Number of Oscars?

[cichlid_guy]

How many Oscars can i have in my 300gal tank?
Right now i have 2-tiger oscars, 1-Jack Dempsey, 1-Firemouth
also have 1-Pleco.

I have 2-Black belt in a 75 gal (there growing) was thinking of putting them in the 300, but i might just leave them in the 75gal
(is it ok for 2 black belt to be in a 75gal?)

anyway!

My wife and I have decided to get more Oscars.
we like them more and think they are smarter/more frendly
to have.

so we are thinking of getting atleast two more.
but we are not sure how many we can have in the 300gal.

cichlid_guy

[Co/\/vict]

6 oscars I think, 1 oscar needs 55 gallons:)

[tuthelimit]

A 300 is big, but will get full really fast. 6 Oscars is not the best idea IMO. 1 oscar in a 75. 2 can squeeze into a 5' 120 but are better off in 6' tanks (150). Keeping more than one pair really isn't the best idea.

I would do 4 at the most, leaving room for other smaller fish.

If you but the blackbelts in, I would stick to 2 Oscars

ttl

[quantim0]

supposidly the deal with how many oscars per tank is: 1 for a 55 and for ever 20 gal over that, one more. however that doesn't mean that this many oscars would be compatable. i wouldn't put too many more in and risk compatability issues.

[tuthelimit]

Honestly, I don't think that rule for Oscars is a good one at all. Although, I have heard the rule myself I think it is bogus. One Oscar is way too small for a 55g. A 55g is only 13" wide. Most Oscars can grow to 14", the biggest ones getting to 18". Ofcourse that is in a large tank, like pond size! A 75g is the minimum size for any adult Oscar.

Anyways, 4' tanks are not suited for a pair of Oscars. Add 20g per fish is crazy. 4 Oscars could not fit in a 120g tank and thrive, no way!

ttl

[cichlid_guy]

ok, the tank is 7feet long and 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall.
over 300 gal.

So i already max my tank?

2 oscars
1 Jack dempsey
1 Firemouth
1 pleco

??? NO WAY !!!

The black belts are ether going to stay in the 75gal or go into the
300gal. all depents on how they behave (with each other and others)

but even still.

cichlid_guy

[Evil Dave]

I'd go with six. But then on the other hand, I don't think I could afford to feed more than two!

[slipknottin]

2 oscars is enough...

4 of them and you have a very high chance of having problems down the line. any more than 4 and your just asking for trouble.

[cichlid_guy]

why is more then 2 going to be a problem?

fighting?

300gal is a lot of tearitory for them.
I was thinking of getting rid of the JD and Firemouth, so all i had was Oscars.

I'm open to opinons!

Let me know. I would like more Oscars, BUT would not want to
them to be unhappy so i could have them.

thanks

scottie
cichlid_guy

[slipknottin]

96 inches isnt a whole lot of distance for a 14" fish to cover...

if they breed and there are other oscars in the tank, you will have a battle on your hands.

[Wench]

Unless you have a mated pair now, adding 2 more, your chances increase of two pairing off. Once that happens then you might have problems down the road. Not that oscars are overly aggressive but will cause unneeded stress for the others in the tank.
On top of that, if you did end up with a mated pair, then your left with what to do with the fry. You will have to decide if your going to raise some or not which means more tank space.
In my opinion, oscars are a dime a dozen so not worth raising them. But thats up to you.


Edit: You beat me slip.

[tuthelimit]

I agree with the other posts. As long as 7 feet seems, in the wild these two pairs of these fish wouldn't choose to stay anywhere near each other. Even in a 7' tank I would imagine the stronger pair would kill the other male, maybe the female. Oscars are weird that way. No, they are not the most aggressive fish, but them seem to be relentless when trying to breed.

Here is what I would do: 2 Os and...

a pair of GTs? or a
a pair of Blue Acaras?
with
a pair of pikes.

Or...

A pair of Os and a stingray!! Alittle risky, but a 3' wide tank is perfect for these things!!!

GL!
ttl

[Toooloud]

Im agreed with the rest,

Having more than 2 oscars can be a hassel, from personal experience i have had 2 tigers oscars for about 8 months, i think they paired off, becouse once i added 2 more to my tank, ( 180 gallon) the two that where in the tank originally wound constantly be out prowelling around the tank.. and the 2 new ones.. where allways stuffed in one corner of the tank.

Most paired O's would need about 500gallons each pair.. as Oscars pair off, they tend to be come more agressive towards there own species,

[cichlid_guy]

ok, thanks for the advice.
I'll stick with the two Oscars i have.

scottie

[Toooloud]

I mean By all means,.,. you can try it.. nothing is saying they wont live happily, But i would just keep an eye on them

[cichlid_guy]

I'm thinking of getting one more.

I'm not sure.

scottie

[Arkady]

I agree with ToooLoud. I had 3 Oscars all form the same brood. I bought one, on Friday and named him Grouch. I bought the second one on Saturday and named her Creed, thinking she was a he. Finally I bought the last one on Sunday, naming him Arkady.[all from the same store and same tank] When they reached about 5 inches, Arkady paired up with Creed and murdered his own brother, his own flesh n' blood, Grouch, in cold blood... =[

[O-man21]

Get rid of the JD and hte Firemouth. Put in the 2 oscars and I think they will be fine......300 gallons is huge for 4 oscars. thats 75 gallons per FISH!!

[Anton Wernher]

O-man21

It is not the volume that is problem rather the available territory.

[O-man21]

But I don't think they will fight if they are all the same size.....And I doubt they will pick on a pl*co, and if they do, those little fish ( that can get huge) are very tough... And they will most likly have enough territory for all 4 of them, or he could put in dividers and make pairs to breed them if he wants

[tuthelimit]

Wow Oman you have alot of tanks for a 14 yearold! That is really nice to see someone young who is into fish that much.

Honestly, i would only keep 1 pair of Os. Why divide a beautiful tank like that in half?

ttl

[O-man21]

yea you have a point, but then you would not have all the skirmishes thus creating prettier fish.