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tell me ANYTHING you know on Oscars:
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archive: tell me ANYTHING you know on Oscars:-)
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Newbie
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Sunday,
August 19, 2001 - 08:05 am
I am new to this hobby and so far have enjoyed every part
of it. COuld someone please tell me how to take care of
my oscar. The 1st day I got him I just about killed him
as my ph was so bad it wasnt even on the chart. Thanks to
the help of my petshop assistant she promptly kicked my
butt and sett me up right. I am someone who kows NOTHING
about fish and would love any info (No need to tell
me I am a little ambitious starting out with an Oscar, I
know) He seems happy though, I just think he could be
happier. Thanks
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FishheadJR
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Sunday,
August 19, 2001 - 09:51 am
Well, they eat like pigs, they'll eat even when they
don't need to eat.They'll act like they're begging
for food bye biting at the glass when you're near, Be
sure not to overfeed them, give them about as much as they
can eat in 5 minutes one or two times a day.
They get big and need lots of space, I'm building a
300 gallon tank for my pair of tigers.
they are very cool fish, lots of personality and they love
goldfish..
very messy tho, need a good filter or two of them, I have
2 9 inchers in my 55 and have 2 emporer 400s on it to keep
it clean.
mine grew from an inch to 9 inches in less than 8 months,
so if you don't have a 55 gallon or larger, you'll
be needing one soon..
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jeff
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Sunday,
August 19, 2001 - 01:39 pm
okey dokey..recalling my cichlid days for help..fish head
gave some good advise there too..now the oscar(astronotus
ocellatus)..gets to be about 14" in size..so big
tank needed!..I wouldn't put more than one in a min.
40gal tank..a 55 might house two..but the bigger the bettter
I think for about for every 1" of oscar without tail,give
it about 2.5gal per fish...ok temp about 78F and a ph of
7 or so should do..now as mentioned theses guys are canivores
and messy eaters...you need good filtration,good waterchanges
and maintaince going...you can feed them most anything from
pellets,flakes and live food...maybe 2-3 times aday but
do not over feed..these guy will beg for it so be carefull..tankbuddies?...well
maybe convicts,firemouth or some other A. cichlids or a
pleco...that's about it I thinks so hope that helped...
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FishheadJR
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Sunday,
August 19, 2001 - 09:47 pm
the tank buddies I have for fatboy and slim (my 2oscars)
are 2 small jack dempseys, 3 12" plecos, 4 colombian
sharks, a striped raphael cat, and a lima shovelnose cat.
everyone gets along just fine except the oscars bicker a
lot cuz the tank is so small:>(
oscars will eat anything(almost) I feed mine goldfish
occasionally, but main Tetra's Jumbomin cichlid fish
food sticks, my oscars love these and my piranhas do too...
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Newbie
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Monday,
August 20, 2001 - 02:41 am
THANNKYOUUU Guys for all your help, I appreciate it HEAPS!!
Umm one other little question (hope you dont mind)
Are you for real when i read that you can fead an oscar
GOLDFISH?? And if so, do you mean LIVE??...My Boyfriend
thinks that is a really cool concept, Im not sure I got
it right though.
Thanks again;-)
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jeff
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Monday,
August 20, 2001 - 04:00 am
yes you can feed them live food ..infact some start to prefer
it to pellets etc...remember live fish can carry transmitable
diseases too.I live food tank is an option..goldfish can
be feed up to 2-3 per day per oscar...if they are little
guppies will work well...
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Kick
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Monday,
August 20, 2001 - 09:18 am
Newbie, I don't know alot about oscars, but I will tell
you what I do know. Yes, they do eat "live" food,
guppies, worms, goldfish, etc. and are the worlds best waste
producers. I did not see any mention of the size tank you
have, but I certainly hope that it is large enuff to house
even this one oscar. Anything smaller than a 75 is too small
for them when they reach maturity. It is very hard to keep
plants, live or plastic, as their main ambition in life
is to root in the gravel tearing up any decor that may be
in its way.
To be honest with you, especially if you know very little
about the fishkeeping hobby (like the nitrogen cycle),
the oscar is really not a good starter fish. You may want
to stop, rethink this tank and learn all you can about the
fishkeeping hobby. I have seen oscars literally break the
glass on a tank trying to have room to move around. Good
luck!
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Bulkster
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Tuesday,
August 21, 2001 - 01:35 am
The best advice I can give you for oscars is:
Keep no more than one in a 55, two in preferably a 90, but
a 75 may work.
Keep the number of tankmates down, this will cut back all
the waste, and will help prolong turning your water into
liquid hell, not to mention keep the algae down.
Remember, you don't need a pleco or any sort of catfish,
and if you do get/have one, remember it needs food too.
Most large plecos can't really live on the algae in
the tank alone. Also, there is no such thing as a fish that
eats and lives off of fish poop alone, except carp. But
what can you really say about a fish whose name spells crap
by simply moving a couple letters around?
As for live foods, they can be good once in a while, but
getting your Oscars, or any cichlids, hooked on pellets
is much cheaper than live food, a lot cleaner than most
live food, and pellets don't introduce disease. My favorite
live foods are earthworms and ghost shrimp. Earthworms are
free.
Do your water changes. I work in a fish store, and lack
of water changes is one of the biggest problem causers I
see aside from overfeeding. Any less than once a month is
too little. With Oscars, smaller weekly water changes and
gravel vacs are probably a good idea.
Finally, be sure to thoroughly read all the other posts,
and ask lots of questions before adding any other fish.
Be sure they're compatible, and be sure to ask how large
they'll get, and what they eat. Once again, I work in
a fish store, and we get people who call everyday that want
to bring back a fish that's "too big." A lot
of places can't, or don't want to take in big fish,
so be sure you're happy with what you've got, and
be sure you have the room. DO a lot of research.
I hope this has been helpful.
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Anonymous
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Wednesday,
August 22, 2001 - 03:44 pm
I have recently aquired two 2inch tiger oscars but I don't
know much, if anything, about them and other than here,
haven't been able to get any info on them. The tips
here have helped but if anyone can tell me where their natural
range is and any other useful care tips,such as how to tell
the sexes apart it'd be great. Thanks.
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jeff
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Wednesday,
August 22, 2001 - 10:23 pm
red tigh oscar (astronotus ocellatus) from the amazon
river basin I believe..grows to about 12-14"..lives
long to maybe 13yrs...ph 6.5-7..sexing is hard.. venting
analysis the best but as far as I know females have rounder
heads and look at little shorter,more rounded dorsal fins,males
more brightly colored with spot circles that do not change
with mood swings,some have dark spots at base of dorsal
fins or may have red dots on fins and gill areas...all the
other oscar info above applies to this one as well....
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Anonymous
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Thursday,
August 23, 2001 - 02:37 pm
Thanks jeff, not that I can see any differences between
the two but perhaps when they get bigger... I had no idea
they live so long.
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jen
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Sunday,
September 02, 2001 - 04:21 pm
I recently found out that my Oscar had a liking for albino
frog legs : ( My son's albino frog was housed in
with my oscar and athey got along great until one day we
found him with the frog in his mouth. My advice is never
put anything that will fit in his mouth in the tank!
lots of luck.
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jillrainey
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Wednesday,
September 05, 2001 - 12:27 pm
I recently bought 2 Oscars, one is a nice Tiger. The other
one is an Albino Tiger. The Albino, Acey, has black tinted
fins. Just when I was getting used to its nice color, it
became tinted black all over. I am wondering if anyone knows
if this is a disease, or just a simple color change I shouldn't
worry about. Otherwise the fish is just as active and happy
as the other on.
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