Oscars are a very interactive fish to keep. Although they are fairly hardy and great looking fish, they have some special requirements.
Some tank mates include:
Clown Loaches
Silver dollars
Plecos (10"+++)
Tinfoil barbs
Jack Dempsies
Oscars are totally fine being by themselves. But it is nice to have a variety, too.
A good rule of thumb for tank mates is anything that can't fit in it's mouth. But don't buy a 2" Plecostomus and a 2" oscar because the oscar will out grow the pleco and will probably try to eat it. Don't get really aggressive fish like a Red devil or a Green terror because they can shred an oscar to pieces. And finally don't get passive fish like Angelfish or discus (
)
Live plants will probably be uprooted when the Oscar gets past 6". If you want any plant, get a large Amazon sword, or some Java moss, or Java ferns. Notice i only mentioned low light plants. This is because Oscars hate bright light and will hide all day if there is bright light.
Oscars like to dig. Gravel can scratch their face up. So, for this reason, i would recommend Sand. Aquarium sand is just the same as pool filter sand except it is a lot more expensive. About 2-3" of sand would be perfect. To correctly fill a 75g tank, get 150lbs of sand. This is three bags of pool filter sand, so around 15$ instead of 90$ for "special" aquarium sand. You need to rinse the sand several times. Get a large bucket and take it out side and rinse it until the water goes clear.
Don't over do the tank with decor. Oscars need their space. Smooth, river rocks will do very nicely with the sand and provide boundaries. In my opinion, a large stump of driftwood as the centerpiece with some Java fern growing off of it just does it.
Filtration is very important. A small sump filter (10-20gallons) for the biological filtration and 1-2 emperor 400's will keep the tank sparkling.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94937 article on filtration
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88677
As for heating, oscars like it high. 80-82F is good. I currently have stealth heaters. So far, no problems. But, i have heard lots of horror stories about them. So for my bigger tank i am (and i would recommend to you) getting 2 250WATT heaters for a 75g. Overkill? hah. If you don't trust me on this you will when your heater malfunctions and your fish die. Get two. The tank water will stay stable and warm and you won't worry yourself.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302284&highlight=stealth+ebo+jager
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283064&highlight=stealth+ebo+jager
Stealth problems (above links)
pH: Oscars are not picky about their pH. But as long as it is below 7.6 and stable, it is fine. If your pH is jumping up and down, get some driftwood to lower it or some crushed coral to push it up.
Ammonia: This is true for all fish. Any ammonia can/will be lethal
Nitrite: Above
Nitrate: Nitrates will easily shoot through the roof without water changes and over feeding. If the nitrates are really high, just feed less and do more water changes. Or just feed 4-5X a week.
GH and KH: doesn't matter
Temperature: as mentioned before, around 80-82F is perfect
Feeding is very easy. You will probably never encounter an oscar that will starve himself to death. They love food. They love it so much they will beg, and follow you as you walk past the tank. They don't do that because they love you, they want food. It may be cute and they may do it all day, but, only feed 2-3X a day and small amounts.
Diet:
Live crickets bought from store
Earthworms (don't treat your yard with pesticides)
Flies
Small fish (every great once in a while)
The above are treats that should only be supplemented once in a while
For staple food:
Hikari cichlid gold/Hikari staple/Hikari cichlid excel/Hikari massivore/Hikari sinking carnivore
Again, don't over do the feeding. And keep the food varied. That will keep the fish healthy, active and colorful.
Albino/lutino:
Veil tail:
Note: an oscars color can change drastically as they grow.
THANKS FOR READING!!
PS: please tell me if i missed anything
Credit:Info collected over the months by fishaddict401 (david kenyon)
Tanksize
Although many people will argue you can keep one in a 55g, i consider it cruel. First, a healthy Oscar gets around 13-15". A 55g tank is only 12-13" wide. The fish would have trouble turning around. A much more ideal alternative is a 75g tank. In a 75g, you can get some tank mates as well.Tankmates
Good tank mates in a relatively small tank are ones that are small (not too small or they will get eaten), at least semi aggressive (or they will be bullied) and in a 75g tank i would recommend any thing that exceeds 8". Some tank mates include:
Clown Loaches
Silver dollars
Plecos (10"+++)
Tinfoil barbs
Jack Dempsies
Oscars are totally fine being by themselves. But it is nice to have a variety, too.
A good rule of thumb for tank mates is anything that can't fit in it's mouth. But don't buy a 2" Plecostomus and a 2" oscar because the oscar will out grow the pleco and will probably try to eat it. Don't get really aggressive fish like a Red devil or a Green terror because they can shred an oscar to pieces. And finally don't get passive fish like Angelfish or discus (
)Aqua scaping
Oscars are territorial. You need visual boundaries in the tank. Like, a large driftwood stump, a cluster of plants, a rock pile or whatever. The oscar will claim an area of the tank as his own and fight of intruders. Live plants will probably be uprooted when the Oscar gets past 6". If you want any plant, get a large Amazon sword, or some Java moss, or Java ferns. Notice i only mentioned low light plants. This is because Oscars hate bright light and will hide all day if there is bright light.
Oscars like to dig. Gravel can scratch their face up. So, for this reason, i would recommend Sand. Aquarium sand is just the same as pool filter sand except it is a lot more expensive. About 2-3" of sand would be perfect. To correctly fill a 75g tank, get 150lbs of sand. This is three bags of pool filter sand, so around 15$ instead of 90$ for "special" aquarium sand. You need to rinse the sand several times. Get a large bucket and take it out side and rinse it until the water goes clear.
Don't over do the tank with decor. Oscars need their space. Smooth, river rocks will do very nicely with the sand and provide boundaries. In my opinion, a large stump of driftwood as the centerpiece with some Java fern growing off of it just does it.
Filtration and heating
Filtration is very important. A small sump filter (10-20gallons) for the biological filtration and 1-2 emperor 400's will keep the tank sparkling.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94937 article on filtration
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88677
As for heating, oscars like it high. 80-82F is good. I currently have stealth heaters. So far, no problems. But, i have heard lots of horror stories about them. So for my bigger tank i am (and i would recommend to you) getting 2 250WATT heaters for a 75g. Overkill? hah. If you don't trust me on this you will when your heater malfunctions and your fish die. Get two. The tank water will stay stable and warm and you won't worry yourself.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302284&highlight=stealth+ebo+jager
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283064&highlight=stealth+ebo+jager
Stealth problems (above links)
Water quality
pH: Oscars are not picky about their pH. But as long as it is below 7.6 and stable, it is fine. If your pH is jumping up and down, get some driftwood to lower it or some crushed coral to push it up.
Ammonia: This is true for all fish. Any ammonia can/will be lethal
Nitrite: Above
Nitrate: Nitrates will easily shoot through the roof without water changes and over feeding. If the nitrates are really high, just feed less and do more water changes. Or just feed 4-5X a week.
GH and KH: doesn't matter
Temperature: as mentioned before, around 80-82F is perfect
Feeding
Feeding is very easy. You will probably never encounter an oscar that will starve himself to death. They love food. They love it so much they will beg, and follow you as you walk past the tank. They don't do that because they love you, they want food. It may be cute and they may do it all day, but, only feed 2-3X a day and small amounts.
Diet:
Live crickets bought from store
Earthworms (don't treat your yard with pesticides)
Flies
Small fish (every great once in a while)
The above are treats that should only be supplemented once in a while
For staple food:
Hikari cichlid gold/Hikari staple/Hikari cichlid excel/Hikari massivore/Hikari sinking carnivore
Again, don't over do the feeding. And keep the food varied. That will keep the fish healthy, active and colorful.
Pictures
The most common oscar you will see are Tiger oscars:
Albino/lutino:
Veil tail:
Note: an oscars color can change drastically as they grow.
THANKS FOR READING!!
PS: please tell me if i missed anything
Credit:Info collected over the months by fishaddict401 (david kenyon)
