PlanetCatfish.com

so, how big would a tank have to be to hold an oscar comfortably?, and, would one common pleco (big, almost max size, perhaps) be able to fit in that same tank?
not that im planning or anything, i just like the look of oscars!! and wondering how big a tank they need to be able to be kept along side a pleco

If you go by the fact that a Oscar's grow to at least 12", you need a 4 x 2 x 2 (feet) tank at least. An adult grows well beyond 12", so you probably looking at a 6 x 3 x 3 tank to keep them with appropriate space...

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Mats

would it be a really boring tank, or could i put, like, Bogwood, and gravel in aswell?

You could certainly have bogwood, gravel and plastic plants. Real plants are unlikely to survive the Oscar treatment of being eaten and/or dug up.

You can also have rocks and other decorative elements in the tank. Other fish, as long as they are robust enough to withstand "Oscar treatment" is also fine...

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Mats

what fish though?? i thought of a Pleco, because they get bigger than Oscars, but thats as far as i got

Also, where would i ( not wanting one, obviously) find one that looked like this?

That's a young one, it will lose the nice pattern as it grows.

For decorations, you'd want to use large pieces of wood or rock that the oscar(s) can't move. Never have anything in the tank that is delicately balanced such as rocks that could be knocked over into the glass.

But think of how much nicer such a tank would be with a couple of dozen pictus cats instead of oscar! ;)

My rule with rocks is to always lay the rocks out on the bare bottom first and then add the substrate after the fact. Then when the cichlids dig out the gravel you don't have to worry about anything losing its balance and falling over.

Would it be worth siliconing the rocks to the base glass, or is that just totally unnecessary? Or would it piss-off the Oscar?

Kana3 wrote:Would it be worth siliconing the rocks to the base glass, or is that just totally unnecessary? Or would it piss-off the Oscar?

Not necessary. In a big tank, the glass is quite thick, so it will stand the knock of a small piece of rock, but a larger one that "falls over" would be the big risk.

Cichlids of this kind will DIG "constructively", i.e. they will have a goal of making a 12" diameter pit that is at least three inches deep. If that means removing the gravel that is UNDER a rock, so be it. Thus, don't have any rocks that lays on top of the gravel, because they will shift. If you also have stacked other rocks ON TOP of those ones, then you're even more relying on the foundation rocks to stay put.

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Mats

the reccomended size for one adult oscar is at least 55gal (as said by http://www.theoscarspot.com), and thats with room for a small bottom feeder. personally i think 55gal is a bit small for them, i prefer 75gal for a small plec and a oscar. dont forget you need at least 10x filtration per hour unless you have canisters which only need 5x per hour. as said oscars love to renevate! five mins after my plastic plants get buried i can bet on frank zipping over to pull them out, quite amusing watching him dig for china also and even more amusing when he catches a glimpse of himself in the glass.

oscars are great fish to own, very owner responsive but can be a hassle to mix with other fish, notably oscars (once they hit maturity all hell can break loose, best buddies can go to worst enimies in minutes), if you introduce them young it could be alright but some O's just cant handle company

HTH

sharn wrote:and even more amusing when he catches a glimpse of himself in the glass.

Does he go all 'Betta', or is it more of 'Budgerigar'?

much more 'betta' i think, never seen a budgie go mental haha. he backs up a abit and starts flaring his gills, mouth wide open, does a little fin quiver too and goes all pale. its funny to watch but it cant be the good for his stress levels so i cover it up when i notice him doing it lol

My angelfish fight their reflections when they breed in my tank ( this has happened quite alot of times now) the male will attack his reflection untill i reasure him there is actually nothing there ( usually by just pressing my finger against the tank)