new oscars soon!!!!!!!!

[kaianuanu]

my 2 baby oscar died recently from mouth fungus so i will soon get 2 new ones my old ones were 2 inches long

i can get 2 inchers or 4 inchers if i get 4 inchers will they aclimate faster than the 2 inchers (mine took about 1 week and a half)

so would it be wiser to get the 4 inchers

[gm72]

Tank size and filtration? Why did the fish contract mouth fungus to start with?

[kaianuanu]

i beileve my current pleco that i bought about 4 days before the oscars death

the pleco lived in the same tank my oscars lived in at my LFS

[gm72]

Okay, so the tank size and filtration? Projected water changing schedule? I am asking because I don't know how much you know about caring for oscars. Want to make sure you make an educated decision is all.

[kaianuanu]

55 gallon, 2 power filters, 10% water change weekly, 100%water change and vaccuming and hosing out gravel and tank every 3-4 weeks or so

would you recomend an oscar and a pacu or 2 oscars

[gm72]

2 oscars in a 55 will need much more than 10% water changes. 2 oscars in a 55 in general is not a good idea long-term.

The pacu you realize will grow to almost 3 feet? No where near appropriate for a 55 gallon.

I really won't recommend either combination for a 55, it is just too small of a tank.

[Fishguy2727]

Agreed. Pacus are out of the question for almost anyone. Oscars can hit 15" or so and won't do well in a 12" wide tank. Also, 10% is nowhere near enough of a water change for oscars. And you don't want to do 100% water changes. You also don't want to do very large water changes that far apart. There is too much time for the tank's chemistry to drift away from the tap water's, making shick and stress more likely at that infrequent large water change. If you are going to do large water changes they need to be very frequent. Mine are 75-90%, but are weekly.

[kaianuanu]

still, should i get a 2incher or a 4 incher

[Fishguy2727]

Are there any other options you would consider? There are many fish that could do better in a 55. There are many other cichlids with just as much personality and even more coloration than oscars. Check out my peacocks in my PhotoBucket page. Other options for cichlids include jack dempseys, all sorts of African cichlids, salvini, red terror, green terror, and many others. Oscars are great, but it is not nice to see a large one go downhill because he is too big for his tank or you weren't able to keep water quality up as well as you thought you could.

[deisel83]

i have 8 geophagus sirinumensis(3x8cm,3x12-14cm &2x 18-22cm) 2 albino tiger oscars(20-25cm) and 2 plecos. they are all in a 4x14x18 tank with sand...will be upgrading to 4x2x2 with some red hook silver dollars...
oscars i found are sooky when u change the environment or water..
they have a 40L change weekly and 40%every quarter.
the only fish i couldnt keep alive were geophagus (orange head)
the oscars are fairly hungry animals
if u can try to get them at about 4-6 inch. they will be easier to do water changes on, do u have plants? i found that mine dont get disease ridden now i have a bit of val and swords in there!!

[OscarFan]

I have one Oscar in a 55. I have raised him from when he was 2 inches.If you do get 2 be prepared to buy a 90 or bigger tank.And I reccomend 2 inches becuase
I like watching my fish grow.

[Fishguy2727]

deisel: What is your nitrate concentration?

[OscarFan]

Deisel is that a 55 gallon