new tank...new fish need help

[birdman]

i am getting a tiger oscar (baby around 2-3 inches) and i was wondering what a suitable fish or two would be to have it grow up with...(i would buy all 2 or all 3 fish at the same size)

i am cosidering a green terror but i am not sure...

i want the oscar to be king of the tank (i know i cant control who is...but i can try)

i dunno what eslse to put in with the oscar. i dont want anything too agressive or at least anymore than the oscar is. i dont want the oscar hurt. i have heard bad things about jack dempseys so ill prob stay away from them.

what about at young midas cichlid? or too agreesive...?

thanks for any help u can give me peoples....

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Aquarium size please!

 

[smb]

Yes, aquarium size before any advice can be given.

I also wanted to say that you can't put a Midas with an Oscar. 9 times out of 10 that will end up with a dead oscar.

To give you an idea about tank size, a mature Oscar needs a 75g tank on it's own. Add another big cichlid and you have to double that. Add a Midas and you might even have to triple that size to make it work.

 

[birdman]

yeh sorry i new i had forgotten something!

its 4'X2'X2' i am pretty sure its about 110 gallon...

i kno it is big enough for 1 or 2 oscars.
and i have a internal canister filter, and also 2 external 900litres per hour filters...

 

[Nix]

it just get two oscars.. But
thats just me

 

[Losi]

I would say that it is just big enough for one full grown Oscar.....not two.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I would say that it is just big enough for one full grown Oscar.....not two.

In 110 gallons? Wow, you like to give your fish lots of space! (And good for you at that!)

But realistically, 110 gallons is most certainly enough for a pair of Oscars. You may want to start off with more then that to achieve a compatiable pair though.

 

[Losi]

I think they should have as much room as possible dont you, they are a big fish so in my opinion need a BIG tank.

 

[cichlidmaster]

If you are intent on having the oscar along with another large (8-10" or bigger) then please, at least up your filtration!!

900l per hour is roughly 225 gallons an hour and the internal canister filter is probably not much more than this.

For one adult oscar this may be adequate, but add another large, messy cichlid and IMO this is not enough!!

What is the output of the internal canister filter??

Please keep in mind that the flow rate of any filter is rated when empty!! Add filter material and this lowers the flow rate!!

Take into account when a filter starts to get dirty, this to lowers the flow rate!!

In a 120 gallon tank with two large messy cichlids the filters you have are just not enough!!

JMO!!

CM

 

[thecichlidaddict]

WIth the internal and TWO external power filters, I believe there is enough filtration going on.

 

[birdman]

In a 120 gallon tank with two large messy cichlids the filters you have are just not enough!!

mate, TWO 900Litres per hour ecternal filters AND an internal power Canistrer filter i dunno how much it flows but its the 'fluval 800' series' and its about 30 cm tall and 12cm diameter....

i think thats enough filtration for two fully grown oscars....

 

[cichlidmaster]

birdman,

Some things that might interest you................

I couldn't find any reference to a fluval "800" series, but I did find this........

This is the fluval 4 internal canister filter.

Internal filters will clog very quickly with large messy fish. You will find yourself cleaning the filter quite often to keep it at it's top flow rate.

About the 900 litre external filters............whenever discussing tank volume by gallons, it is wise to look at the flow rate of filters in gph as well!!

I believe the 900 lph is a bit misleading!! 900 lph converts to 237.78 gallons per hour. Times this by two and you have the filtering capaciity of 475 gallons per hour.

Add to this the flow rate of the internal canister and, at best you have a total flow rate of maybe 600 gallons per hour.

Now, in a tank of 4ft x 2ft x 2ft which equels out to 119.88 gallons this equals out to a turn over rate of 6X per hour....if the filters held no filter media!!!

Add media to them and the flow rate drops to around 500 gallons per hour due to the resistance from the filter media.

Once the filters start to collect the debris from two large messy fish, this flow rate drops even more!!!

While the filters youhave will be adequate for small oscars, once they start to grow and their appetite picks up IMO it will just not be enough!!

My opinion is not based on luxury stocking levels or filtering capacity, but on personal experiance keeping, not only oscars, but many large South and Central American cichlids.

Don't take just my opinions on this!! I can put you in touch with many experianced keepers of these large fish and they will tell you that for large messy fish (when adults) you should have a minimum of a filtering turn over rate of ten times per hour of tank volume!!

You, of course are going to do what you think is best tho and I wish you all the luck in keeping the fish you decide on!!

CM

 

[birdman]

thank you for your help and i am now looking into more filters and larger ones....
i want to do this right and i really appreciate your help cichlidmaster it has helped my a lot.

have u any recomendations as to what filtration wouild be adequate for two fully grown oscars.... this would really be appreciated...thanks.

 

[cichlidmaster]

birdman,

The two outside power filters you have are a good start. I would not bother with the internal canister, but add an external canister filter.

The marineland magnum pro 350 is a very good filter. Although this would still only give you a tank volume turn over rate of 7X per hour, this canister comes with dual bio-wheels which will provide an enormous amout of biological filtration.

Biological filtration is an absolute must when dealing with large cichlids.

You can even attach a spone filter to the intake tube of this filter to act as a pre-filter to trap large particulate waste thus extending the time between filter media cleanings/changes!!

When using the media container, you can fill it with biobeads, ceramic rings ect. to add even more surface area for biological bacteria to grow on.

I do not know where you are from, but these are available online in the states from a number of suppliers.

Here is a pic of the filter:

Magnum 350 Pro

As you can see in the info, this filter although rated for 350 gph is only recommended for up to a 60 gallon tank. This means it would turn the tank volume of a 60 gallon 7X per hour!! This would give you a turn over rate of 3X per hour for your tank and coupled with your two outside filters would do a very good job keeping your water parameters in check.

Please remember though....no matter how much filtration is on the tank water changes of at least 30% twice weekly will need to be done if keeping two oscars in this size tank.

Oscars are prone to HITH (Hole In The Head) disease and although it is debateable what the main cause of this disease is, most agree it starts with poor water quality...especially elevated nitrites!!!

Diet also plays an important part in keeping oscars healthy and happy. You should never feed feeders as they most often carry disease and can transmit that to your fish. This plus the fact that feeders do not provide a well balanced nutritional diet.

Oscars are great fish to have. I currently have 6 gold oscars growing out in a 120 gallon tank (72" x 18" x 20"). I am in the process of setting up a 180 gallon tank for them and when I get two to pair off will sell the rest. These will be the only two fish in this tank.

Hope this helps.

CM

 

[Tubby]

I have a 125 gallon with 3 8in Tigers and a 6 in jack Dempsey and a 12 in Long nose Gar and have no problems what so ever but I do run 1800 gal an hour of filtration and have to vacuum tank about every 10 days

Befor I added the Jack and the Gar I had in with them a 2 pound Largemouth Bass and there was still no problem the bass just got way to aggressive and had to be released back in the wild