oscar care

willieb18 · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 87

i am going to get an oscar. i need any information that anyone can give me on how to take care of it. what all should i feed it, what should the water temp be, do i need to have rocks in the tank or can i use sand? also what kind of decor if any? thanks

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

Here is an excellent article (compiled by several people with a lot of experience keeping oscars) that covers just about everything a new oscar owner needs to know.

http://www.oscarfish.com/cms_view_article.php?aid=29

-Chelle

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

And for decorations, a lot has to do with your own personal preference. You can use either sand or gravel. Just keep in mind that if you use sand you have to be sure to rinse it really well and stir it about once a month to prevent anaerobic pockets. For decorations, chances are you won't be able to keep any live plants. You can use artificial plants and if you anchor them good with a rock it will be more difficult for the oscar to rearrange. The main thing to avoid are sharp, pointed decorations (like lava rock) because the oscar will end up cutting himself pretty badly on it.

Personally, for my oscar tank (75 gallon) I have a Cascade 1200 canister filter (315 gph), a Visitherm heater (300w) set at 80*, and 2 bubble walls (not necessary). I have a glass lid that I keep secured with velcro (almost lost one of my oscars when she decided to jump ship). For substrate I have coarse sand/fine gravel (grains are about 1/8"). I have a few artificial plants anchored with fairly smooth rocks, a piece of flat sandstone (in case they ever decided to spawn), a piece of driftwood, and a large terracotta pot (so my female can hide from the male when he gets aggressive).

-Chelle

willieb18 · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 87

i wanted to get some red sand and put some black gravel on top of it. if i do go with sand will i be able to vaccum the sand? i also wanted to know what size tiger should i get. i have seen the ones that are under 1" then i have seen ones that are about 3" and some that are about 6" i really don't want a really small one. but i want to know how fast it will grow. thanks!

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

Oscars grow about 1"/month up until they are around 6" or 7", then they slow down considerably. It really doesn't matter what size oscar you get. If you get a smaller one the tank will just look a bit empty for a while (but resist the temptation to add more fish, your oscar will fill up the tank quite nicely by the time he's a year old).

Vacuuming sand can be a bit tricky. Most of the waste will just settle on the top of the sand so you can just hoover the vac about 1" above the surface. You might s**k up a little sand, but not much. What kind of red sand are you planning on getting? I've never seen sand for freshwater tanks in any LFS's. Just make sure it's not for saltwater tanks.

-Chelle

willieb18 · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 87

me and my girlfriend go from pet store to pet store. yesterday we went to about 3 so i see a lot of stuff. but one store we went to had a lot of bags for colored sand. i just like red and black. i think i might get a 3"-4" i seen one at one of my lfs for $10.99 is that pretty good? also should i as the lfs what they feed them? i niticed this one guy at the store feeding the oscara and pacus feeders, and then another store just feeds theirs pellets.

Alen · Member Joined: 30 Mar 2004 Posts: 46 Location: Santa Rosa

Many people feed their oscars feeders, but they are not very good for them. You take a chance of bringing in diseases to your tank and they're not a healthy food source.

willieb18 · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 87

yeah i know and i dont want to get one from the lfs and it has been eating feeders. i dont want to get one that might already be sick

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

Asking what they're fed isn't a bad idea. Somtimes oscars can get picky about their diet so if you can get them the same kind of food they've been eating that would probably help with the transition to his new home.

And just make sure the sand you get isn't for salt water. Like I said, I've never seen freshwater sand (let alone colored freshwater sand) for sale at any LFS before.

And yes, $11 for a 3" oscar sounds pretty good. The Walmart here sells 2" oscars for about $10.

-Chelle

willieb18 · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 87

the ammonia is slowley going down. if i put some decor from another tank in there will that speed the process up?

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

If the other tank was cycled, yes it will help a little.

-Chelle

willieb18 · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 87

well what i was thinking about doing was going to the lps and buy a rock or try to get them to give me some water from one of their tanks.

willieb18 · Member Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 87

yesterday at the lfs i seen a kid put a cricket in an oscar tank. the oscar seemed to enjoy it. i was wanting to know if crickets have nitrients (sp) that an oscar would need.

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

Yes, crickets are fine. Oscars are insectivores so they can eat a wide variety of insects. Just avoid anything that is poisonous, stings, or could have come in contact with pesticides. The most common things fed to oscars as treats are earthworms, crickets, shrimp, and meal worms.

-Chelle

chris5302 · Member Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 26