Am I On The Right Track?

[markandhisfish]

for now cheech and chong have the 120g to themselves ( they look lost lol ) all i plan on adding is a catfish for the bottom.

few quaestions tho

im keeping them at 26 degrees is that about right ? ive read anywhere from 25 to 30 depending on what website it is . an experienced opinion would be good tho. plan on doing 2 30% waterchanges a week

feeding . im trying to keep it as varied as possible . at the moment they get. morning cooked shelled peas , afternoon live mealworms , evening hikari cichlid staple pellets . i also plan on introducing some prawn and earthworms ito their diet and frozen krill. and when they are big enough they will get crickets as a treat anything i should be adding/omitting?

another thing thats bugging me is the guy in the shop said they had 8 in and the other 6 grew a lot more than these as these were the least dominant out of the bunch . can i still expect good growth rates with them now they have no competition or will they be slow?

any other general advice/tips from experienced oscar keepers greatly appreciated thanks .

 

[walkers101]

they will grow mate now there is no challenge the only thing you might have to watch out for when they are a bit older is they might contantly fight if they are both males

every oscar i have owned has done well in 26

 

[markandhisfish]

cool , sounds like im doing things right . im planning on trying to replicate the natural diet of insects crustations etc as far as possible and back it up with good quality pellets.

i hope they do continue to get on when they get bigger as it would be a shame to have to split em up they make quite the double act

 

[walkers101]

Yeah i know what you mean the last pair i had were fine together for a few months then all hell broke loose

the prevoius pair at 12" each were fine untill one day one flared at the other then it was a fight to the death

you will leanr to understand them mate they have a mindset of a 15 year old chav if they want to destroy something they will untill it either destroyed or they kill themselves in the process

my dad has had 6 oscars in his lifetime and over 20 heaters lol work that one out

they will move rocks filter intake/outtakes crush heaters spit gravel at you you name it they will do it its all part of the love for them

my 12" pair used to push the bogwood around into each others terratories a sort of fish version of pong

 

[markandhisfish]

thats my only woorry for these 2 . at the moment they are best of buds , but at 2 inches in a 129g tank they are 2 little fish in a big pond. hopefuly they will be male and female , but im not willing to vent them to find out as i think thats too stressful for them and a tad on the cruel side .

 

[walkers101]

just leave them too it mate if they are happy now then great you might get lucky
i dont wanna put a downer on things imo they are the best fish by far to keep

 

[minxfishy]

Temp is fine, personally Ive found that at higher temps they tend to get more ansty, so unless you needed to raise it, for ich for example, then I would leave it around 24-26c. They dont appreciate low temps either, they can become lethargic in lower than 22c and they definately dont like large cold water changes that lower the temp quickly. I do 2 x 50% w/c a week on my tank with the two in, purely because the amount of poop that builds up, quickly, but I also have a plec in there too which doesnt help.

The feeding seems fine, more pellet based than anything, with the occassional treat of the frozen/live and people recommend once a week some peas to aid their digestion, however, I rarely bother with peas, usually because I find they get spat out Cant say Ive had a problem with constipation in Oscars.

Good quality food and water changes help greatly in their growth, they will grow, quickly as said approx 1" monthly up to around 5-6" then slow to around 8" then even slower to full growth. Hopefully you will find they get on for life, but its always the same with cichlids, only time will tell, the two I have currently have been together since they were weeny and frankly stay side by side, I know for sure one is female (seen her tube) the other no idea, hopefully male but another female would be fine too, if they are seperated they become very upset, even if one cant find the other in the tank, til they see each other again, then they go all lovey dovey, rubbing up each other etc.

 

[markandhisfish]

im thinking 2 30% waterchanges a week with a clean of the sand as and when it needs it . will up the amount of water i change as they grow . hope my 2 turn out like yours minx i bet they are a pleasure to own

 

[markandhisfish]

not interested in their breakfast this morning awkward little oiks!

 

[star4]

They will grow. Chops was just 5" including tail when I was given him and was in a really small tank (15x15 if that) he is now just over 7" including tail.

 

[markandhisfish]

they wont grow if they dont eat their breakfast . i keep telling them but they wont listen!! i think they actually miss the rams , as they used to all swim around in a group. and now they are gone , ( for their own safety) .