Tiger Oscar Care?

[shano95]

Hi all im wantin to get a pair of breeding tiger oscars and i was just wanting to know about setting up the aquarium i have everything ready just waiting to put the water in is there any chemicals ill need to put in and how long should i leave the tank before adding the fish?

Thanks

Shane

 

[Lokemer]

well youll have to ask your water company what they put in the water really. you might need dechlorinater. how big is this tank?

 

[shano95]

Hi the tank is 4x2x2 what is the minimum size tank for these fish anyway?

Thanks

Shane

 

[minxfishy]

For a pair - 125g minimum.

The tank will need to be cycled, ie, no traces of ammonia or nitrIte, take a look thru the beginners resouce centre here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/ to learn about cycling. You will either need a mature filter (and for Oscars it needs to be a large filter to cope with their waste load) or have cycled the tank with a source of ammonia.

Its not as simple as filling with water and putting the fish in, if the tank/filter is uncycled, the fish health will rapidly deteriorate as they are subjected to ammonia and nitrIte poisoning, both of which can and does kill fish quickly.

 

[indigoj]

I'd query other things as well as setting the tank up (minx is spot on about size and having to cycle the tank first) like why do you want a breeding pair of Oscars? What will you do with fry if you get any? Are you ready for a big tank with fairly high maintenance needs (waterchanges etc) if you are unaware of how to set up a tank?