# give me the low down on oscars



## cueball (May 24, 2005)

hi p fury land ,, i might be gettin a oscar is there anythang i kneed to know befor i do? heres a few questions i wanta toss at ya ,, can i put 2-3 1-2 inch ones in togather?( incase one dies) ,, how fast do thay grow? how long well it take for them to out grow a 75g tank?any good answers from oscar owners welll be great


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

You will love Oscars!!! They are extremely personable, eat like crazy, and grow. The max size of an Oscar is around 12". As you know, some get bigger and others never make it to the 12" mark. With several in a tank, they will compete for food. They are not shy at all, and actually they will learn when you come to the tank it is feeding time. Thus, they will be waiting at the water's surface for you. Some will even let you pet them. However, be aware that they will bit (normally only once because they learn quick that your finger is not food), and when they are larger they can draw blood.

They will accept any thing that you place in the tank. From flake food, pellets, feeders, bugs, etc... I always feed my pellets and their growth took off. I long time ago I had six in a tank, and they would take out 100 feeders in under 60 seconds. Crazy eaters. Of course, I moved to pellets after learning feeders were bad.

You filtration needs to be heavy similar to piranha, because they are also messy eaters (for the most part), and because of their size they produce a ton of waist.

I would say their growth is similar to pygos. About 1" a month until they hit the 6" mark, then it begins to slow. However, until piranha you should not lose any. They will not eat each other like piranha, so don't over stock anticipating loses. I never lost any from aggression. Just an FYI.

Three maybe four would be great in a 75g tank. Any amount over that will be heavy overstocked, and you will encounter water quality issues.

Let me know if you have any further questions.


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## Sheppard (Jul 8, 2004)

^^Coldfire pretty much summed it up! Good job! All I can do is just offer you my comments and experiences with them.

I'm not a current owner of Oscars but I definitley enjoyed my pair of 2 Red Oscars for about a year and a half. I had them in a 75g from the time they were 1" to the time they were 10" - 11"
That growth took place in only a year!

They are great fish and incredibly smart. I fed mine all sorts of things. Bugs, crickets, mealworms, earthworms, salmon, sole, shrimp, tilapia, my little brother put a frog in one time







poor little guy. It got destroyed immediately. It wasn't all that bad since it was pretty much eaten with 2 seconds and it didnt take forever. I don't feed live, thats why I felt bad lol.

And yes, they will bite you if your not cautious. I got mine to jump out of the tank for food! At first I taught them to go up to the top for the food and eventually they started jumping out to get food before I even dropped it in! The one day 1 of the Oscars jumped out and chomped my finger and it scared the hell out of me! It actually drew a bit of blood too.

Another cool thing you can do is give them toys! One the best ones is a ping pong ball, they will play for hours with it. One thing I always did when I was in college and i'd be gone for afew hours at a time was put in a plastic cup (they will break a glass one) and let them flip it all around all day! They will entertain themselves while your gone haha

Oh ya one my thing I should add..You might want to invest in a titanium heater and any type of thermometer that isn't glass!! They are extremely powerful and they can break them easily. My Oscars destroyed my glass thermometer one day! I was just happy it wasn't the heater, because they would have been goners..

anyways, Great fish and I hope you get one. You wont be dissappointed.


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

Oscars are terrific fish


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## Inflade (Mar 24, 2006)

Yea, Oscars are great. you should pick up some gold ones that A.S has. My buddy picked on up last week and they look awesome!.

Good luck with the oscars. if i had the tank room i would definatly pick one up!


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## wartooth (May 11, 2007)

Coldfire said:


> Three maybe four would be great in a 75g tank. Any amount over that will be heavy overstocked, and you will encounter water quality issues.


That's great news to me! I'm getting oscars too! After reading some old posts, I thought that I was only going to be able to get one oscar for my 100g.

If you're familiar with my setup, don't worry I'm moving the pygos to a larger tank.


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## serra_keeper (Jun 12, 2007)

oscars are the smartest fish for me. 
but the waste they produce???? man! PITA! you've got to have a very good filtration system. 
no substrate so you can easily siphon the waste and their left overs. 
all in all, oscars are recommended.


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Oh, I meant to state this before. If you go with Oscars, which I hope you do, mix the types. Meaning, get an albino and a tiger Oscar. The reds get drab when they get large, but those two (albino & tiger) really retain their colors and patterns and look great small, medium, and large.

E.g. if you go with four fish, do two albino, and two tiger. That look really cool IMO. All the personalities are the same unlike piranha so it does not matter.


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

and what about breeding a big pair? can i do that with oscars? i would like to get 5 and pick out the pairs and sell the other 3 as thay get two big
the ones i can get are bout 1 1/2 inch i noticed the hook up i go theres are kinda thin lookin are thay normaly thin when thay are small?


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## Thislilfishy (Jul 4, 2007)

cueball said:


> and what about breeding a big pair? can i do that with oscars? i would like to get 5 and pick out the pairs and sell the other 3 as thay get two big
> the ones i can get are bout 1 1/2 inch i noticed the hook up i go theres are kinda thin lookin are thay normaly thin when thay are small?


Sexing Oscars can be a challenge. It's not unusual for two females to pair up. You just never know, tricky little devils. The only way to truly sex these guys is by 'venting' them. Not too many people know how to do that, and it can be damaging if not done correctly. I honestly believe that a 75 is too small for more then two of them. THey are big bodied fish. I'm the guy Inflade was talking about. Got two gold oscars (hopefully sexed) at about 4-6" for $30US each. They are quite stunning, if a bit shy still. My father used to breed a pair in a 90g tank for the longest time(no other fish). These guys have been known to live longer then 15 years as well. They are very messy, and poop as much as a large pleco, so filtration is your friend! Also to keep nitrate down you need to keep on top of your water changes. They are smart and moody!! Like children....it's not uncommon for them to stop eating for no reason, and sulk. Literally playing dead on the bottom of the tank. Mine currently do this whenever I get close to the tank, they are getting a bit braver now though. So here's to the future.

BTW housed in a 155 with 2 EBJD's and a Syno cat and the tank seems crowded to me. Can't imagine I'll keep them all in there as adults and will likely be changing to a 180 some point in the future or moving the EBJD's to another tank for breeding.

IF the fry look skinny with big heads they may either be sickly/not eating or not being fed. I would steer clear and look for something closer to the 3" mark with full bodies.

Ian


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

ok i done gone and got me 3 oscars....







so far thay have been in my 75g tank for 3 hours and are gulping and spiting out anythang in there path thay are 1 inch or so , i have had to cut back alittle cuz my rhom had a ton of curant in his tank i shut off the power head to.... it was real freaky how thay acted when the women came to the tank to dip out afew for me thay darted at top water fast.. i got two that look like albinos but thay got a goldish pattern to them and the other ,, thats my fav is black with gold pattern runing through .... now heres my question what is the best food at 1 inch for them? think thay well eat shrimp/ i got some fresh shrimp left from my rhom?


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

i noticed the black/tiger one has more rounded fins than the other two albinos?


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

and thay well eat insects ,, my black one just ate a tiny earth worm and a ant


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

heres my fav. eating a worm or should i say holding on to a worm

i like the bright red on black


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## Thislilfishy (Jul 4, 2007)

Looks good enough, the coloration and patterns will change drastically as they age. They are certainly hungry little devils, now's the time to start them on small pellets...so they hopefully won't become picky eaters as adults.

Ian


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

what kinda small pellets ? what about blood worms ?


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## Thislilfishy (Jul 4, 2007)

Hikari Cichlid Gold or New Life Spectrum (I hear no end of praise for that) or any such. Small 1mm pellets will do, floating or sinking. I prefer floating, easier to remove uneaten stuff not that you're expecting much.

Ian


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

i just love my little 1 inch trio two tiger albinos and a black with fire red going through it ,, even though thay had a ruff start(WALLMART)...! enuf said,, i coulda slaped the bitch..! she super fast catched the three i picked out tossed them in the same bad put 2 inchs of water and bout 7 inchs of air and said there ya go,, i then had a hour drive home... i was shittin bricks i tell ya but there all alive ,it took um some time to ajust to the strong currant in my rhoms tank but there catchin on,,,,,, heres a question...! i got 4 peaces of shrimp from my piranha that i had could i finely dice that up for them? thay seem to love it.. ive already picked out the black one as my fav.. it seems to be real ajusted to me the albinos are shy


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

um so used to a rhom takin for ever to grow i have no clue? at 1 inch a month for how many months do thay grow befor there adult size? and what is adult size?

what can be keep with a oscar?i know it cant be two small or it well get eaten right? i love the look of jack dempseys would it be a crazy idea to keep a few chiclids in the oscar tank? that would look sweet a 5 inch jack with 3 big oscars


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

my own little site i made for oscars


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

You can keep other cichlids with the Oscars. However, remember that anything that will fit in to their month will become a meal. Try to match up the JD's size with theirs, and that will work. I used to have several JD's with my Oscars and they did fine after they grew a bit. The JD is extremely aggressive when small, but simmered down after he/she hit 5" or so.


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

ok jack dempsey it is ,, um gonna go shoping for one of them next time our pet shops order comes in ..2 jacks and 3 oscars should do well in a 75g till there all 5 inchs right?

i bought 3 oscars just incase one dont make it ....(one oscar looks smaller/weeker)..but it looks stunning

this is my next line of questions i wanta get into... how can i prevent hole in the head at a early age? thats how my last big fish died ..even though i treated it he still died..









i know all about the water and that i ve to keep nitrates down but tell me about there food ,is there any vid,suplment i could buy? cuz thay eat like crazy i cant see it being a problem sokeing there food in somthin


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## Thislilfishy (Jul 4, 2007)

cueball said:


> ok jack dempsey it is ,, um gonna go shoping for one of them next time our pet shops order comes in ..2 jacks and 3 oscars should do well in a 75g till there all 5 inchs right?
> 
> i bought 3 oscars just incase one dont make it ....(one oscar looks smaller/weeker)..but it looks stunning
> 
> ...


That 75 is gonna be pretty full with those guys in there. Be sure to add them all to the tank at the same time....on other words get the jacks asap. This will help prevent aggression. Mine are doin quite well (cept the male jd is beating the snot outta the female right now) but you're definately going to need at least a 150gal tank for all those critters. If any one of them pairs up and decides to make a family you're gonna have a hell of a battle on your hands...and likely one or more dead fish. Plus it'll be hard to maintain your water quality. Even at 5" I'd be impressed if you can keep that tank balanced. IMHO

Ian


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

so how big should i expect my oscars to get in one year if well feed?

um still thinkin bout gettin the jacks


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## CorGravey (Feb 13, 2007)

Congrats on the new oscars cueball. I love the looks of oscars and one day will have a pair. Good luck in the future with them.


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

ya i figga i would pile all my questions onto one topic,,its not that um tryin to build a post count it just saves time makin new topics for every question i have


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## Thislilfishy (Jul 4, 2007)

Well the general consensus is that they will grow 1" every month until about 8" at which time the growth slows a bit. So count on 8-10" each. I think the average JD grows to a max of 10-12", but they grow much slower....so better start savin your pennies for a bigger tank asap.

Ian


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

ok um noticing for the first time my two albinos are doin this so call playing dead thang? is this how thay sleep or somthin? its realy freakin me out ,,, i would have thought thay were sick or dieing if i had not already been worned about it this is normal?


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## Thislilfishy (Jul 4, 2007)

Mostly normal, do a quick water test to be sure. They are moody buggers, and if one is starting to get a but dominant the others will sulk. When I first got mine, they wouldn't come out of hiding or lay on the bottom of the tank playing dead if I was anywhere within site. They are getting a bit braver now...

Ian


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## G23.40SW (Sep 30, 2005)

Oscars are extremely good at playing dead, if mine gets spooked he'll just freeze, his body will go limp, and he'll let the current carry him away :laugh:

After about a year they'll be pretty much fully grown.

Don't put anymore fish in that tank, it's going to be well overstocked and a nightmare to maintain, and get some more external filteration, you're going to need it.

Feed them on Hikari cichlid gold pellets, start them off on small, then on to medium when they're bigger, then large when they're fully grown.

Some people prefer NLS, but I've never seen amazing results with it.


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

^
except my flowerhorn, right g23?









great choice cueball. oscars are great. ive only had one, and he was a little 1" baby, but he was a lot of fun...until he got murdered by another small cichlid


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

it seems to be that one is the boss outs the three.. is that why 2 are playing dead?

them are the smaller ones too


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## Thislilfishy (Jul 4, 2007)

Makes sense, give you an idea of the playing dead thing, I've just finished completely removing all rocks, driftwood, and plants from the tank so I could catch some fry. Only to see one of my oscars buried in sand at the bottom of the tank. I panicked of course...only for the little bugger to swim away when I went to pick him up! LOL!

Ian


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## Inflade (Mar 24, 2006)

LOL you should come see my sanchezi. freaks the sh*t out of me sometimes. Playing dead


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

ok its been a few days and alot has changed for the better and the worst,,heres the better ,, my fav oscar the one i got with black and a fire red belly it has growed 1/4 in size in only 5 days,, and eating almost anythang his fav, is fresh shrimp and tiny earth worms choped up..heres the bad news,, hes the boss of the tank,, one of my albinos jumped the tank(dont know weather the big guy was chasing him or what but he found a tiny openin in the back of the cover and jumped,,,and the other albino is gettin picked on so much that it wont come outa the corner to eat,,(i think that albino is a gonner soon also) he has barely ate anythang and not growed at all,, i ordered 2 more albinos from another dealer along with one jackD just to give more color to the tank,, is that a good idea ? um startin to think no cuz the black oscar is gettin meaner by the day.? if i go through with the new oscars is there any tips..? cuz i know alittle but i still almost know nothing about the agression of these fish i though thay were mellow?

the big guy is showin no love at all


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

Thislilfishy said:


> IF the fry look skinny with big heads they may either be sickly/not eating or not being fed. I would steer clear and look for something closer to the 3" mark with full bodies.
> 
> Ian


i wish i knew this a week ago man,,,DAM WALLMART


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## CichlidAddict (Jul 1, 2005)

Oscars are generally more mellow than a lot of other cichlids, but they can still be mean little bastards. Depends on the fish. If you add more fish, be sure to re-arrange the decor in the tank when you add them. This should help with aggression.


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## Thislilfishy (Jul 4, 2007)

Your tank may not be big enough, and your oscar knows it. So he's applying a little foresight and taking charge right away. Adding fish now would be a mistake. Get a bigger tank and then add new fish and him to the new tank at the same time.

Ian


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

3 oscars and JD will be way to much for a 75g tank. You might be able to do one Oscar and one JD. Your oscars will be at least 9" in year. Can you imagine three 9" fish swimming in a 75g tank. I would get the other two oscars. I would get the JD and keep one Oscar and maybe get a firemouth.


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

what about a pleco sucker fish thang? how would one on them fair out? think he would bother it?


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

what about this breed of oscar... thay must be rare ive never seen one befor other than the internet,,


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

bumpy bumperton...!

its werid all these fish keeps and only the same 4-5 responded to my topic..


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

thats a vail tail oscar, not rare but not a common staple. If you get a pleco don't get a common pleco. get a bushy nose or a bulldog pleco.


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## Thislilfishy (Jul 4, 2007)

I've only seen a few of the viel's around here. Not real popular, and not one of my favs.

Ian


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

whats rong with the common pleco? just the fact that there ugly? i think thats all our pet shop carrys


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

The common pleco can grow huge, and produce a huge amount of waste. We are talking 18"+ with commons. If you added a common pleco to your stocking list you will have to do big big water changes every 2-3 days when your fish mature.


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

o but it should take years for the common pleco to grow right?


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## ICEE (Feb 3, 2007)

welsher7 said:


> The common pleco can grow huge, and produce a huge amount of waste. We are talking 18"+ with commons. If you added a common pleco to your stocking list you will have to do big big water changes every 2-3 days when your fish mature.


AK has a 26 inch one


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## CichlidAddict (Jul 1, 2005)

coutl said:


> AK has a 26 inch one


This would make a great sig for someone. lol


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

CichlidAddict said:


> AK has a 26 inch one


This would make a great sig for someone. lol
[/quote]
lol oo sh*t,,, the thangs ya here on here..lol

ya i know thay get big but i got time plus um lookin to buy a 100g in the next year or so,, i just kneed some sort of bottom feeder to clean up the junk in my oscars crib... ive been feedin my oscar good and hes grows 1/4 in size in only 7-8 days,,,

in our area finding another breed of pleco other than the common is a hard job...

my question is how long well it take for a pleco to reach massave sizes?


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

ok great hes hooked on bugs,,,,







and hes on um hard,,lol.... i know you guys said about pellets but ,,, o well the bugs only last another 2-3 months so he better get re-hab quick ha,,, these fish realy grow fast


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