may i ask ...

[nuttyfishgirl]

what is an oscar ???

 

[lucky62]

It is a New World Cichlid that grows to around 14 " give or take .

 

[nuttyfishgirl]

cool big fish then ... does anyone have any pics

 

[Paul_MTS]

about 4"

blurred oscar at 6inch

 

[nuttyfishgirl]

niiiiiiiiiiiiice

dont they look scary enlarged lol

 

[Oddball]

Pscars are a common in the trade and come in many different colour forms include tiger, standard, marbled and albino

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

There are also 3 species (if I remember correctly), I'll try to get latin names for them as well.

 

[Gimli]

what is an oscar ???

It's a big Cichlid. Yuo'll need to keep them only with bigish catfish or plecs. You'll also need a big tank. say about 5.5ftx3ftx3ft i would say. Maybe just a little bit smaller. But not a lot smaller.

 

[DannyBoy17]

They truly are amazing fish. They are smart, and will recognize you, and go crazy when you come close to the tank. They will interact with you if you put your finger againsts the tank.

Sometimes, you can get really mellow Oscars. Mine is on the other side of the spectrum. He is a MANIAC.

--Dan

 

[Paul_MTS]

what is an oscar ???

It's a big Cichlid. Yuo'll need to keep them only with bigish catfish or plecs. You'll also need a big tank. say about 5.5ftx3ftx3ft i would say. Maybe just a little bit smaller. But not a lot smaller.

apart from there abig cichlid most of those comments are way off.

You can keep with them just about anything that won't get eaten and anything that isn't too agresive as there actual big softies.

5x3x3 is a bit OTT for min tank size really, i say a good size 4ft is minimum around 80 gallons (48x20x24)

 

[DannyBoy17]

what is an oscar ???

It's a big Cichlid. Yuo'll need to keep them only with bigish catfish or plecs. You'll also need a big tank. say about 5.5ftx3ftx3ft i would say. Maybe just a little bit smaller. But not a lot smaller.

apart from there abig cichlid most of those comments are way off.

You can keep with them just about anything that won't get eaten and anything that isn't too agresive as there actual big softies.

5x3x3 is a bit OTT for min tank size really, i say a good size 4ft is minimum around 80 gallons (48x20x24)

Even 80gals is a lot Paul. For a single Oscar, 55-75gals would be the minimum, with the 75gal being able to hold another midsized fish, or school of smaller fish (ie Silver Dollars). Hell, Ive seen 3 of these bad boys, 12'' each in a 97(?)gal custom aqaurium. As long as you have great filtration, and there is enough room for them to swim around, you can really choose any +55gal sized aqaurium for a single fish.

--Dan

 

[Jason_S]

no 14" fish should be kept in a 55 gallon.

minimum for oscar in my opinion is 75 gallon and yes I agree you could keep one more mid-sized fish as well with excellent filtration and lots of water changes.

 

[DannyBoy17]

Most O's only grow to about 10'', 12 if it's healthy. Its not an incredibly active fish, just likes to patrol the glass so you can see it

--Dan

 

[nc_nutcase]

Pound for pound Oscars aren't really that tough or aggressive (although personalities differ) but... how many other fish can you put in with a one inch Oscar that will keep up with it's growth rate (Oscars grow very fast)?

When purchasing an Oscar you should expect it to get 10"+ and plan accordingly. DO NOT tell yourself, "Oh I'll deal with him outgrowing his tank later when he's really big, I just want him sooo bad" because you will do one of two things: 1) spend $XXX setting up his tank then 3 months later need to spend $XXX x 2 setting up his real tank - or- 2) leaving him in the smaller tank at the end of his juvenile stage (which, like people, is a very important time in development) alter his natural development.

Now since we are planning on having a 10+ inch fish, we should get a tank that is not only enough gallons, but has appropriate dimensions. A standard 55 gal is 11.5" front to back... now picture a 10“... 12“... 14“... possibly bigger fish doing a U turn in it. IMO 55 gallons is enough to house a pair (meaning breeding pair) of Oscars as long as it's an 18" thick aquarium (which I think the closest you can get to that w/o custom jobs is a 65 gal, but they are only 13“ tall {I think} which isn‘t tall enough….) But if your buying a pet that you intend on loving… wouldn’t you want him to have a nice sized tank, not the bare minimum? Go 75 preferably 90 for a pair. With a 90 you could get away with adding one other mid sized cichlid (i.e. Convict, Green Terror, Dempsey, etc)

Oscars are Awesome fish, my absolute favorite kind of fish, favorite animal even (excluding humans). I appreciate them so much that I would highly discourage anyone from getting one unless you are completely committed to giving them proper care (although I believe that about any responsibility). So start with dwarf cichlids, save money and definitely invest in Oscars when you can.

 

[BlueIce]

Ya'll forgot to mention that they poop like St Bernards