there is not enough space so when they'll grow they will fight and kill each other, second, too much waste and not enough filtration, they will die out of HITH. Forget tank mates, stick to 1 Oscar, 1 pleco and 1 rapahel and you'll be alright.
To have tank mates with your Oscar your fish tank must be at least 100 gallons or more, then you can add 1 severum and 1 silver dollar for example, they are good tank mates to Oscar 'cause they have the same aggressiveness levels.
Example of populations:
60 gallon: 1 oscar, 1 pleco, 1 raphael;
100 gallon: 1 oscar, 1 severum, 1 silver dollar, 1 pleco, 1 raphael;
225 gallon: 1 oscar, 1 severum, 1 silver dollar, 1 geophagus jurupari, 1 blood parrot, 1 shot body flowerhorn, 1 pleco, 1 raphael;
I would not recommend put 2 or more Oscars together because if you get two males (you can't know the sex for sure) they will kill each other, and mostly 'cause 1 oscar produces a lot of waste but 2 oscars produces a lot more, keeping 2 oscar will most certainly oblige you to do water changes twice a week and even so it might not work if you get 2 males.
For further information please read:
viewtopic.php?f=53&t=120976
and
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/oscar_cichlid.php
Welcome to the forum


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## berbie38 (Jul 22, 2011)

Hi
just to add to this topic I have a 50 gallon tank which has mbuna in it and am now upgrading to a 120 gallon, the mbuna are starting to outgrow it and i realise that i should have had a bigger tank to start off with. Do you think it would be ok to keep an oscar in the 50 gallon with something else maybe or is the tank too small?
regards
berbie


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