Help, Advice

[StarfireGraves]

Ello,
 
Im looking to get a predatory fish, one I can keep in a 55g tank that is pretty looking haha. I need some advice on different kinds that I can look at before I make a final decision. I want one that will eat guppies, goldfish, platys and such to help keep my populations down.
My requirements would be:
Can be kept as a pair or single. (I dont want many, but 2 would be a nice limit)
Decent size (6'' inch or larger but not bigger than 1ft)
Have some personality
Be a hardy fish.

 

[Ninjouzata]

The only thing coming to mind is the red wolf fish. I have never owned one but would love to some day. HERE is some more info on them.  

 

[StarfireGraves]

My dad really wants to get an oscar, I had kinda wanted a fish I hadnt had yet but he talked me into it a few minutes ago XD Thank you for the suggestion but it just didnt quite have the color I was looking for in the fish.

 

[attibones]

An Oscar is too large for a 55, I'm afraid. You'll want to find a different fish.

 

[fluttermoth]

I agree about the oscar; ours lived in a 55g for a while, while I was sorting out a larger tank, and it was quite clearly far too small for him to live comfortably in it, for life.

What about a Jack Dempsey? Very colourful, full of character and a fair bit smaller than an oscar.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Everyone has their preferences, no worries. You may have not liked it anyways as they can bite so tank maintenance might not have been fun.
 
I agree on an oscar being too big..and that Jack Dempseys are stunning! I really want one some day

 

[elmo666]

If you want to keep your numbers down try returning them to your lfs or move away from live bearers. Introducing a predatory fish into a confined space to kill off what your now looking on as access baggage isn't fish keeping, its nothing more than blood sport IMO.

 

[StarfireGraves]

I very much am set on a 55g with an oscar, they will be fine. I have kept them like that before and they were happy as could be. And this would be a completely different tank than my live bearers are in, I would be simply raising my oscar treats

 

[Ninjouzata]

Oscars can get up to 12", sometimes more. Putting it in a tank that is only 12" wide and stunting them will not make them happy. I advise getting something that maxes out at maybe 8" or getting a bigger tank.

 

[StarfireGraves]

Thing is my father kept and even bred them and he always kept them in 30-55g tanks, they always lived happy full lives. The fish were always full of energy and happy and playful. We played with ping pong balls in the tank with them. And they begged for treats and all was always happy. His saying was always "With proper filtration and a good supply of little fish, my George (the Oscar's name) was always happy". Because of how I was raised around them its hard for me to see them unhappy like this.

I mean he lived to be 12 and a half years old. His other 3 lived to 10, and he had 2 others whom lived to 8 and 9. 

 

[Alasse]

I'd keep a oscar in a 55gal, just not one that was 12" wide

 

[StarfireGraves]

I'd keep a oscar in a 55gal, just not one that was 12" wide

Yay! someone who gets me XD Haha

 

[attibones]

StarfireGraves, an Oscar really is a poor choice for a 55 gallon aquarium. A standard 55 gallon is about 4 feet by 1 foot by almost 2 feet. If an Oscar is 12 inches long, it can only move three times its body length (as it occupies the remaining foot). Turning its body will be a real struggle because it will be as long as the tank is wide. The fish will take up about a fourth of the physical space of the aquarium presuming you have no sand or rocks or wood in the tank. If your tank had a foot print that was just one foot larger in both length and depth, you could have an Oscar in a much less cramped space. This does not mean that this is a very roomy set up for an Oscar either. In fact, it's still kind of tight. 
 
Just because your father kept these fish in "30-55 gallon" tanks that does not mean it was a good decision. I do believe you should have a close read of some of the information on this forum about Oscars because they really are not suitable for a 55.