Oscar tank and Plants

[Saint]

Well, I am going to be putting my Oscars in a 100 gallon tank soon. I hear that they tear up plants, so I was wanting to get some suggestions on what I should do for decorations. Anyone know of any plants that can mix well with Oscars? What are some good beginner plants? Any input is appreciated! I do not want to have a huge tank full of rocks!

 

[Franky099]

I dont mean to sound discouraging.....but oscars and plants....especially live ones....just arent a good combo. I have 1 oscar in a 55 gallon tank. I cant keep a thing in there. And I dont know of many people who can. You'll have to anchor them to rocks, or heavy decorations to keep them in place.....even then im sure they will be moved around. I have flourite in my tank (used to be a planted tank) And my oscar digs down in it.....like he's making a bed or something. And if you have any experience with Flourite.....then you can imagine what the water looks like when he is done!!

Good luck...and enjoy your Oscar....mine is my favorite fish by far!!


Amy

 

[Saint]

I had an idea that plants and oscars would not mix. I am prepared to go wit rocks and wood to do my best at making it appealing. Thanks for the personal experience!

 

[Avalon]

You could probably get away with a sword plant or two, some jungle val (not corkscrew), and possibly some anubias and crypts.

However, you will have to grow them for a while first. The sword and val should not be a problem. They develop very, very large root systems, and are next to impossible to get out. Before a remodel, I used a soil substrate, and was trying to pull the sword plant out. I pulled the 30g tank, still with all it's substrate and a half-inch of water, off the stand trying to uproot the sword! I finally got it out, along with half the substrate attached to it's roots.

Anubias and crypts might be a problem. Most fish (or all fish that I myself am aware of) don't eat anubias, so you might try to find an anubias v. barteri or coffeefolia. They grow fairly large, but very slowly. You might be able to use Cryptocorne wendtii's or balansae as well (they also grow slowly). Use root tabs like Jobes, Miracle Grow, etc. to help them out.

Obviously, stem plants are out of the question, but if you can grow some nice rooted plants first, you might be OK. Swords and Val are almost a definite yes. If they get eaten on, they can be easily grown at such a rapid rate that it doesn't really matter if the fish eat them. When settled, the fish would have to have excavating experience to get them out!

 

[Saint]

I have never had live plants before. Are swords hard to manage? Do I need additional lighting. CO2 stuff? HELP!!

 

[Avalon]

Swords are fairly easy to grow, along with jungle val, anubias, and crypts. You will need some extra light, about 2-3 watts per gallon (flourescent). A couple of $15 shop lights would do if you don't want to fork out several hundred dollars on power compact lighting. CO2 is not required, but you could venture into experimenting with DIY CO2 if you wish.

You will need a good substrate. Plain gravel will not be enough. You could use Flourite (ideally), but in a 100 gallon that would get pricey in a hurry (about 8 bags or so). You could use laterite (see post in Freshwater Beginner), which would probably be the best way to go for you (and cheapest).

 

[Franky099]

Avalon has many good points. But if you have an average oscar....you'll save yourself some money using artificial plants....and Oscars and flourite.....just not a good idea.....I speak from experience!!!

Amy

 

[Saint]

Experience is what I was looking for. Looks like lots of wood and rocks!!

 

[aznpanther98]

well from my experience with sword plants they need some iron along with other nutrients and just wanted to share a trick i do keep mine in plain gravel with liquid ferts i use flora pride 0-0-3 and a lil neat trick i learn b/c my other plants would take them up faster was get a lil eye dropper or similar take a bit of the liquid fert and "inject" the fert into the gravel where the swords roots would be i just strted doing that and may sound silly to some of ya b/c there are root tabs too but i noticed a big difference in my swords growth than pourin a lil bit into the water and my other plants don't overtake my tank as fast and now my sword has bunch of healthy green leaves b4 it wasn't so green and grew slower
now i know that they have root tabs for that but i just thought it would be a neat thing to do if u don't have tabs handy but it's easier for me to measure a certain amount to give than a premeasured tablet IMO

 

[wayne]

My experience with big cichlids suggests that what swords don't need is a big lump of fish pulling on them till they float. Oscars are designed to dig pits (fluorite!), and remove local vegetation. I guessdeeply rooted vallis is your best bet, but you'll need a really thick substrate that will be a mega pain to keep clean.