Flowerhorn Cichlid with Divider, yes or no?

[blurrae]

Craigslist is one of the best IMO. Maybe Facebook, and maybe eBay.

Any others?

 

[Wills]

Facebook market place seems to have been a good place recently. Check out your local stores too and ask the staff, they sometimes get offered them even if they cant take them they might know people that are moving them on.

I just wanted to add my concern around your Oscar too - they grow at a really fast rate so you need to make a plan for that fish quickly. At some point they wont be able to be kept with Angels and Gourami, they need to be in a tank where it is stocked around them rather than be added to an other community.

Wills

 

[squidneh]

Tag sales sometimes will have used tanks. Or if you look in the "free" section of craigslist there could be a tank there. Where I live, I drive by tanks on the side of the road free for the taking quite often and people will sometimes post about those in the free section.

You can also post on craigslist asking for a used tank of whatever size (for a flowerhorn or for your oscar, I'd say 75 probably). People might have an old tank in the basement they'd be willing to part with. Other than that, just keep checking every day, and make sure you check all of the surrounding towns you'd be willing to drive to.

There aren't many other good options for buying a used tank because if it needs to be shipped the price will be quite high due to the size of the tank. At that point you'd probably be better off saving to buy a new one from a local store.

Another note - you are new to the hobby of fish keeping. It's very common as a newbie to want ALL. THE. FISH. We all have "dream fish" and we all like certain things - some of us like cichlids, some livebearers, some planted communities, some bettas, etc. It can be hard to focus on one thing because you want to keep them all. But you need to take a breath and a step back and think about your current fish. If you want to go the flowerhorn route, you could just return them to the LFS. You may even be able to sell them back, or get credit towards your flowerhorn.

When I first started out, I wanted an Oscar really badly. However I didn't have the proper set up, so I went the community route. Now, years later, I wouldn't trade my planted community tank for an Oscar tank. I'm not saying that's the case with you and your flowerhorn/oscar, but sometimes if you invest time and effort into the tank you already have, you'll realize you don't need/want the other fish as badly as you think.

 

[blurrae]

Facebook market place seems to have been a good place recently. Check out your local stores too and ask the staff, they sometimes get offered them even if they cant take them they might know people that are moving them on.

I just wanted to add my concern around your Oscar too - they grow at a really fast rate so you need to make a plan for that fish quickly. At some point they wont be able to be kept with Angels and Gourami, they need to be in a tank where it is stocked around them rather than be added to an other community.

Wills

Yeah honestly I'm just kinda thinking right now of taking my oscar back to the store because its gonna outgrow my tank then I'll just buy another tank for a flowerhorn.

Tag sales sometimes will have used tanks. Or if you look in the "free" section of craigslist there could be a tank there. Where I live, I drive by tanks on the side of the road free for the taking quite often and people will sometimes post about those in the free section.

You can also post on craigslist asking for a used tank of whatever size (for a flowerhorn or for your oscar, I'd say 75 probably). People might have an old tank in the basement they'd be willing to part with. Other than that, just keep checking every day, and make sure you check all of the surrounding towns you'd be willing to drive to.

There aren't many other good options for buying a used tank because if it needs to be shipped the price will be quite high due to the size of the tank. At that point you'd probably be better off saving to buy a new one from a local store.

Another note - you are new to the hobby of fish keeping. It's very common as a newbie to want ALL. THE. FISH. We all have "dream fish" and we all like certain things - some of us like cichlids, some livebearers, some planted communities, some bettas, etc. It can be hard to focus on one thing because you want to keep them all. But you need to take a breath and a step back and think about your current fish. If you want to go the flowerhorn route, you could just return them to the LFS. You may even be able to sell them back, or get credit towards your flowerhorn.

When I first started out, I wanted an Oscar really badly. However I didn't have the proper set up, so I went the community route. Now, years later, I wouldn't trade my planted community tank for an Oscar tank. I'm not saying that's the case with you and your flowerhorn/oscar, but sometimes if you invest time and effort into the tank you already have, you'll realize you don't need/want the other fish as badly as you think.

Thanks a lot for your advice man, I really appreciate it. The only problem is that with my tank, I got a pretty good deal for it ($400 for a 72 gallon, twofilters, two heaters, gravel, decorations, air pumps, light bar, glass hood covers, stand, plus it was barely used) which means it's basically set up to house any freshwater fish I want as far as I know. The only thing that I know of at the moment of what I would have to do is change the temperature and make sure the waters safe. This makes picking a fish really difficult.

The biggest reason that I wanted a cichlid is because everyone told me they were basically like fish dogs, and me being a dog lover really liked that idea. Plus with the flowerhorns there's just something so unique about them that really grabbed my attention. The only thing that bothers me about cichlids (and what everyone has told me in this thread) is that they're agressive and can't be in a community which makes me worried because I'm afraid that I'll get bored of the fish since he would be the only thing in the tank. Hence why I kinda want to just get another tank so I can keep my community in the other one growing healthily. Currently I'm trying to pull a few strings for some more space for another one, so I'll probably have everything worked out within a month.

 

[FishBearer9845]

Trust me, no one is trying to destroy your dream, just stop you from making mistakes, some of us have learned the hard way. It will be worth the wait/new tanks/new ideas
Regarding the flower horn or oscar, I’ve always viewed them as a wet pet. Like having a dog or cat. They’re so unique and I’m sure their care is different to guppies etc so I’m sure you wouldn’t get bored of either.

 

[HoldenOn]

Trust me, no one is trying to destroy your dream, just stop you from making mistakes, some of us have learned the hard way. It will be worth the wait/new tanks/new ideas
Regarding the flower horn or oscar, I’ve always viewed them as a wet pet. Like having a dog or cat. They’re so unique and I’m sure their care is different to guppies etc so I’m sure you wouldn’t get bored of either.

I agree with this statement. They are a super involved fish, that grow and have huge personalities. There's a youtuber who has one (Foo the Flowerhorn) you can get a better idea of what they are like there.

 

[JBAwrench]

That cute little tiger oscar will turn into a large Marge in charge small fish eating dominant machine in your tank. I had 5 in my 135 and just recently lost one..Oscar's get big. Way bigger than this.

 

[JBAwrench]

Trust me, no one is trying to destroy your dream, just stop you from making mistakes, some of us have learned the hard way. It will be worth the wait/new tanks/new ideas
Regarding the flower horn or oscar, I’ve always viewed them as a wet pet. Like having a dog or cat. They’re so unique and I’m sure their care is different to guppies etc so I’m sure you wouldn’t get bored of either.

I have an angel with all of my oscars,hes part of their little group in the tank...its weird

 

[utahfish]

I have an angel with all of my oscars,hes part of their little group in the tank...its weird

I had a stow away guppy that palled around with my neons, doesnt mean it was a good idea.
Angels are a shoaling fish that belong in bonded pairs or groups of at least 5 or 6 which requires at least 75 gallons for a group of 6. Angels and oscars dont make suitable tank mates as oscars are way to aggressive get too big and also are super messy all of which can negatively affect angels.
Putting Angels and Oscars in the Same tank isnt creating the best environment for Angels.

 

[JBAwrench]

I had a stow away guppy that palled around with my neons, doesnt mean it was a good idea.
Angels are a shoaling fish that belong in bonded pairs or groups of at least 5 or 6 which requires at least 75 gallons for a group of 6. Angels and oscars dont make suitable tank mates as oscars are way to aggressive get too big and also are super messy all of which can negatively affect angels.
Putting Angels and Oscars in the Same tank isnt creating the best environment for Angels.

The angel was bonded but his mate died and both of the Angel's stuck close with the Oscar's the angel is larger than the Oscar's for now and they have been tank mates for more than 3 months with no issues...they also say Angel's need a calm tank with little current....hes in a high current tank and is nothing but happy.

 

[Byron]

The angel was bonded but his mate died and both of the Angel's stuck close with the Oscar's the angel is larger than the Oscar's for now and they have been tank mates for more than 3 months with no issues...they also say Angel's need a calm tank with little current....hes in a high current tank and is nothing but happy.

Unless you can somehow talk to your fish, or more precisely, the fish can talk to you, you cannot possibly know whether or not the fish is "happy." Fish have expectations programmed into their DNA, and if we research these for the species and then provide accordingly, we can be more certain the fish will be the better for it, but there is still no absolute.

Fish in less than preferred situations will attempt to make the best of a bad situation if that is what we force upon them. Fish like most animals have an immense will to live, and it will do what it can to do so. The fact that it looks OK, swims around, eats, even spawns, is no indicator that it is "happy." It may well not be.

When one studies fish physiology one begins to understand the incredibly complex relationship of fish to their aquatic environment, far more significant for the fish's well being that the relationship of any terrestrial animal to its air environment. Research the needs of the fish, accept that is the bottom line, and then--and only then--can you maybe think the fish is "happy."

 

[JBAwrench]

Unless you can somehow talk to your fish, or more precisely, the fish can talk to you, you cannot possibly know whether or not the fish is "happy." Fish have expectations programmed into their DNA, and if we research these for the species and then provide accordingly, we can be more certain the fish will be the better for it, but there is still no absolute.

Fish in less than preferred situations will attempt to make the best of a bad situation if that is what we force upon them. Fish like most animals have an immense will to live, and it will do what it can to do so. The fact that it looks OK, swims around, eats, even spawns, is no indicator that it is "happy." It may well not be.

When one studies fish physiology one begins to understand the incredibly complex relationship of fish to their aquatic environment, far more significant for the fish's well being that the relationship of any terrestrial animal to its air environment. Research the needs of the fish, accept that is the bottom line, and then--and only then--can you maybe think the fish is "happy."

You contradict yourself stating I cant tell if the fish is happy...yet you can assume your techniques or stock is correct because your have read about fish physiology ?
Are you trying to sound smart or just be a sneaky hyppcrite...? I have 4 rainbow sharks in my 55 gal long as well...can you please try and school me on that as well ?
On all these forums I have seen their are people just like you the wiz brains....but yet none of you keep interesting fish and have him drum plain Jane tanks ....reading about something and doing something in reality are totally different

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

You contradict yourself stating I cant tell if the fish is happy...yet you can assume your techniques or stock is correct because your have read about fish physiology ?
Are you trying to sound smart or just be a sneaky hyppcrite...? I have 4 rainbow sharks in my 55 gal long as well...can you please try and school me on that as well ?
On all these forums I have seen their are people just like you the wiz brains....but yet none of you keep interesting fish and have him drum plain Jane tanks ....reading about something and doing something in reality are totally different

"..but yet none of you keep interesting fish and have him drum plain Jane tanks"

Isn't that a matter of opinion and taste? Not everyone wants rainbow sharks and oscars, which are really widely kept fish too, hardly rare and unusual.

 

[EllRog]

You contradict yourself stating I cant tell if the fish is happy...yet you can assume your techniques or stock is correct because your have read about fish physiology ?
Are you trying to sound smart or just be a sneaky hyppcrite...? I have 4 rainbow sharks in my 55 gal long as well...can you please try and school me on that as well ?
On all these forums I have seen their are people just like you the wiz brains....but yet none of you keep interesting fish and have him drum plain Jane tanks ....reading about something and doing something in reality are totally different

So your opinion counts for more than years of research? Okay. Have a good evening.

 

[mbsqw1d]

The angel was bonded but his mate died and both of the Angel's stuck close with the Oscar's the angel is larger than the Oscar's for now and they have been tank mates for more than 3 months with no issues...they also say Angel's need a calm tank with little current....hes in a high current tank and is nothing but happy.

Why did 'his mate' die..? Too happy?