# of Oscars and tank size

[Ryan_M]

Sorry I'm sure this has been brought up many times before but in a day and a half searching and reading I havent found anything concrete that answers my questions.

I've had oscars before, I definitely didn't give them enough space. I had 2 in a 55gal, they had a lot of filteration though I know now not enough realestate... by a lot. Before I get flamed I admit I didn't know then what I know now.

I'm looking at setting up a new tank, length isn't much of an issue but depth is. I'm kinda limited to 18" depth but 6ft long is a good fit. Depending on height that's going to be a 125gal(ish?). Quickly looking some are 18", some are 21" tall.4 I'd like to have oscars but for a fish that gets ~12" long I'm concerned about the 18" dimension on the short side of the tank. They're smart and social so I'd like to have at least 2. Can I keep 2 (or even one ideally?) in a tank that has a 18"x72" footprint?

 

[itiwhetu]

Sorry I'm sure this has been brought up many times before but in a day and a half searching and reading I havent found anything concrete that answers my questions.

I've had oscars before, I definitely didn't give them enough space. I had 2 in a 55gal, they had a lot of filteration though I know now not enough realestate... by a lot. Before I get flamed I admit I didn't know then what I know now.

I'm looking at setting up a new tank, length isn't much of an issue but depth is. I'm kinda limited to 18" depth but 6ft long is a good fit. Depending on height that's going to be a 125gal(ish?). Quickly looking some are 18", some are 21" tall.4 I'd like to have oscars but for a fish that gets ~12" long I'm concerned about the 18" dimension on the short side of the tank. They're smart and social so I'd like to have at least 2. Can I keep 2 (or even one ideally?) in a tank that has a 18"x72" footprint?

No problem, I would get 3-5 juveniles and let them sort themselves out. Re home the miss fits.

 

[Colin_T]

If you want other fish in the tank, then just get one Oscar so it doesn't try to breed. A breeding pair would take over the tank and kill or bash anything else in it.

A single Oscar could be kept with blue acara, firemouth, convict, severum or large Geophagus cichlids. If you buy one of each and get them all small and a similar size, they should grow up together and get along.

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Whilst cichlids need good filtration, they also need a clean tank to prevent hole in the head disease. The best way to prevent this is by doing a big (75%-90%) water change and gravel cleaning the substrate every week.

You should also do a 75% water change any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0ppm, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Filters should also be cleaned at least once a month. However, do not clean a new filter until it is at least 6 weeks old, otherwise you can disturb the beneficial filter bacteria and mess up the cycling process. After the filter bacteria have established, you can clean the filter once a month or more often if you like.