View Full Version : 55 gallons and an oscar
beatle
12-07-2005, 3:22 PM
I have the space in my basement for a 55 gallon tank. I've always liked the activity of oscars, but I've read that you really need a 70+ for an oscar as they'll grow to more than 12" in lenghth. Is it a problem to "cycle" oscars out of the tank as they grow too large? Obviously not euthanizing them, but giving them away to people with larger tanks, pet stores, etc.
I'm considering a single oscar, one other fish (maybe a Jack Dempsey or green terror) and some type of catfish for cleanup. Will this pose a problem if the fish aren't full size? Do these fish grow at such a rate that I would be "turning over" more than once a year?
If so, are there fish other than oscars with as much personality that I could comfortably keep in a 55 gallon tank? Thanks for the feedback, positive or negative. :)
FreddytheFish
12-07-2005, 3:24 PM
Lots of people move the fish to larger tanks as they grow.
If so, are there fish other than oscars with as much personality that I could comfortably keep in a 55 gallon tank? Thanks for the feedback, positive or negative.
Other large cichlids seem to have a lot of personality.
beatle
12-07-2005, 3:29 PM
I won't have the option to run more than one tank. If I had the room for a larger tank, I'd just have that one. 55 gallon is about as large as I can comfortably fit (and afford).
FreddytheFish
12-07-2005, 3:32 PM
Some people buy a fish then return it to the store when it gets to big, you could do that, although it would be a good idea to make sure the LFS will take it back again.
RockabillyChick
12-07-2005, 3:33 PM
a 55 gallon is the absolute minimum for a SINGLE oscar with no other tank mates. if you want a JD and a pleco your going to need a 150, since plecos get huge and create a lot of waste and are really quite bad at "cleaning up" algae or anything else. if you dump the pleco you may be able to get away with a 100 gallon.
also, oscars grow about one inch per month.
Mudfrog
12-07-2005, 3:34 PM
Yep, you can do that. I kept my Oscar and Green Terror in a 55 untill the Oscar was 7" and the GT was 5.5". I then moved them into a 150gallon.
Since you do not have the option of a bigger tank then you could always sell the Oscar to a LFS. A couple things to think about are, the Oscar will grow much faster then the GT. Most LFS have large Oscars, so, they might take him, or they might not have room for him. If you ever sell an adult GT I would imagine the LFS would make room for him as they are no where near as common as a Large Oscar.
beatle
12-07-2005, 3:40 PM
An inch a month sounds a little too quick for me. I'd probably buy one around 4" and then sell at 8". Sounds like my desires for raising an oscar are a little far-fetched. :(
You could get away with keeping one oscar in a 55g tank for life if you do regular water changes( twice a week 25% or a little each time) No the oscar will not have a lot of room when its an adult but you have at least a year before that happens.
Mudfrog
12-07-2005, 6:11 PM
Technically you could keep him in there, but the way I figure it is the fish needs at least half of it's body length in extra tank depth to be happy. Anything less and it's just kinda cruel.
An Oscar can get 12+ inches, and a 55 gallon tank is 12" so you do the math.
Slappy*McFish
12-07-2005, 6:27 PM
Think smaller than Oscars...especially if you want a catfish, too. If you're looking to buy 3 fish and keep them for a long time...(people get attached to their pets and you may not want to sell/trade a fish after they've grown too large), then I would go with something around the 6"-8" size. How about 1 Firemouth(6"), 1 Green Terror or Dempsey(8"), and 1 Spotted Raphael Catfish(5")? I would try to get a female Green Terror or Dempsey and a male firemouth. Female cichlids generally aren't quite as aggressive and large as the males and this would give the smaller Firemouth(male) a better chance of living in peace.
That would be a very good setup for a 55g tank.