Oscars.....
- Thread starter Hanna87
- Start date
hannah do not listen to petsmart i had to find that out the hard way, they just like to be the top dog so if one of bigger than the other rule of thumb bigger beat's up smaller, so try to get them the same size, ive had my jack dempsey and oscar and tiger all in a 30 gal at once, my tiger died of ick, but there about the same size now and no problems yes the jack dempsey thinks he's king but he doesnt dare to check my oscar or arowana, so is my experience with oscars and cichlids in general try it, it wont hurt, only the fish 
like he said dwarf's are what you want to get, also do some research before your buy, also check out PetSolutions | Pet Supplies for All Pets Since 1950 i get all my fish from here and no one else has the fish i have
I checked out that site and love it. Dont know if i like the shipping costs but Ill deal with that when it comes time. I like the rams, dwarf gourami, paradise fish, yellow labidochromis, and the shark. Ahhhh.....so many choices. Which if those could i put together and have less of a problem? Would love your opinion.
Hey Hanna,
For once, Petsmart is right! Two oscars would not be happy in a 36 gallon. That's too small for just one oscar. A full-grown oscar can be more than a foot long and they are active, intelligent fish. If you don't keep them in a nice large tank (like 100 gallons) with things to keep them occupied, they have a reputation for dismantling your filter or your heater because they are bored. I don't know if you've noticed, but at the fish store they all swim right up to the glass if you stop in front of their tank, because they are curious about you.
You could fit a pair of dwarf gouramis in your tank, along with say 6 barbs, rasboras, or other small fish that like similar water temperature. Check the fish profiles for details about the gouramis, and then look to see what is compatible. Remember that while the gouramis are happy as a pair, small schooling fish generally like to be in a group of 6 or more, so you would need to use SMALL schooling fish, so that you would have room for enough of one species for them to be happy. Look at the fish profiles. Also, although dwarf gouramis are generally thought of as peaceful fish, we had a heck of a time finding a pair that would tolerate each other in our tanks. Fortunately we had three tanks going at the time. I think we ended up with one gourami in each, because they were bullying each other.
If you want to try some ciclids, you could put a pair of kribs in your tank with a small school of smaller fish. Again, look at the "fish profiles" section for the kribs. See what kind of water temperature and environment they prefer, and then find a small schooling fish that likes the same conditions. Again, just add one other type of fish so that you can keep them in a large enough group for them to be happy.
For once, Petsmart is right! Two oscars would not be happy in a 36 gallon. That's too small for just one oscar. A full-grown oscar can be more than a foot long and they are active, intelligent fish. If you don't keep them in a nice large tank (like 100 gallons) with things to keep them occupied, they have a reputation for dismantling your filter or your heater because they are bored. I don't know if you've noticed, but at the fish store they all swim right up to the glass if you stop in front of their tank, because they are curious about you.
You could fit a pair of dwarf gouramis in your tank, along with say 6 barbs, rasboras, or other small fish that like similar water temperature. Check the fish profiles for details about the gouramis, and then look to see what is compatible. Remember that while the gouramis are happy as a pair, small schooling fish generally like to be in a group of 6 or more, so you would need to use SMALL schooling fish, so that you would have room for enough of one species for them to be happy. Look at the fish profiles. Also, although dwarf gouramis are generally thought of as peaceful fish, we had a heck of a time finding a pair that would tolerate each other in our tanks. Fortunately we had three tanks going at the time. I think we ended up with one gourami in each, because they were bullying each other.
If you want to try some ciclids, you could put a pair of kribs in your tank with a small school of smaller fish. Again, look at the "fish profiles" section for the kribs. See what kind of water temperature and environment they prefer, and then find a small schooling fish that likes the same conditions. Again, just add one other type of fish so that you can keep them in a large enough group for them to be happy.
Rams are pretty common community fish if im not mistaken....most chiclids are very tempremental. I stored an oscar(2in length) in a 10 gallon for about a week or two until his 55 was cycled and he exploded from that to almost 10 inches in the past 8 months. He almost too big for my 55 gallon tank so try to stick to like 90or 75 gallon. At least 15+ inches wide/deep so they can turn around when full sized....
I hope you have lots of fish experience and are not going straight into chiclids cause of a 4 year old....try doing some reading up if you havnt. There is a lot to learn to prevent a tragic accident that could scar your child
I hope you have lots of fish experience and are not going straight into chiclids cause of a 4 year old....try doing some reading up if you havnt. There is a lot to learn to prevent a tragic accident that could scar your child
Oscars get to be a foot long, or even a little bigger. If you want a pair, you should have at least 100 gallons, and they should be the only fish in there. People do sometimes keep them in smaller tanks, but that requires large daily water changes and two very tolerant fish. It's the equivalent of keeping a golden retriever in a crate 24 hours a day. Yes, you can do it, but it's going to smell to high heaven and is not going to lead to a happy pet.
Sorry I haven't been on here forever. About 2 weeks ago we decided to go with mollies. We purchased 8 assorted mollies and 2 hi-fined sword tails. We are now left with 5 assorted mollies, 10 black mollie fry, and one hi-fined sword tail. And I believe more fry to come. Hoping not to lose any more fish.