# 120 gallon



## Swifterz (Aug 3, 2009)

i have a 120 gallon (60x24x18) and i am thinking of doing oscars.

the tank has pool filter sand for substrate, 2 large pieces of driftwood and a few large rocks.

right now i have:
rainbow shark 5"
3 clown loaches about 3" ea
3 synnodontis multipunctatus 4"ea
24 tiger barbs

could i 2 tiger oscars, 1 albino and one regular?
i would consider getting rid of the tiger barbs and instead getting maybe 8-10 giant danios, since the barbs would likely become food i think. and i may take back a firemouth i gave to a friend a while back, if he's compatible.


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## earled (Jan 3, 2013)

The problem with keeping 2 O's in a tank is, unless the tank is huge(250gallon or bigger) or you have a mated pair, they will most likely end up fighting.
Your tank is big enough for 2 Oscars, and probably the CL. I am not a fan of housing fish from different types of water together, so the synnodontis multipunctatus 
being from Lake Tanganyika, should probably not be housed with Oscars.

I'm pretty sure rainbow sharks get around 7-8" too

Giant Danios are great dither fish for Oscars


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## earled (Jan 3, 2013)

I have 2 juvie O's in a 90 gallon. They are about 4-5" long already starting to test each other. Lip-locking etc. I have to decide on which one I want and then find a home for the other.


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## Swifterz (Aug 3, 2009)

i really like the loaches. i know they grow really really slow though so are they candidates to become a snack as the oscar(s) shoot way past them in size? or will they not think of them as food since they will have been together for a long time?


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## earled (Jan 3, 2013)

At 3" the loaches should be fine. But it is an Oscar and they get big and can eat fairly large fish. Feed your O's well and it probably wont be a problem


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## Swifterz (Aug 3, 2009)

is 3 too many for a 120 if i were to get rid of just about everything else? maybe just like 3 O's and 8 or so giant danios. i don't think i can get rid of the rainbow shark under any circumstances. we've had him since my son was an infant. he's 7 now.


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## earled (Jan 3, 2013)

no, 3 is to many.I would just get 1 O and keep the rainbow shark and get some dither fish.


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## Swifterz (Aug 3, 2009)

earled said:


> no, 3 is to many.I would just get 1 O and keep the rainbow shark and get some dither fish.


i really want one regular and one albino tiger oscar if it's possible. i'd be getting them at around 3-4".


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## earled (Jan 3, 2013)

Then I would just keep the Rainbow shark and the O's


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## earled (Jan 3, 2013)

I know it seems like there arent many fish in the tank, but those 3-4" O's will get over 12" and weigh over 3lbs. This happens faster than you think and then you have a very overstocked
tank. Think about how you would feel if you were locked in a small bedroom with somebody. Couldn't get away from him and had to spend all your time there, forever. How happy would you be? Treat your fish
like you would want to be treated. The fish will be much happier and HEALTHIER. They are living creatures and should be kept properly.

What is your maintenance schedule?


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## Swifterz (Aug 3, 2009)

i definitely won't get 3 then. i've been doing 30-40% every saturday. this was with an extremely heavily stocked malawi hap/peacock setup. i have three HOB filters rated for 90gallons/400gph each.


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## earled (Jan 3, 2013)

That sounds like a good WC schedule. Oscars are super messy, so you will probably need to increase WC volumes for O's. Seems like half of the food they eat exits their gills and makes a mess. Feed a varied diet starting with a quality pellet. I feed crickets, earthworms, peas, carrots, raw shrimp and tilipia, and hikari frozen krill. Since I feed fairly heavily I do big water changes. I have an fx5 and 2 emperor 280's for my filtration. No carbon just biological filtration.


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## Swifterz (Aug 3, 2009)

have any pictures or youtube videos?

thanks for your help


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## earled (Jan 3, 2013)

Sorry no pics or video of tank. One of my O's is albino and the other is lutino.

Sounds like your on your way to keeping O's the right way. They are awesome fish with great personalities. Remember a healthy Oscar is a hungry Oscar. :dancing:


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