Oscars

[BlackCamaroSS99]

How long do they live?

Do they have to eat meat or can they go on a mostly veg diet like some africans?

At max size what size tank do they need?

[newcichlidlover]

Oscar can get extremely big about 14". I usually give mines a varied diet, which seems to make them very happy. I am not completely sure but--a varied diet is good. the size of the tank depends on how many you are going to keep. I was told that i will need about a 125 and i have 2 oscars. Also, I believe they live about 10 years or so, if taken care of properly.

Good Luck and I hope this helps!!!!!!!!!!

[fOx]

All fish need a variety in their diet, you can't feed them just meat. Try a prepared food, there are lots that are Oscar specifc, or make your own. Veggie matter is a must, even for Oscars (although they don't need anywhere as much veggie matter as the Malawi's do).

As for size, I have heard anywhere from 10 inches all the way to 18 inches. It depends, males are bigger than females. You should note that oscars are extremely aggressive. (I know I sound like a school teacher). It pisses me off when someone goes to the LFS and buys a bunch of Oscars only to return them two days later because, as one woman put it, "they kept biting each other". This will happen. Personally I wouldn't keep more than three, two females and one male, in a 30 gallon tank. A 50 would be better. Don't get two males in a tank that size, you'll regret it.

I'm no Oscar expert, but I hope this helps.

fOx

[jonah]

I've owned 3 oscars. One reached about 10", the other two reached 14". They'll grow approximately 1" per month until they get to about 10", then they slow down a little bit. I wouldn't keep one in anything less than a 75g, or two in a 125g. A 55g probably has enough water capacity, but the narrow width from front to back is too short for a full size oscar to be comfortable.

[BlackCamaroSS99]

Ok this is good...he's about 1/2-3/4 of an inch right now and perfectly happy with his two african companions(a zebra soca and another undetermined) Thier all 1 inch or less and I'm going to add some more as soon as I get a 55+ long tank...

I was told by the pet store the younger they are usually the more tolerant they are of other fishes at that point so I got all the smaller guys and haven't had a single problem yet...hopefully they'll all stay small for another 2 weeks so I can put them in a long tank and get maybe 1 or 2 more small africans in their....

I've always wanted an oscar as a kid and I finally got one.....I'm so psyched....though I traded a large blue gourami and a large chinese algae eater for him that I had for my first 4 months of this hobby I think it was worth it....as I coulnd't have kept them in the higher ph-more aggresive tank very long before something would have happened....

Will oscars eat lettuce or the such? I'll try and look out for some oscar specific food on my next trip to the pet stores....

[Neil N]

please don't fall into the trap of thinking that oscars are agressive fish....they are not!!!!! sure they are predetors and they will mouth lock and push each other about, but thats about it, they are wusses and should not be kept with agressive fish, i admit you may get an odd individual that can hold it own but that is an exeption rather than the rule.

i too dont want to sound like a school teacher but saying that oscars are agressive purllleeeeesssseeee. i currently have 2 7" wild cought oscars and belive me that have their moments but even the plec that in with them tail slaps them.

PLEASE PLEASE dont house oscars with anything agressive, big fish with big mouth does not = mean

TRUST ME!!!!!!!!

As for diet, basically an oscar will eat anything they are true omnivores, in the wild they would eat anything that would fit into their mouth mostly small fish, insects and various flotsam (berries and other vegetable matter), try not to feed too much red meat, it kind of alien to them in the wild they dont get too much animal protein, and its more difficult to digest, try and vary their diet as much as you can, if they get stuck one one particular favorite they can be real stubbarn little buggers, if you cant get hold of that item any more.

ENJOY

[BlackCamaroSS99]

[quote:708cd3abb0="Neil N"]please don't fall into the trap of thinking that oscars are agressive fish....they are not!!!!! sure they are predetors and they will mouth lock and push each other about, but thats about it, they are wusses and should not be kept with agressive fish, i admit you may get an odd individual that can hold it own but that is an exeption rather than the rule.

i too dont want to sound like a school teacher but saying that oscars are agressive purllleeeeesssseeee. i currently have 2 7" wild cought oscars and belive me that have their moments but even the plec that in with them tail slaps them.

PLEASE PLEASE dont house oscars with anything agressive, big fish with big mouth does not = mean

TRUST ME!!!!!!!!

As for diet, basically an oscar will eat anything they are true omnivores, in the wild they would eat anything that would fit into their mouth mostly small fish, insects and various flotsam (berries and other vegetable matter), try not to feed too much red meat, it kind of alien to them in the wild they dont get too much animal protein, and its more difficult to digest, try and vary their diet as much as you can, if they get stuck one one particular favorite they can be real stubbarn little buggers, if you cant get hold of that item any more.

ENJOY[/quote:708cd3abb0]

Like I said he's a baby now so he's doing fine with two other my cichlids...and in a long tank they should have plenty of room to stay away from each other incase they start to dislike each other....but he's doing fine now....

Thats what I thought about the meat(too much can be bad) so since he's so small I think half a meal worm or the such will be good or maybe some chicken heart close to minced? I have a ton of guppy babies in a 2 gal tank just for this purpose so I think I'm gonna let some in the Cichlid tank tonight and see what happens

[Poet8102]

I may be wrong about this but i have heard from some very reputible sources that you should not keep your oscars in water with too high of a ph because the higher ph can lead to hole in the head disease.