waht do you think will happen (new tank set up with oscars)

[Hans]

my brother, knows nothing about fish, but anyways, hes got a 10 gallon tank, with a penguin 170 filter, and normal everything else. his plan is to buy 2 2 inch long peakock oscars, and 2 2 inch green sevrums, what do you think will happen, and how long before the oscars are too big for the tank?

[Hans]

by the way the tank has just been set up tonight, do you think it will cycle correctly? are oscars tough enuf to withstand the cycle? thanks!

[Richer]

Um...
if he doesn't cycle the tank? I'd give it... a week before either everything goes belly up, or he's got himself a pretty nasty case of... whatever thats really nasty.
If he does cycle his tank? Probably about a week before everything in there starts to beat the crap outta each other.

I hope you can read the sarcasm in my typing.

If your brother knows nothing about fish, then teach him. If he's unwilling to learn, at least try to stem the impending disaster. If you are going to knowingly let him do something like this, you are just about as liable to the disaster as he would be. Its up to the more knowledgable ppl to prevent disasters whenever possible. Preventing involves educating the less educated, and by intervening when you can. Sitting back and "collecting bets" is far from being part of the solution.

I hope you do the right thing,
-Richer

[dethjam316]

i'd imagine those fish'd generate a heck of a lot of waste, and even if they turned out to all be the best of friends (!), they'd be living a delightful sewer-like atmosphere.

[sumoschro]

i give them 5 minutes....tell him to change his plans, quick, because thats gonna be a huge hassle for the week that they live, lol.

[blitzen25bm]

i think they will live to cycle the tank. they will probably be overfed and just lay at the bottom of the tank so he will dump in a bunch of goldfish and the oscars might eat some get stuffed and lay at the bottom of the tank, water will get dirty and smell and then with no water changes water level will drop until heater dies and filter barely trickles any water. then there will be one oscar left and he will either get flushed, die or dropped off at a walmart or something. did he get the severums yet? ive seen oscars live together ok but i dont know about the severum.

[rich]

id say 1 oscar at 2" is ok. 2 would push it. 2 with severums would be a bad deal. they might not fight, they might not die, but there sure as hell not going to be pleased. its not just about whether your fish can fit in the tank its whether your fish will be comfortable in the false environment youve created. hell, you could house a cat in a closet and it would live but that would be cruel. why should a fish being contained in to small of a tank be concieved as differant?

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by Hans
my brother, knows nothing about fish, but anyways, hes got a 10 gallon tank, ....
I'd say guppies would be a better idea.. :D

[fish_freak]

add another zero on to that tank size and you would have a good chance. My oscar and sevrum never fight but they have a lot of room to avoid eachother too. sevrums dont tolerate anything well and will probably die off first.

[caz]

the oscars by themselves should be tough enough to withtstand the cycle, but with the severums in their too, i doubt it

[Gulp]

Originally posted by Hans
and how long before the oscars are too big for the tank?


About 1 month probably....... Change the guys mind. There is NO reason for him to even attempt to raise those fish you mention in a 10 gallon if he has no plans on upgrading his tank to something over 90 gallons eventually. Let me guess....... He just wants some cool fish to feed other fish too.......

[Hans]

i heard the peakock oscars dont get so big? how fast do they grow anyways? 1 inch per month ? year? its got a beefy filter so i think they should be ok with just the 2 peakocks for a while eh?

[RTR]

I hope all of this is a joke, but even then it is not funny.

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by Hans
i heard the peakock oscars dont get so big?..I'm not sure if you mean Peacock Oscars or Peacock Bass. I've only heard of Peacock Bass and people say they taste good and eat them all the time down in south Florida. They put up a heck of a fight on hook and line! The fight even more aggressively than Largemouth Bass..

[aquariumfishguy]

I dunno...I'm about ready to fall out of my chair! :laugh:

[Hans]

its definantly oscars, they look like they are wearing army camo, is there another name for them? i think im just gonna let him get one of them, and mabey one lil baby pacu, adn at the first sight of them getting too big ill snatch them back from him. dont worry guys :D

[fish_freak]

Are you kidding??? Pacus get HUGE like 2 - 3 feet and need at least a 180gal to survive. Plus oscars grow over an inch a month and by putting it in such awful conditions it will definatly grow up deformed dont do it you will be left with nothing in no time. You really need to stop your brother from doing this think if the poor freaking fish that is going to have to live in those awful conditions and its a wild tiger oscar that looks like it has camo on.

[Gulp]

Originally posted by Hans
mabey one lil baby pacu,

Don't take this the wrong way.....but that's even dumber than getting 2 oscar. Pacus are one of the fastest growing fish you can buy. Within 6 months, my pacu's were over 8" long. These things grow ridiculously fast......that is no joke. When I bought them they were a little bigger than a half dollar. Do your self a favor and skip the pacu's (even if YOU plan on snagging them) if you don't plan on having a massive aquarium.

Here are a few more opinions on those things: http://www.*****************/catalog_pages/wild/pacu_p2.htm

Another:

http://www.aspeninnovations.com/d/pacu/pacufacts.htm

Keep in mind that pacu's can live over 10 years and get to be over 3 feet long........ :eek:

[PumaWard]

Umm, if he wants something like an oscar (personality wise), tell him to get a paradise fish. They are also a beginner fish, which would be a good choice for your brother. He could even put a small school of tiger barbs with the paradise fish (4-5).

As far as the peacock oscars, it's probably a tiger oscar of some sort and they don't grow any slower than any other oscar. There is no such thing as a slow growing oscar or a dwarf oscar unless it has been in horrible water conditions.

[somefinnfishy]

first off its just a stupid idea when you could buy a 20g glass only for like 1/2 of what those fish cost!
Second it would work just fine if the sevrums are mellow and only one small pellet per fish per day!!!!!!!! NO feeders in those cramped quarters.
Third shame on ANYONE who buys a pacu as they DO NOT fit in 180s they will touch the top and bottom in a 180 so buying a fish that even with the best intentions that WILL get severly abused someday is wrong!!!
on a cycle note you have a tank dont you switch filters with him for 2 weeks.

[OrionGirl]

Enough. This is moronic--yes, really, moronic. Locking it. If you're going to bring up idiotic concepts just to get a reaction, they will be locked.