Oscar help.?

Question

I have been thinking about getting an oscar but first I have a few questions. Any help would be appreciated. Will only one oscar do o.k. by itself? If one will be fine by itself what is the minimum size of tank I should put it in. Finally what kind of oscar would you reccommend?

Answer 1

Anything bigger than a 55 gallon aquarium is good. 55 is too small because the fish eventually gets longer than the width of the tank & it becomes a pain for them to turn around. You will need two filters instead of one (10 gallons per hour per gallon is ideal filtration with oscars). They're very messy eaters & will leave corpse parts everywhere. They're great fun though. They require more frequent water changes than some other fish to keep from getting sick. I think they're worth it. They're very odd creatures and they have more personality than any other freshwater fish.

One is fine by itself, but it will sulk if you don't give it something to kill every once and a while.

Mine jump out of the water & eat krill out of my hands.

I prefer the plain tiger oscar (black & red) or just plain old oscar (sometimes called zebra oscar, black & white) variety. They don't require as much selective inbreeding to acquire the color traits, and as a result, they're often healthier, more aggressive fish that exhibit more of the behaviors that people buy oscars for.

btw, don't get any real plants with oscars... they like to redecorate and sometimes throw temper tantrums. Also, get a plastic or steel heater like the stealth series. Many oscars like to ram heaters when they get bored & can break the glass ones.

Also, they grow really fast. don't be surprised if they grow 1/2 an inch every month.

Answer 2

Oscars must be by themselves, or with one other as a mating pair. They'll kill anything else when they are grown. The minimum tank size for one is 75 gallons. All oscar varieties are the same species, so it doesn't matter which color you get. They are very messy, make sure you have a good filter. Some oscar owners do water changes daily to keep up with the ammonia they produce and keep the fish healthy. The smaller the tank, the more maintenence you will have to do.

Answer 3

Yes, one Oscar would definitely be okay by itself. They are really awesome fish! You need at least 55 gallons per each Oscar, so one Oscar in a 55 gallon tank would be fine. =) Good luck! I think Tiger Oscars look nice, but I am a sucker for the Albino Oscars! They are so cute!

PS- Actually Tammy, you can have more than one Oscar in a proper sized tank. We actually have 2 in our 125 gallon tank and they love each other. If two Oscars in one tank result in death, where do baby Oscars come from?

Answer 4

The simple answers: Yes, one does fine by itself, they can only be kept with another one if they are an established mate. Minimum sized tank is 60 gallons, and go with whatever Oscar you like, they're all the same other then color and markings. Just don't get any of those nasty dyed ones.

If you really want to learn about these fish, here you are:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/oscar_cichlid.php

Answer 5

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Answer 6

1 oscar.... you can have other cichlids but more than 1 oscar will result in one death.. i have an albino tiger and i got him about 9 months ago he was the size of my thumb tip and he is now the size of my 2 hands together.. and in a 55 gallon along with a parrot head cichlid. good luck

Answer 7

I had to v.v.v. large oscars and became totally fed up with them. Bad move on my part.

They caught some sort of fungus thingy. I spent a fortune treating them to no avail, they thrashed around the acquarium, water on the floor, a general pain in the posterior!!

We became so annoyed with the whole process, and then found out how to uthenize them. Burried them under a rose bush.

Good riddance.

Adopted a kitty instead.

Answer 8

none they are very messy and greedy fish. if you want a nasty aquarium all the time go for it. they eat any and everthing and they love to eat comets(little live goldfish) and they sometimes don't eat the whole thing and you will have half of a dead fish floating around in the water...