New to the forum

[Steve Penn]

Hi I am Steve based in London.
Have previously had reef tanks and tropical set ups in the past but have been out of the hobby for over 5 years

Now planning to get back and considering Oscars and Cats

Would love some advice on suggested tank sizes and what the latest thoughts are on how many to keep and filtration.
I am thinking a 4 ft tank with circa 200 litres with 2 external filters. One biological and one chemical.
What substrate?
Lighting...LED?

Thanks

Steve

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Oscars and cats hey. Fill a 6ft aquarium with water and put as many cats as you can catch into the tank, (yes the furry kind that purr). Then cover the tank, turn the heater up, add some salt, onions, garlic and allow to simmer for several days. Take that you crazy cat ladies.

If you want a pr of Oscars then you want a tank that is at least 4ft long x 18 inches wide x 18 inches high and preferably bigger. A trickle filter/ sump like on a marine tank, works well for cichlids because it gives you more water volume and the fish don't dig up or damage the filter media.

You don't normally need chemical filtration in aquariums unless you have heavy metals in your water supply. Then activated carbon should be used in the new water before it is added to the tank.

Most cichlids dig up plants so floating plants are best, or plants like Bolbitis, Java Fern, Java Moss and if you like Anubias you can try that, that can be attached to wood and rocks. These plants will grow under standard fluorescent lighting or LEDs.

 

[Steve Penn]

Thanks for this........

 

[Colin_T]

forgot to mention, if you want a breeding pr of any type of cichlid, including Oscars, buy 8-10 young fish and grow them up together. Let them choose their own partners and pr off naturally. When you have a nice pr, get rid of the rest of the fish and leave the pr in the tank. Or move the pr into a different tank and let the remaining fish form prs.

 

[Steve Penn]

That is something to think about...cheers