Oscar tank dimensions

[chris2222]

Gonna get a new tank soon for my oscars. What is the best dimensions for them.

Is it better to have a long slim tank or a shorter one with more depth.

currently looking at a rena aqualife classic 200 which is over 6ft long but only 19inchs from front to back. would it be better to go for something like a 5x2x2.

 

[freddyk]

How many Oscars?

For a compatible pair I'd go with the deeper 5ft tank, it's nice to have a 3 dimensional environment for the fish. That said, 19" is plenty for even the biggest Oscar. The choice at this point is really your own preference. How big are they so far?

 

[chris2222]

they are about 5 inches now. only 4-5 months old. I have 2 which is all that will be going in the new tank apart from a few plecs.

would it be possible to put a similar sized jack dempsey in with themas well?

 

[freddyk]

You might want to read through my opinion in the sticky regarding mixed tanks. If you're lucky a JD will tolerate the Oscars, but if you aren't he'll cause serious problems. In addition you still don't know if the Oscars are compatible because they aren't mature yet. As they grow you still might see them turn on each other. Keeping two Oscars is different then keeping a pair. Basically the way you are attempting to stock the tank is gambling, and adding another card to the deck is lowering the odds of it working.

Ideally a compatible pair of Oscars would be achieved by getting a few of them young and raising them together. Eventually a male and a female would pair off and the rest would be removed. Now you would get the full experience of the fish. At this point it wouldbe best to let the Oscars have the tank as the only cichlids, but you still have options for non-cichlids, like the pleco, or a shoal of silver dollars, or maybe a large bottom dweller.

 

[chris2222]

Thanks for your advice, silver dollors are a reasonable choice, quite nice looking as well.

What about some large barbs?

As far as large bottom dwellers go, dould you give me a few examples so i can look up and read about them before making a decision.

Thanks

 

[freddyk]

Large barbs will work, like Tinfoils. Because of their tendency to actively roam the whole tank non-stop they seem to annoy the Oscars sometimes and may present more of a problem if you end up with Oscars that spawn, but the aggression is mild and the barbs are very tough. It would probably be best to choose either the barb or the silver dollar though. If you want to go with a shoaling fish and a bottom dweller it might be worth going with the silver dollars since the barbs tend to stay at the bottom a lot.

For bottom dwellers clown loaches and bala sharks have been known to work. As far as catfish are concerned it might be worth posting in that section to see what catfish people think will work with your Oscars. When you choose companions keep in mind how fast the Oscars grow - you don't want them outgrowing your other fish and eating them!