Oscar Housing

[Whitey]

Hi, i have been offered a 10" oscar by a good freind of mine as he is moving house, but i only have a 35gal tank that can house him, he will be the only fish in there. This is only temporary for a maximum or a couple of months untill i upgrade to a 55g, Do you think this is a problem? He should be fine for that short period i think. Just need a second opinion.

 

[Ferris]

Only as a last gasp desperate measure.

A single Oscar, especially that size, needs a bare minimum of a 75 gal tank so even your planned 55 gal will not be sufficient, certainly not a 35 gal.

With water changes every other day, it might survive a couple of months but i wouldn't count on it.

If you don't have any other options, i would pass on this one i'm afraid.

 

[jollysue]

BTW, Oscars are New World not African.

If the Oscar isn't used to lots of swim area.... At work a 12" Oscar is kept in 50 usg. He has regular water changes. Teen boys care for him and rinse the filter is highly chlorinated water often. He seems healthy.

 

[Tolak]

It would work short term, if you keep a few things in mind. You will need to change water every other day, and set up filtration like it was a 55 with an oscar. Oscars are a real messy fish, 2 or 3 times the filtration of an average community tank is needed. You may as well get the filters running now, you will need them for the 55, and they will be cycled by that time.

Make sure you are getting the 55, if not, don't even think about it. I have a 7" oscar in a 30 gallon, with an AC 200, Eheim 2217, and a home made power head filter on the bottom of a bare tank. I also have an empty 72 gallon that he is going into sometime next week, along with all the filters.

 

[jollysue]

I agree with Tolak. I just moved my Moba fronts from 40 usg. I had 6 Moba, 2 Bismarks, and 2 Synos in the 40. (They were juvies when I put them in.) The Moba have a new tank now. It was an all too often job to keep the water clean. I had a Penguin 350 and a Whisper 40 running in it. I would have put larger filters, but the tank was too close to the wall. I was changing filters and water almost weekly. Put as large a filter as you can in. For a power hang on filter I like the Emperor 400 and the AquaClear 110. Better too much than not enough in my mind. Do start the filters running right away. I always keep extra filters running.

Edit: Still, if at all possible get a larger tank. Personally I would prefer a fish that I can put with others. A lot of tank is required for an oscar, and frequently they won't tolerate tank mates even of their own species.