Oscar And Green Terror

[foley69]

Couldn't agree more 75 gal is a good home for an Oscar I'd prefer bigger but I have no room

 

[Dieses Madchen]

As stated no one can ever answer wether or not it will work, cichlids are cichlids, Ive had the most evil jag cichlid, but others kept them fine with oscars

+1 on that. I have found out the hard way that cichlids will like who they want to like. I have a Jewel Cichlid who only likes catfish. Had some severums with her, but she tried to eat them. I gave my severums up to a friend, but the severums started being bullies in my friends tank. The severums are back with my jewel. But they are bigger now and the Jewel has backed down. You never know who a cichlid is going to like. I also had a Red Zebra that was the spawn of satan...

 

[nanoMama86]

I have a 100 gallon with 2 clowns, a 4 inch plec, a 6 inch fire oscar, a 3 inch gt, a 4 inch jd, and one lucky as all get out ghost shrimp. What do you guys think my chances are of these guys growing up together with no bloodshed, or at least minimal bloodshed, is? I know the shrimp is history as soon as Fury my oscar catches it. I have a pond if the plec gets too big, but I got him for free because he was exposed to some kind of growth regulator hormone at my koi breeders, and he hasn't grown in almost a year.

 

[GShorty1981]

It won't work when they all hit maturity, it will be a warzone.

And still i stand by what i said a 75g is to small for a Oscar and a Green Terror.

 

[onidrase]

It won't work when they all hit maturity, it will be a warzone.

And still i stand by what i said a 75g is to small for a Oscar and a Green Terror.

I'll agree with that. I thought you meant it was too small for an oscar period.

OP, although they're nice and small now, when they're both 10-12 inches long, they'll want their space. Oscars and GT's are a bit large. It really depends on the temperament of the fishes, but I'd be reluctant to try to have two foot long fish in a 4 foot long tank. Give it a shot, but if it doesn't work, you need to have backup ready.

 

[GShorty1981]

Green Terrors are also very slow growing, i had one that was no bigger than 5" after 14months of growth, to the point where i got frustrated and sold him because my bigger Jag he was housed with was going to outgrow him and eat him, the jag had already hit 13" by that time

if you put a Oscar and GT in at the same size or with the GT smaller, the O will outgrow it in no time.

And yeh i meant all along a 75g is far to small for both fish.

 

[nanoMama86]

Ok so I got the green terror and jd at the same size, you are saying the jd is going to quickly outstrip the gt and kill him? My astronotus is growing at an INCREDIBLE rate, even for an O, I attribute it to the lot of fresh mango and papaya as well as the nls pellets I feed. I also do a weekly 50. My clowns are growing fast for clowns as well. I buy apple snails once a week, right before water change, and crush them, roll them in pulverized nls, and pop them in. I am willing to do the water changes for the growth rates I want. I keep my temp at 79f. If you think more or bigger water changes will improve growth rates, I will do so. I chose long-lived, large fish, because I want PRESENCE in my living room. I am saving for a 200 gallon tank that these guys will go in about a year and half down the line. I can maybe accelerate the purchase of a bigger tank if things get cramped, but my astronotus is my main focus.


Is 75 gallons too small for just a single O and no other fish?

 

[onidrase]

Ok so I got the green terror and jd at the same size, you are saying the jd is going to quickly outstrip the gt and kill him? My astronotus is growing at an INCREDIBLE rate, even for an O, I attribute it to the lot of fresh mango and papaya as well as the nls pellets I feed. I also do a weekly 50. My clowns are growing fast for clowns as well. I buy apple snails once a week, right before water change, and crush them, roll them in pulverized nls, and pop them in. I am willing to do the water changes for the growth rates I want. I keep my temp at 79f. If you think more or bigger water changes will improve growth rates, I will do so. I chose long-lived, large fish, because I want PRESENCE in my living room. I am saving for a 200 gallon tank that these guys will go in about a year and half down the line. I can maybe accelerate the purchase of a bigger tank if things get cramped, but my astronotus is my main focus.


Is 75 gallons too small for just a single O and no other fish?

75 is fine for a single oscar, yes. Maybe some bottom feeders that won't bother it or be bothered by it.

 

[nanoMama86]

My guys are in a 5ft 100 gallon right now. The O and Clowns are the main presence in the tank. The clowns are CERTAINLY able to stand up for themselves, lol. The jd got feisty with Ein when I fed this morning, and Ein shanked him! Fury seems to know that the clowns are not to be mucked about with.

Can I grow some triops to feed these guys? I am just thinking that the more variety i can provide the closer to the wild diet I am being and the healthier they will be.

I had read that Astronotus evolved to eat armored catfish. Is this true? Also, crawfish and fresh fruit, hence why i feed papaya and mango. And that they, like guinea pigs and humans, are unable to synthesize their own vit C and have to have it provided in their diet. Since I started to feed fruit, I have experienced astronomical growth rate on Fury. The one inch a month is a gross under statement. I have gotten an inch in two weeks. If she was in a 75, would she grow as fast, I wonder?

I am totally fascinated by all the science behind our hobby! I wish I could convince some other O keepers to feed some fruit and observe color and behaviour. Sorry for the geek hijack!

 

[onidrase]

I had read that Astronotus evolved to eat armored catfish. Is this true?

It might be. I know some people feed them crayfish as exremely expensive treats. But since your oscar is not a wild oscar, I wouldn't dare stick in any armored catfish it can fit in its mouth. It might lack the wild smarts, being a domesticated oscar, and catfish have barbed fins thich they can lock outwards if they feel threatened or if another fish dares to eat them. So if they lock the fins out in a fishes mouth or throat, that fish id a gonner.

I'd honestly just feed them a regular steady diet of one type of cichlid pellet food, and once a week feed them a treat, vegetables, live food, the like. But don't buy any live food from the pet store, cultivate it yourself. Petstore live foods tend to be diseased, especially feeder guppies and goldfish, and it's a good way to turn a tasty treat into a bad sickness.

Some people breed convict cichlids to feed their large fish. Convicts have loads and loads of fry per batch, more than anyone can put up with. Not to mention they're extremely easy to breed and sex. If you set up a 20 gallon long tank with a couple convict cichlids, you'll have fry for your big fish in no time.

 

[nanoMama86]

I don't feed feeder fish except on one occasion. Just prawns. And the prepared cichlid foods have almost no vit C. I grow everything I feed except the fruit, of course! She has eaten a batch of plec fry that were 4 weeks old that my koi breeder begged me to get rid of. It took her almost a day to puzzle how to eat them. They would lock out spikes, so she would spit them out, until she started whipping them against the glass or decorations in the tank and snapping them in half, thus making them unable to lock out their spines. Or live, for that matter! And gulp, down they went!

 

[onidrase]

I don't feed feeder fish except on one occasion. Just prawns. And the prepared cichlid foods have almost no vit C. I grow everything I feed except the fruit, of course! She has eaten a batch of plec fry that were 4 weeks old that my koi breeder begged me to get rid of. It took her almost a day to puzzle how to eat them. They would lock out spikes, so she would spit them out, until she started whipping them against the glass or decorations in the tank and snapping them in half, thus making them unable to lock out their spines. Or live, for that matter! And gulp, down they went!

Much too dangerous imo. There's no telling if one of those plecos will lock their fins just right and cause your fish to choke or bleed internally to death.

 

[GShorty1981]

Wacked them in half on the glass so they couldnt use there spines, then ate them?

 

[star4]

I would remove your pictus cats once the oscar gets large, it may attempt to eat them. I had to rescue one of my pictus from the mouth of my oscar, luckily the pictus lived!