Large Empty Tank And Thinking Of Oscars.....

[mattlee]

i have a 6.5x2x2 tank empty and was thinking of a few oscars. ive never kept these before and thought i would ask your opinions as experienced oscar keepers. how many could i keep in a tank of this size safely? i want some other fish in there too but want to keep it to just a handfull of fish rather than a tank full of fish. i would like a catfish or 2 for the bottom and a few dithers. also how can you sex an oscar? is it advisable to keep all males or mixed or all femles? any other info would be appreciated to help me decide. general stuff like best temp, what you guys feed them etc etc etc

 

[hamfist]

i have a 6.5x2x2 tank empty

.... Almost heaven !!!!!

Can't help you with the oscars, but could suggest another option.

How about a mix of GT, synspillum, Midas and a big cat of some sort. Enough space for that !

 

[james_fish]

Thought you were going Motoro's first Matt?

James.

 

[mattlee]

Thought you were going Motoro's first Matt?

James.

still cant make my mind up just want to cover all options first

 

[kizno1]

The rules something like 75G for the first one a 50G for every one after. But if you get a pair you might want to give them a little more room each. In your tank i would get 8 and wait for 2 pairs to form then sell the rest and then that still gives you room for some other fish.

 

[james_fish]

Thought you were going Motoro's first Matt?

James.

still cant make my mind up just want to cover all options first

Can't blame you! You want to get it right first time in a 6 footer

 

[mattlee]

i have a 6.5x2x2 tank empty

.... Almost heaven !!!!!

Can't help you with the oscars, but could suggest another option.

How about a mix of GT, synspillum, Midas and a big cat of some sort. Enough space for that !

i am open to suggestions. im new to all big fish so compatability is what im worried about.... i do like flowerhorns and jags too but have no idea about them and after looking on the net i keep getting mixed views

i have a 6.5x2x2 tank empty

.... Almost heaven !!!!!

Can't help you with the oscars, but could suggest another option.

How about a mix of GT, synspillum, Midas and a big cat of some sort. Enough space for that !

i am open to suggestions. im new to all big fish so compatability is what im worried about.... i do like flowerhorns and jags too but have no idea about them and after looking on the net i keep getting mixed views

just googled the synspillum and they look really nice too, im getting confused.....

The rules something like 75G for the first one a 50G for every one after. But if you get a pair you might want to give them a little more room each. In your tank i would get 8 and wait for 2 pairs to form then sell the rest and then that still gives you room for some other fish.

not too sure i like the sound of getting a load and then selling them off as i know oscars are not the easiest fish to rehome.....

 

[Wills]

A big fish community is a brilliant thing tons of big cichlids that you could mix in that tank with or without oscars. My favorite big cichlids at the moment are Boucourti and Vejia Argentinas have a google of a guy called Lee Nuttal he was in PFK this month and doing an other article next month but his central american cichlid tanks are amazing.

I totally get why people keep oscars but in that size tank I just think there are so many possibilities to just dedicate it to oscars is not a waste of a tank but quite a limited option....

Wills

 

[fluttermoth]

I guess you could keep 10 or 12 Oscars in a tank that size, if that's all you were keeping in there.

There's no way of sexing them; you have to let them work it out for themselves!

I can't imagine what kind of 'dither' fish you'd keep with them though...

They do fine at normal trop temp, 76F/24C, and they eat most things; mine has chiclid pellets with a couple of earthworms once or twice a week and the odd bit of fish every now and then.

If I had a tank that size, I'd find a common plec that needed re-homing for the bottom

 

[rdp50734]

Flowerhorns are mean when they hit 6"ish its hard to find suitable tankmates that wont take a pounding! I have a large GT, synspillium and black belt! Thay are great together! http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/339911-my-new-cichlids-as-i-promised-some-of-you/page__p__2824845__fromsearch__1&#entry2824845 Its up to you if you want colour, personality, bit of both, full bodied or eel like the list goes on! Jags are lovely too but again can be really mean!

 

[mattlee]

A big fish community is a brilliant thing tons of big cichlids that you could mix in that tank with or without oscars. My favorite big cichlids at the moment are Boucourti and Vejia Argentinas have a google of a guy called Lee Nuttal he was in PFK this month and doing an other article next month but his central american cichlid tanks are amazing.

I totally get why people keep oscars but in that size tank I just think there are so many possibilities to just dedicate it to oscars is not a waste of a tank but quite a limited option....

Wills

wills i agree. but as ive absolutely no idea when it comes to bigger fish im stuck for choice. people keep saying about fish that ive never heard of let alone any idea where to buy them......

Flowerhorns are mean when they hit 6"ish its hard to find suitable tankmates that wont take a pounding! I have a large GT, synspillium and black belt! Thay are great together! http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/339911-my-new-cichlids-as-i-promised-some-of-you/page__p__2824845__fromsearch__1&#entry2824845 Its up to you if you want colour, personality, bit of both, full bodied or eel like the list goes on! Jags are lovely too but again can be really mean!

your fish look great ideally i want a bit of colour and personality. im looking for a kind of pet tank rather than a fishtank if that makes sense..... i love the pattern of the jag and the colours of the flowerhorn and oscars but they must live in peace.... im not really a fan of eel type fish more full bodied fish like the larger cichlids etc.... a couple of large cats at the bottom would be ideal too.

 

[Davo86]

tbh If your going for cichlids then in the main I would go for single specimens (unless you want species like Uaru, Festivum, or Surinam Geophagus variants that do best in a small group)

And with an Oscar your preferred choice I would suggest a South American setup, maybe an Oscar, Severum, Chocolate cichlid, a group of Geophagus, and then an oddball or two; Black Ghost knife or Anostomus anostomus maybe and lastly a nice pleco (Royal ) and a group of something like pimelodella blochii to finish

 

[mattlee]

the tank will be filtered by an FX5, will this be enough?

 

[kizno1]

the tank will be filtered by an FX5, will this be enough?

For big messy cichlids like oscars i would say you need a bit more filtration.

 

[shroob]

I'd do 1 oscar or a pair in that tank. 3 is an odd number incase 2 pair up and then bully the remainder. Any more and you are sacrificing room that could be used for other fish.

Oscars are great interactive fish, and mix well with a variety of other fish due to their temperament and hardiness. Being able to stand up to more aggressive fish (Jags, RD's etc) but calm enough to keep with more peaceful fish (convicts, severums etc), as well as non-cichlids such as silver dollars and plecs say.

If you were dead set on an oscar being involved, I would do a new world cichlid tank. Oscar, Green Terror and a jaguar and a FEMALE red terror. 4 nice fish with large personalities, they may take some time to 'fill' the tank, but when they do it will be mighty impressive.

Of course with cichlids like these there is a certain amount of risk around compatibility. Get them all young enough and let them grow up together and things should be alright.

With regards to filtration I am a passionate believer that for large tanks, trickle filters are the way to go. They are relatively easy to set up and most often prove to be the cheapest option and offer the best filtration by far.