A few years ago I bought an oscar cichlid for my 55 gallon tank.  I believe the scientific name is Astronotus Ocellatus, but I could be mistaken.  The coloration was that of the typical oscar cichlid.  I bought it when it was very young, only about 3 inches in length.  He grew to about 8 or 9 inches before he died.  I tried to teach him tricks but he never learned any.  He did, however, recognize me because he would always swim around exitedly when I entered the room.  I fed him fish flakes, but he always ate the algae wafers I fed my pleco instead.  I ended up naming him Larry because the name Larry totally owns.  He was somewhat aggressive, and sometimes mess with my other fish.  There were no real aggression problems though.  Larry was definitely a cool and fun fish to have, and I've considered getting another oscar cichlid, but instead I got a red bellied pacu so right now my tank is kind of full.  I would recommend oscars to anyone who has a big enough tank and wants a cool fish.

Comments

Add New Search RSS

? chad (Unregistered) 2008-09-21 03:37:32 I was thinking of geting oscars but im not sure . I've been asking alot of pet stores how many i could have in a 65 gallon tank but no one can give me a straight answer can any one help? Reply 5   3

Anonymous (Unregistered) 2008-09-24 12:45:16 1 gallon per inch of fish Reply 1   5

Anonymous (Unregistered) 2008-10-03 13:16:51 with how big oscars get you would only want one in a 65g you might get away with two but it would be really cramped Reply 2   2

Anonymous (Unregistered) 2009-05-09 17:12:51 two in my 55 gallon was too much. also.. when they got a bit bigger than my hand they started fighing. constantly. i had to give one away to my LFS so the larger one wouldnt kill it. Reply 1   0

Kim (Unregistered) 2009-10-13 10:05:50 It is recommended that you have just 1 or at least six. They will fight or chase each other. Only 1 in a 65 gallon. Reply 0   0

Anonymous (Unregistered) 2010-06-14 02:58:08 you cant even keep one oscar in a 65 long term imo. Remember these things can get 14-16 inches and a 65 would be a chore for him to even turn around. Reply 0   0

dave (Unregistered) 2011-12-10 10:11:11 you can only keep one oscar in a tank that small. they can grow to over 12" long and arent the cleanest fish around. a pair would require a 90+ gallon tank on the small side. 1" rule is a little simplistic when dealing with a fish that big. I think we need to incorporate some kind of square inch rule when dealing with them. thats why a lot of people dont keep them. just because they will survive in a smaller tank doesnt mean they should. If a person recieved food and water locked in a prison cell they could live for quite a while but im sure they wouldnt be happy about it. there are plenty of really cool cichlids that you could keep instead a provide an excellent habitat for them. i work in a pet store and i often see people trying to make a square peg fit a round hole when it comes to small animals and fish. fill your tank with what works best for them and enjoy it! good luck Reply 0   0

Mrs. krakinup (Registered) 2008-10-16 20:59:25 I have a Cichlid that is about 7 inches long and 5 inches tall. She has a strange hump on her head and is orange. I am looking for a male, but don';t know what kind to get for her. She lays eggs and becomes very agressive. she has really become part of this family, but I don't know what kind she is. Please help. Reply 7   2

Kalei (Unregistered) 2009-01-11 00:15:11 I too have a large orange cichlid with a hump on her head, around the same size.. i later found out that she is a Amphilophus labiatus (Red Devil cichlid). Reply 3   1

to mrs. red devil girl (Unregistered) 2009-06-06 10:00:04 if you guys do have red devil cichlids and they have a large hump on their forehead they are males i was recently given a red devil and found out that he was male because of the hump. but if anyone has a red devil female and lives in calgary alberta please let me know. Reply 1   0

Midas Cichlid Natalie (Unregistered) 2009-02-12 14:25:01 Hey I believe what you have is a "midas" Cichlid. Reply 1   0

LadyCichlidLover (Registered) 2011-05-25 12:37:20 Yeah I wouldn't doubt that you have a red devil cichlid...or midas as Natalie mentioned. I have a red devil myself and had him since he was quite young and although hes still young his hump is sorta appearing...I assume its gonna get bigger. I'd like to know to be able to tell the difference between midas fish and red devils though...or even if there IS a difference? Reply 0   0

mr Sam mcgillivray (Unregistered) 2009-02-01 14:07:42 a 65 gallon you could fit about 5 just oscars no other fish expect a plecostomas to help clean up only 5 while they were small and young and then when they get bigger take the others back exepect 2 keep the 2 who get along with eack other the best then with 2 oscars and a plec you should add a jack dempsey cichlid,2 blood parrot cichlids,1 severum,and 2-4 firemouth cichlids i found that these fish get along brillantly with oscars as long as they hsve space and a hiding place each to call their own they should all get along except from the odd cichlid tussles as cichlid do. good luck mate Reply 1   0

dempseydude (Registered) 2009-11-30 13:34:56 I had a two year old oscar And a 1 year old pacu and introduced a 3in jack {dont know age} and he almost killed the oscar i was pissed the jack is pretty but oscar is family be carfull Reply 0   0

dempsy werty (Registered) 2010-09-12 17:19:01 Yah my 4 inch jack dempsy killed my 4 inch oscar the night i got the oscar. He was okay with all the little cichlids but not the oscar. Reply 0   0

Oscar to water ratio Sue Philadelphia PA usa (Unregistered) 2009-02-18 12:35:56 Oscar to water ratio I had a 135 gal tank it contained two oscars and two manganese cichlids... That was a nice ratio... Oscars need lots of room and lots of water changes...I used a fluval system and it worked great considering the ammonia build up from the oscars chomping food and throwing it around the tank... I switched to africans...not quite as smart, but more colorful and there is a bigger latitude when it comes to fish per water..... There are eating my poor pleco to death though.....but...I was told I know... He's getting big despite the "snacking" of his fins by his tank mates. Hes the ugliest fish I have ever seen in my entire life.... Reply 0   0

Oscar to water ratio Sue Philadelphia PA usa (Unregistered) 2009-02-18 12:37:41 BTW My Oscars were approaching 9-10 inches and about 3-4 lbs each when I had to give them away....12 years later..One is still alive..... Reply 0   0

ponte vedra fl randy (Unregistered) 2009-03-18 12:09:04 you could keep 2 oscars in a 65. its not ideal. but they'd be ok Reply 0   1

jay (Unregistered) 2009-04-11 23:56:58 i introduced my albino oscar (5 inches) to my red tiger oscar (6 inches) and the next morning my albino was sitting on the bottom de-scaled and missing half it's tail. i''ve seperated them and will re-introduce them now the albino has had time to claim territory of the tank. In the tank also is a JD, a geophagus brazilien (eartheater) a pearl cichlid, a jewel cichlid, a bristlenose, 4 small angels, a choc catfish, and a silver shark. All get on pretty good, they have their space and their pecking order. There's a bit of chasing around dinner time and just after but they settle down before sleeping Reply 0   0

to sam jordan (Unregistered) 2009-08-27 00:40:42 that rule is a load of s%^&t you could fit just one oscar in a 65gallon tank and that would be pushing it, and thats with no other fish. if go with 5 oscars in a 65 they won't even have enough space to turn around. just get 1 oscar or get some other cichlids but pls don't put more than 2 in there. Reply 0   0

breeding cichlids for? Dorothy Fisher (Unregistered) 2009-09-03 02:52:45 Is your fish dead already or you wanted somebody to get your Oscar? Why not get another tank for it and try breeding cichlids for money? You'll enjoy that! http://fishy-whisperer.com/CichlidFishSecretsReview.html Reply 0   1

Shut Up!!!! Doug (Unregistered) 2009-11-07 07:32:04 You guys are too rediculous. Look Oscars are aggressive but not as agressive as African cichlids. Don't listen to these paranoid freaks. Get one of these Oscars or two or three and if they have problems get a bigger tank. One, are you serious? Go shove it up your fish store profit making ***? Any fish is going to grow but you only need a tank that is relative to their size. Yes, you may need a bigger tank if you want to keep more fish, but at their size just keep what you can, if they get too big get a bigger tank. It will take a long time to have these fish get bigger then what a 65 gallon can contain. Reply 0   0

Bad News Tyler (Unregistered) 2009-12-30 16:29:18 Yes oscars are pretty fish and are fun to have. I've had many over the years but they just a pain. They gat way big to fast. My third one grew from 3 inches to over a foot iin 10-12 months. He didnt pick on any body but he had his faults tho. He would eat almost all the food so my others did'nt grow hardly at all. He ate so much that his poo was still almost all pellets. He would eat that and yhen thats the biggest issue. They start eatin poo and thats where hole in head starts. Oscars can get it without even eatin poo. If u keep them u need to treat for hole in head wether they have it or not. Mine got it bad and i dumped it at the local fish store to deal with. Be careful and to ur reasearch before u just go get one. To many people buy them and just dont know what they are gettin themselves into. Same with jaguars and pacus. Reply 0   0

larry jocko j (Unregistered) 2010-05-11 16:03:57 larry is the gayest fish i ever seen Reply 0   0

oscars Jeff (Unregistered) 2010-06-06 02:09:04 I have kept a few oscars over time and they are cool fish. I dont currently have them though. I kept them in a 125 and feel like they were cramped. they were around 15" when the decision was made to rehome the fish. I would not get another oscar unless i had a tank with at least a 72x24 footprint such as a standard 180. Reply 1   1

ridiculousness perfect_prefect (Unregistered) 2010-06-08 17:20:15 I AM SERIOUSLY APPALLED AT THE MAJORITY OF THE COMMENTS I HAVE JUST READ. I AM PLEADING FOR ANY AND ALL OF YOU TO VISIT MONSTERFISHKEEPERS.COM AND READ SOME OF THE THREADS ABOUT THE FISH YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT IN THE FORUMS THERE. THE SITE IS FULL OF VERY KNOWLEDGABLE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THERE TALKING ABOUT NOT PEOPLE SAYING THAT SINCE THERE FISH LIVED IN SUCH AND SUCH TANK WITH SUCH AND SUCH TANKMATES FOR A YEAR THAT ITS FINE TO DO THAT. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT MOST OF THESE FISH SHOULD LIVE SOMEWHERE AROUND 15 YEARS? THIS COMMON MISSUNDERSTANDING AND PASSING OFF FALSE OPINION AS FACT IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE FISH TRADE. IT IS GREAT FOR THE FISH STORES AS THEY SELL 15X AS MANY FISH AS THEY WOULD IF THEY GAVE EVERYONE CORRECT INFORMATION. Reply 0   0

As many as you want Nick (Unregistered) 2010-06-22 16:45:29 When young, Oscars get along fine and I've had up to 5 in my 55 gallon tank. After the first year you'll need to get rid of a couple of them because of size. Oscars tend to grow based on the size of their environment but they can only be limited so much. One oscar in a 65 will grow up to 9-10 inches but 2 they'll tend to stop at 6-8 inches. More then 2 after the first year will get crowded and there will be fighting. You'll notice that the most dominant oscar in the tank will grow the fastest and largest...you'll also see that they'll get most of the food. An interesting breed to watch grow. With my oscars I've mixed in jack dempsey's, convicts, pikes and jewel fish. Outside the cichlid arena you can also mix in pleco's, silver dollars and tinfoil barbs. When adding these fish to the tank while the oscars are young make sure they are smaller than the oscars. if jacks, convicts or jewels are larger than the oscar they will kill them. Good Luck! Reply 0   0

oscar size dj (Unregistered) 2010-07-28 11:06:00 a fish can only get as big as its enviorment so depending on how big of a tank you have and how many oscars you have will determine how big ur fish get Reply 0   0

mr matt (Unregistered) 2010-08-22 16:17:18 is this comment for real ?? this has to be the biggest misconception in fish keeping ! fish do NOT grow to the size of their accommodation, you are infact stunting and deforming the fish you are keeping in inadequate aquaria. after reading through these comments and being completely appalled at the majority of advice given i am also going to plead that you all take a browse at monsterfishkeepers.com to see how these creatures should be cared for ! i currently keep 2 oscars with various housemates in a 233 uk gallon tank and they are 14inch and still growing. but the size of the tank is only half of what you need as you will require equal filtration for these messy fish but i highly doubt any of you people posting ridiculous posts would even know about the nitrification cycle and how it affects your tanks. reading books and researching on the internet (through reliable sources) is the best think you can do for your fish, and dont take any advice off of this forum/comment section as it is 99% bull ! Reply 0   0

werty (Registered) 2010-09-12 17:13:02 Oscars do not go well with a jack dempsys. I bought an oscar and the next moring it was half gone. Will they all be like that Reply 1   0

Hello there through the the St Nidereadses (Unregistered) 2010-11-24 18:25:22 I just now needed to officially say "Whats up" to everyone here. I do believe that this seems an immensely occupying spot for being on the internet. I cannot hold out to begin. Have you got any kind of assistance for an individual only starting? Any certain area that you would highly recommend more compared to the others to begin? I wanted to share a quote that i have often found to be incredibly inspiring [URL=http://mattiecain8655.livejournal.com/]:cool:[/URL] in order to start general introductions: [QUOTE] Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow. ~Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros[/QUOTE] I am amazed at how crazy the world may be. I mean from natural disasters (like the tsunamis or tornados) that kill thousands to the reality that stock markets rise indicating strength as opposed to falling indicating instability following the leader of a country dies, it seems like every thing is combined up. What do you feel? I know I should sound truly old saying this, but do you keep in mind a time when things didn't appear to be this difficult and mixed up? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [URL=http://cureforhyperhidrosis.com]cure for hyperhidrosis[/URL Reply 0   1

How many fish? Tedcfish (Unregistered) 2011-01-05 10:57:02 Yes , someone mentioned 1" per gallon is about right, but that number also goes up as the fish gets bigger. They also require room to grow and if they get too big then they outgrow the tank. Why not start out with 3 or 4? In this way they grow up together. They grow up a drop slower and won't get so big as too outgrow the tank as there are a few of them. Reply 0   0

aquadude (Unregistered) 2011-08-20 12:16:55 Fish are not pets, they can't be taught tricks and no they don't love you, they are fish. Treat them as such and you'll do just fine. Reply 0   1

Write comment
Name:
Title:

Powered by JoomlaCommentCopyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.Homepage: http://cavo.co.nr/