OSCARS

Sep 6, 2003
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#1
I have an oscar and for some reason I say it is my favorite fish. I dont know why- it isnt as pleasing to the eye as some of my more colorful fish like my Green Terror, but maybe it is that it jumps for food like a dolphin... does anybody else have an oscar and also strangely likes it even though it just usually sits around waiting for food? I think it might be that my oscar is the only fish that doesnt seem to have ADD but, well, I dont know... thats why I am asking if oscars are like the best fish/ smartest fish maybe?
 

Managuense

Superstar Fish
May 16, 2003
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Springfield, MO
#3
sure do! have a few of them myself.....little pigs they are:)

the fact that everyone and their dog has kept them doesnt deter me from keeping them man...they are my favorite fish! hands-down.

i tire of every other cichlid tank i have ever kept.

if you want to really learn a lot about them go here: www.oscarfish.com , they are a top-notch oscar site and can give you a ton of info.

just keep those nitrates low and vary their diet!


M
 

phOOey

Superstar Fish
Oct 31, 2003
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#6
lol, they do eat alot, the one at my lfs is in a low tank( the surface of the water comes up to my waist)and has no hood, they have had many problems with people resting there hand on the top of the tank and the oscar jumping up and having a bite at there fingers :D. do oscars have teeth?
 

Sep 6, 2003
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#11
ok its definetly time for a bigger tank... I just saw the coolest thign in the world- my oscar eat a zebra. kinda surpising since the oscar wasnt even that much larger then the zebra.... but this confirms that oscars are cool fish (its my first conivorous fish). in the bigger tank (will be a 45-55), I will also put in a green terror or 2, and the same amount of jacks- the oscar wont eat THOSE right (assuming all are the same size)?
 

Managuense

Superstar Fish
May 16, 2003
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#12
oscars are not a carnivore by nature, but they will eat anything that will fit into their mouths, so yours eating a zebra cichlid is a pretty typical oscar thing :) they eat mostly insects in the wild, so feeding them pieces of earthworms and the occasional crickets and such are what i like to do.

if you choose to feed feeder fish, make sure you can get healthy ones, as feeder fish can make your life a living hell VERY quickly if they are not.

for the above reason, i do NOT feed feeder fish to my cichlids.

just find some good staple pellets, and feed a variety of foods like worms, crickets, peas, fresh fish filets, etc etc and you will be all set!
M
 

Managuense

Superstar Fish
May 16, 2003
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#13
i just read the post once again, and i feel i should at least give you a warning about your tanksize....

a 55 gallon is considered by most to be the MINIMUM for a single oscar....period.

oscars frequently reach 12 inches (14 is not uncommon) and a 55 gallon tank is only 12 inches wide....making it highly uncomfortable for the fish to even turn around.

plus you have to consider the territorial nature of all those fish, especially as they mature.....i.e- in a tank that small you will be pulling bodies soon enough, period.

many people like to keep a single oscar and a pleco in a 55 gallon set-up, and it seems to work well from what i hear.