Oscar

[Wolverines]

I have an oscar and today I went to the pet store to find a fish or two to keep him company. I asked the store clerk what type of fish do oscars like ? He told me they love comets and guppies. So i bought 2 guppies and 1 orange comet to keep him company. I put all three fish in the tank and left to pick up a friend. I came home about 2 hours later and I can not find or see the fish I bought. I looked in the filter to see if they got caught up in the tube or something along those lines but no they were not there. I asked my roommate if he had taken them out or messed with my tank in anyway and he said no. Where the hell did these fish go ? Are these fish known to jump out of aquariums ? I looked around on the floor, NO fish. I know im not going crazy I have the reciept proving I bought these fish and they have vanished. Does anyone have any suggestions at all ? I have even looked in the gravel and around the plants in the tank but these fish ARE GONE. Crazy huh ??

[Rocketman]

Haha. I think there was a miscommunication between you and your LFS guy. When you asked him what kind of fish Oscars like, he thought you were asking him what kind of fish Oscars like to eat. Maybe you should be doing more research on Oscars. These fish will get at least a foot in length, (we had 3 10 inchers where I work once...still have 1 left.) They will eat anything. Hey, if you put your finger in there he might try to eat that too. Certainly a tiny half inch guppy stands no chance.

[matty150]

AHHHH YEAH, thats a highly unusual situation, oscars and guppies go together like peanut butter and jelly....hehe...

[blitzen25bm]

thats funny. but didnt you notice the HUGE size difference when you brought the guppy home?

[Gulp]

This has GOT to be a joke........ :laugh: If it's not, sorry for the laughing. :p You seriously need to do some reading on oscars if you are not kidding. They will eat anything they can fit in their mouths, grow an inch per month, and will get over a foot long within a year.

What size tank do you have for this oscar? You will need a minimum of a 55 gallon if you want it to stay healthy. If you have a small tank, I would take it back to the LFS and trade it in for something more "friendly".

[often dignified]

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[daveedka]

If this is something other than a joke, sorry you've had the experience. A good tank mate for the oscar would be a Jack Dempsy of similar size, or if your oscar is very small, Big blue Gourami's have always done well for me, the big trick is tank size, anthing less than 55 is unnacceptable for a full grown Oscar, and if you want to keep other fish with him you might as well plan on 110+ if you want happy fish. The oscar views everything as food, so anything that will fit in his mouth or come close will be attacked as such. Something I might add is that you should try the Cichlid Forum, lots of good info there on Oscars.

[viboy]

your LFS is just trying to make you a repeat customer :laugh: :laugh:

Good one.

[Rocketman]

Oscars, by nature, are not predetory fish. Meaning, they won't bite at something too big for them to fit in their mouth. However, it will fit with no wearing down required, they'll swallow it up. I disagree, however, that a 55 is a good permanent home for an Oscar. Any of the 'Huge' tanks, (110+) would work though, as they're at least 18 inches deep. 12 inches deep on a 55 is not enought for a 12 inch fish to live in.
If you have a tank any smaller than a 75, I would get the Oscar some tankmates, and then take him right back to the store. Give it away if you have to.

[travelinman1969]

I'm laughin so hard, I'm cryin. :duh: Obviously a major communication breakdown. They like guppies alright. I'm at a loss for words.

[fishdude]

wow....................yea oscar do like guppies ;) :p
:rolleyes:

[travelinman1969]

I had to come back to this one cause it's been on my mind all day.
:rolleyes:

Either this is a total joke, or you need to do some research. If it is a joke, keep em comin cause that would be a hilarious situation in real life. Also keeps some fun when we really are worried about the real life stuf. If you did it for real I don't mean to make fun of you, and I'm sure no one else does, but before you buy a fish, research it. I really want to know if it's for real. If so what size is the oscar, the tank, and what do you have for filtration. We can then go from there. I'm bettin this is a joke.

Oriongirl, or any other moderator, don't boot him till we know for sure. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :p

[myst79]

Think this one is a joke.

[Wolverines]

OH . . . SO YOU THINK HE ATE THEM ? WOW NO ONE TOLD ME HE WOULD EAT THEM. ALL THEY SAID WAS HE LOVES GUPPIES AND SMALL FISH. I PUT A SMALL FISH IN WITH HIM 2 WEEKS AGO AND THAT FISH JUST DISAPPEARED TOO I FIGURED IT WAS MY ROOMMATES CHILDREN THAT TOOK HIM OUT. BUT THIS REALLY SHEDS SOME LIGHT ON WHATS REALLY GOING ON HERE THE **** OSCAR IS EATING MY FISH. THANKS GUYS

[LMOUTHBASS]

wow another newbie just buying an oscar - :laugh:

[missymoo]

http://previews.nvtech.com/02/tf05121/NVTech_divi0163.jpg

see it is something that follows through time ... the little fish get eaten by something bigger and it gets eaten by something even bigger and so on

[sumoschro]

this has got to be one of the more amusing posts ive seen:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[FastFish]

I'm slightly confused Wolverines, I looked up your recent posts, is your red oscar in its own 55g now, or by any chance is it sharing the 55g with the tiger barbs, tinfoils, severum and SAE? Have you decided to keep the tinfoils? And has your red-bellied piranha moved out of its 10g yet, maybe into a 55g of its own?

[daveedka]

Something I think should be added, we are all enjoying this a lot, but please don't get discouraged or be offended, We have all made some monter mistakes and learned things the hard way in the past, and can't speak for everyone else but I am confident I'll make plenty more in the future, the important thing is what you do with the experience, keep reading these forums, and any other you can find, talk to people and read anything you can. If you want to keep your oscar and any other fish you just need to invest more time and learn how to do things right. I am ashamed to say that in my life I've killed a bunch of fish in my aquariums but I do a lot of research to prevent future repeats.

[Karlsbad]

Originally posted by Wolverines
OH . . . SO YOU THINK HE ATE THEM ? WOW NO ONE TOLD ME HE WOULD EAT THEM. ALL THEY SAID WAS HE LOVES GUPPIES AND SMALL FISH. I PUT A SMALL FISH IN WITH HIM 2 WEEKS AGO AND THAT FISH JUST DISAPPEARED TOO I FIGURED IT WAS MY ROOMMATES CHILDREN THAT TOOK HIM OUT. BUT THIS REALLY SHEDS SOME LIGHT ON WHATS REALLY GOING ON HERE THE **** OSCAR IS EATING MY FISH. THANKS GUYS

If you really think your roomate or his kids are likely to mess with your tank you might want to think about getting a caonpy and putting a file cabinet lock on it, you gan get a pine one like this at petsmart for about $75-$85 I think for a 55. it could still be removed but its not something a small child could do or even an adult that didn't know how it came off very easily http://www.all-glass.com/products/index.html

[lee914]

"I asked the store clerk what type of fish do oscars like ?"

When you asked him that, he gave you exactly what you asked for! You should have asked what fish can the Oscar be compatable with. Try other similier Cichilds from Central or South America, a few types of cats and my favorite is the Pike Cichlid, nothing smaller though.

Pardon the laughter:laugh:

[Oscardude]

"I asked the store clerk what type of fish do oscars like ?"

When you asked him that, he gave you exactly what you asked for! You should have asked what fish can the Oscar be compatable with. Try other similier Cichilds from Central or South America, a few types of cats and my favorite is the Pike Cichlid, nothing smaller though.

Pardon the laughter:laugh: :dance:
My oscars like cherios
:dance:

[supgourami]

:laugh: :laugh: You have got to be kidding me?


Does anyone research fish before they buy them? Of course the oscar ate the guppies. Guppies are indeed their favorite thing to eat.

[FISHSHROD]

hahaha :)