Oddball Tankmate For Oscar And Gt

[ChilliPepper]

difference with snakeheads is though they have a nice set off teeth and can do some real damage if they disagree with your fish. Taking a risk is ok if you have a spare tank large enough to seperate them. Where about's are yo based as theyre illegal in the states apart from maryland or somewhere like that.

I'm in the UK, so should be fine.

What about if I got a small one which grew up with the o and gt?

How fast growing are the ornates? Surely an ornate would be OK, even if it got to 2ft, in a 5ft tank? We are planning on buying our own house next year or the year after, so could maybe get a 6ft or 7ft then, but not telling my OH that yet...

 

[always4lora]

they should hit a foot in a year.
I still wouldnt try raising snakeheads with anything else even if growing them up together.
the issue with the ornate in a 5 foot tank is the depth of the tank, really you want a 2 ft depth .

 

[ChilliPepper]

they should hit a foot in a year.
I still wouldnt try raising snakeheads with anything else even if growing them up together.
the issue with the ornate in a 5 foot tank is the depth of the tank, really you want a 2 ft depth .

Ah, right, I see. I'm thinking getting a Juwel Rio 400, so measurements approx 151 x 51 x 62 cm. However they now do a 450L Rio 400, so depending on whether I buy new or 2nd hand it will have slightly more room. Though I think this is an increase in height rather than depth.

 

[always4lora]

If you have the cash get one from nd aquatics they did mine, its a 4x2x2 with stand and cost around £450 deliverd. I dont think it was much more for 5x2x2 but i didnt have the room to put that one. if not hang around on aquarist classified theres alot of good deals if you can travel about for them .

 

[ChilliPepper]

If you have the cash get one from nd aquatics they did mine, its a 4x2x2 with stand and cost around £450 deliverd. I dont think it was much more for 5x2x2 but i didnt have the room to put that one. if not hang around on aquarist classified theres alot of good deals if you can travel about for them .

Thanks, they seem very reasonably priced. Are they good quality/attractive? Have you got a pic of yours, if you don't mind?

 

[always4lora]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/301596-new-tank-pics/page__p__2498101__fromsearch__1&#entry2498101 is mine, i think a few popel have tanks from there. they are well made only down side i had to cut a slight hole in the back of the hood to get my eheim filter to fit, the fx5 fit perfectly though.

 

[Davo86]

channa bleheri is subtropical and so is unsuitable for obvious reasons and channa asiatica is one of the more aggressive species that gets to 14" meaning that potential aggression between the tankmates is going to be almost guaranteed,

I think Channa can work with larger cichlids but you need the tankspace which in a 400L IMO you haven't got, certain species like Channa Pleuro could work well with Oscars in tanks of around 600L+, but in this instance I'm very sceptical that even the GT and O will work in the 400L

How about something like a Leporinus or Distichodus Lussosso, both are from south america and are easily hardy enough to live with your tankmates, They do get fairly big however but IME are fairly slow growers so it would be a number of years before their size proved problematic

 

[ChilliPepper]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/301596-new-tank-pics/page__p__2498101__fromsearch__1&#entry2498101 is mine, i think a few popel have tanks from there. they are well made only down side i had to cut a slight hole in the back of the hood to get my eheim filter to fit, the fx5 fit perfectly though.

Thank you! Been looking through their catalogue and pretty much settled on their 5x2x2, which is excellent- 496 litres/ 131G Much better value for money, and more space

Did you go for their lights or buy separately? I'm going to get a Fluval FX5 filter, so that's perfect

So, if I get the 5x2x2... I could have an Ornate?!!! Anything else, or just the 3 fish?

 

[ChilliPepper]

channa bleheri is subtropical and so is unsuitable for obvious reasons and channa asiatica is one of the more aggressive species that gets to 14" meaning that potential aggression between the tankmates is going to be almost guaranteed,

I think Channa can work with larger cichlids but you need the tankspace which in a 400L IMO you haven't got, certain species like Channa Pleuro could work well with Oscars in tanks of around 600L+, but in this instance I'm very sceptical that even the GT and O will work in the 400L

How about something like a Leporinus or Distichodus Lussosso, both are from south america and are easily hardy enough to live with your tankmates, They do get fairly big however but IME are fairly slow growers so it would be a number of years before their size proved problematic

Thanks, I am considering the 5x2x2 now from ND Aquatics... Just have to check it's OK with the boyfriend first! So that's a bit more space. I'm sure the O and GT will be fine together. Even tho the GT is still young at 3.5/4" and the O a real baby, they get on well enough now. The GT has been in the tank for ages, so the terrotory definitely hers, yet she was not bothered when I put the baby O in. She did take an instant dislike/hatred to a Pearl cichlid I tried. She tends to make her feelings pretty clear

 

[always4lora]

a 5x2x2 will open up more possabilities, is there anything you really like the look off? the Oscar will love the tank and hopefully should give enough room for the oscar to get away from the GT if things go sour(which unfortuantely seems to happen alot with GT's).

You could get the ornate but i'd decide on what you want your tank to be like before making any decisions. Bichir's get pretty large and will eat anything they think they can fit in their mouths , so if you want some shoaling fish that will fit in the tank you'd most likely have to knock the bichir idea on the head. Also you have to decide if you want your tank planted or not as things like silver dollars will be ruled out , although this is if your oscar doesnt wreck it.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Well, I also like severums as well, but again could go either way with the GT. I know they'd be fine with the Oscar. I really love the BGK, but think they may be too delicate for the GT? Correct me if I'm wrong though. Other Knife fish are cool too.

I do want some colour in the tank, but also something odd/unusual in this one. Something that makes guests go "Oooh what's that?" to

I am keeping my 190L so that will have my 'community' fish in, so mostly colourful fish in there.

My O is a Red Tiger, my GT is Green and Orange... So could have a Red Spotted or Rokteil Sev or something odd like a Birchir. Not sure whether my GT would like a Sev, as I think they are quite peaceful really.

Not getting real plants for the large tank - rocks/wood/gravel/silk plants I should imagine. My 190L will go back to being planted once the plant destroyers move out!

Silver Dollars are also another option as they look like Piranhas, and I do like them

 

[ChilliPepper]

a 5x2x2 will open up more possabilities, is there anything you really like the look off? the Oscar will love the tank and hopefully should give enough room for the oscar to get away from the GT if things go sour(which unfortuantely seems to happen alot with GT's).

You could get the ornate but i'd decide on what you want your tank to be like before making any decisions. Bichir's get pretty large and will eat anything they think they can fit in their mouths , so if you want some shoaling fish that will fit in the tank you'd most likely have to knock the bichir idea on the head. Also you have to decide if you want your tank planted or not as things like silver dollars will be ruled out , although this is if your oscar doesnt wreck it.

Did you go for the lights from ND aquatics when you got your tank? I'm not sure whether to get them from them or get them separate.

What about a BGK? Is that a possibility or a no? In the 5x2x2, could I have the Oscar, GT, Bichir and something else?

 

[always4lora]

I had a BGKF with my oscar and JD along with my bichir's and despite the BGKF being the same size as a coupld of the bichirs it got killed, found around half of the body head first in my weeksii bichir, with the smaller bichir;s it'll probs be ok.

As for the lights i got mine seperate, i got a 54w dual controller and 2 bulbs for about £65 , what are nd charing?

 

[ChilliPepper]

I had a BGKF with my oscar and JD along with my bichir's and despite the BGKF being the same size as a coupld of the bichirs it got killed, found around half of the body head first in my weeksii bichir, with the smaller bichir;s it'll probs be ok.

As for the lights i got mine seperate, i got a 54w dual controller and 2 bulbs for about £65 , what are nd charing?

ND have quoted me:
Lights (2 x 58w single starters, 2 x 60" reflectors, 2 x 60" 58w tubes) - £113

I have T5 lights on my 190L Aqua One, which are great, but don't know much about lights so not sure whether these are a good deal or not?

So, would a BGK be OK with an oscar, GT and ornate? It would most probably be an ornate I got, if I get a birchir. I really like BGK, but won't get one if there's a risk it will be killed. What about the oscar, GT and BGK together?

I've seen another user keeps an oscar and jd together with a snakehead... Not sure what kind of snakehead... Are JD's wosre aggression wise than GT's? It's difficult to know as my GT is pretty docile at the moment, and she is female, so maybe won't be as bad as a male even when larger.

 

[always4lora]

Cant say for sure on BGKF with the gt and oscar as mine was only in the tank a week before it got attacked by the bichir. They are slow growing so that might cause it to get bullied by the oscar which is quick growing and the gt which is hit and miss once they get to a decent size. My weeksii is about 12-14 inch and attacked the BGKF which was around 8-10 inch , ornate's get to around the same size if not slightly bigger than weeksii bichir eventually so personally i wouldnt do it again.

I have a female Jack dempsey with my oscar atm and the two of them get on fine, the only issue in the tank is the jack dempsey and the sorubim lima catfish, the JD chases the catfish away a fair bit despite the sorubim lime being like 3-4 times the size of the JD atm.


as for the lighting get it yourselfit's cheaper. You can get bulbs for like 5-6£ and get a dual controller for around £60 new. Refelctors are cheap too.