Oscar Tank Requirements

[HarpyFishLover]

Hello yet again,

I have a friend who's looking to buy an Oscar fish, who's also wondering what the absolute minimum requirements are for one. Until now, I have never done any research nor have I learned anything about Oscar fish, and so I can't help him.

Also, the friend's wife doesn't want him to buy a tank more than 10 gallons.... however, I DO know that Oscars are bigger than that. Thus the emphasis on "absolute minimum." Hopefully, I can let him know soon, so that he can put an Oscar on hold at the LFS.

 

[Toney]

I've got one in a 40, doing 50% water changes twice a week...

Working on the wife for a bigger tank for it.

 

[HarpyFishLover]

I've got one in a 40, doing 50% water changes twice a week...

Working on the wife for a bigger tank for it.

So is it a pain to keep in that size tank? Is (s)he giving out a lot of waste, thus the 50% WCs, or are those just an added precaution?

 

[Toney]

The nitrates in his tank can climb pretty high.

And there is all the poop, and he's a sloppy eater.

 

[Zante]

Well, consider an oscar will easily reach 10 inches, in some cases it can even reach 14 inches, and it will need at minimum room to move about. You can't exactly take it out for walks like a dog.

Also as Toney said, you need a volume of water that will be able to take the bioload of this nitrate factory without making water changes into a chore.

 

[fluttermoth]

The absolute minimum for an oscar would be a 4'x18"x18", which is around 250l/55 UK gallons/65 US gallons.

That's the size tank my last oscar went in; he was a rescue and it was the only tank I had that was anywhere near big enough. He was okay in there for a couple of years (he was only about three inches long when I got him), but I had to get a 5'x2'x2' for him in the end. Seeing him in the smaller tank made me very unhappy. It just wasn't big enough for him to move around properly and I honestly feel it would have been verging on cruel to keep him in there for his entire life.

Really, if you want to keep any animal properly, you shouldn't be thinking of absolute minimum sizes. You should be thinking of the best size to give the animal space to grow, move around and express its natural behaviours. For an oscar, that would be a 5'x2'x2', IMO.

As well as the length, you have to take bulk into account. Oscars are big fish, and they can be very messy eaters, so big tanks, big filters and big, regular water changes are the order of the day. Nitrate levels can easily spiral out of control, and long term exposure to high nitrate is now thought to be one of the causes of hole-in-the-head disease, so a good maintenance regimen is essential.

They're beautiful, intelligent fish. Our oscar could easily recognise my son and I, and the family's dogs (he ignored our dog, but went crazy when my mum's dogs visited; trying to bite them through the glass!). As they can live for well over 10 years, they really deserve the very best care and accommodation. If your friend can't provide that, then I would very strongly urge them to reconsider.

I know oscars are cheap and easily available in shops, but it's big commitment taking one on, if you're going to really look after it properly. There are loads of other characterful, friendly fish that don't need such huge amounts of time and space.

 

[flchamp89]

Had one for 12yrs in a 90

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[Hunterprey]

I'd say 75 gallon is a bare minimum. And no pointy decorations, they can be quite clumsy haha I have mine in a 180 with powerful filtration so he can have tankmates