Which is easier.....Oscar's or Angelfish?

Question

I have a 40 gallon tank that used to house 5 Bala sharks and we lost them after a move. :( we had them for about 3 years.
Which is easier to keep?
Which is more interesting to keep?
The Ph in my tank is pretty low....it's 6.4. Ive tried raising it but had no luck. I have white gravel in the bottom with a whisper power filter & also a big decorative piece in the middle of the tank that looks like a sunken roman collesium.

What is your experience with these fish??

Answer 1

I would go with angels for them being hardy, alot more then oscars, but i think oscars are fun watching when they eat. Especialy goldfish, also they look nice as they patrol the tank. I think you could probaly fit 2-3 oscars in that tank max, while you could put 47 angles in that tank

Answer 2

With a forty gallon tank, an oscar would probably be a better choice, given adequate filtration. Oscars tend to thrive in tanks with fewer, larger decorations; everything else will be torn up. Angelfish do best in tanks with abundant plants, especially ones with vertical stems. They also tend to be a bit more sensitive to water conditions. Also, keep your pH where it is-both these fish thrive in slightly acidic water.

Edit: Btw, Zoe is correct in saying that an Oscar would be a bit cramped in a forty gallon tank- I had one only because my tank was quite mature, and the oscar was not yet full grown.

Answer 3

I replied to your other post, but with a 40 gal your only choice is angelfish. Personally, I prefer angels. They're a little easier to care for (you can get away with just feeding them flake food and some frozen bloodworms/brine shrimp as a treat - variety is always good though!) whereas oscars require a lot of variety in their diet (cichlid pellets as a staple, complemented with feeder fish, insects, earthworms, beefheart).

Also, oscars are bigger, meaning you can have fewer fish. A 60 gallon tank could house 4-5 angelfish, but just barely one oscar. Oscars are also aggressive fish. Angelfish can be expected to eat any fish small enough to fit in their mouths (this included young neon tetras), but they can be kept with larger tetras and a variety of other community fish. Oscars can pretty much only be kept with oscars of the same size (they will eat smaller oscars).

You could also likely breed your angels. Get a group of 6 youngsters... Eventually you two will decide they 'like' each other and pair off ;) you can sell the rest, and breed the two you have. Angelfish are good parents and will raise their own fry.

Edit: Kevin, you can get away with putting an Oscar in a 40 gallon... but you shouldn't :) An oscar will live, yes, but he'll never thrive and will never grow to his full size. He will also pollute the water much more quickly... and oscars are surprisingly sensitive to poor water quality. If anyone would like to see some more info regarding this, please see:
http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/cichlids_neotropical/oscars.htm (minimum 50 gallons)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_(fish) (55-75 gallon)
http://www.solodvds.com/oscar-fish/oscar_fish.htm (at least 70 gallons for a pair -which doesn't mean that one fish only needs half that ;))
http://www.wheelchairanglingandhamradio.co.uk/tropfish.htm (125 gal for a pair)
http://www.oscarfish.com/ (over 55 gallons)
etc etc etc :)

Answer 4

Put it this way - you can provide a pretty nice environment for Angels, or you can provide a tiny cubical for an Oscar, and only have one fish, which, despite the charm of Oscars, gets pretty boring.

Answer 5

you can keep other fishes with angels...

you can only keep oscars with an oscar. (maybe another aggressive south american cichlid but you'd have to research on the compatibility)