Oscars'

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devz11

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Jan 16, 2005
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HI all i was just wondering if i could clear up a few things with fellow oscar keepers. I have two oscars at about 3' each.How old would this size be??? One slightly bigger than the other. They get along really well so i have no problems there but my questions are........how many times a day should i be feeding them. Oscars are pigs and always want food but at the moment its near enough impossible to tell if they are really hungry or just being pure and utter pigs. Plus one of them (tonight) has been lying up against the power head??? Is she cold or what. I live in australia and its summer here so its pretty warm. Some days the tank heats up to almost 30 degrees celcius.
Plus one is smaller than the other and doesnt appear to get to eat half as much as the other. Is there any way i can insure her ( i call it a her cause she is smaller) getting equal quantities???
And if i have a male and female at what size and what age will they start to want to spawn???
Another question is if anyone can tell me when they change their colours its to do with moods. What equals happiness and what equals the rest of their changes.
By the way i have just found out as to why she is on top of the power head. The bigger oscar appears to chase her up there. mmmmmmm what to do??? Is he going to kill her or are they just having a lovers tiff??? When she comes down sometimes he is ok but then he appears to be mouthing her. He is being mean if you ask me.She is constantly darting out of the way before she cops a chasing. I dont wanna have to split these two up.. I have no extra tanks as the red devil had to be removed from the big tank cause she was nailing the oscars and the RD is living in a small tank at the moment till the new one arrives.. HELP!!!! I love my babies.
Thanks heaps.
 
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adamdwalker

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Jan 16, 2005
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3 inches (") or 3 feet (') they will only be a few months i assume they wont bmatture until at least 8" or so, only feed them a bit and often, they will eat but if you watch them when they are really hungry they produce little waste. Oscarws can go weeks without food so dont feel guilty about cutting down on food, i dont know about changing colours, if your oscars unhappy he'll let you know, mine flares his girls and head butts the tank ever since i moved him into the samller tank as he was being to aggressive
 
VitaminJ

VitaminJ

I bent my wookie.
Jul 27, 2004
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I'm not 100% sure this is always true, but in general, darker colors signal happiness/dominance/contentment, and lighter, washed out colors signal unhappiness and stress. In your situation, I would expect the Oscar that gets bullied to be less colorful than the other.

As far as feeding, you can feed them small amounts as many as 3 times a day for now. As they get larger (8"+, maybe), you should gradually cut down on the feedings. A full grown Oscar can be fed as little as 3 times a week and remain perfectly healthy.

Also, you say your tank "heats up" to almost 30 degrees some days. I would be careful with that. If your temperature is fluctuating significantly every day, this will stress them out, and you should find a way (a.k.a a heater) to stabilize it as much as possible.

Hope this helps! Definitely research Oscars as much as you can, because I am no expert. They are a lot of fun, though.

Good luck!

-sj
 
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devz11

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Jan 16, 2005
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The tank has a heater etc but its not on as the water tends to stay mid to high 20's. Im not sure about farenheit. I work in Celcius. They seemed to have calmed down since last night. I think they were just having an arguement. A friend is giving me two zebras to which i am going to put in with the oscars. What is the opinion on that and does anybdy have experience with oscars and zebras. They will be in my five foot tank so there is plenty of space for everyone.
 
daveedka

daveedka

Purple is the color of Royalty
Jan 30, 2004
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What is the opinion on that and does anybdy have experience with oscars and zebras. They will be in my five foot tank so there is plenty of space for everyone.
Click to expand...
The oscars should enjoy the zebra's as long as they aren't too big to swallow easily. Zebra's are particularly fast and may be hard for the o's to catch so make sure you don't have any sharp decor, as your O's will injure themselves while in pursuit. Even if it is a trusted friend, I'd reccomend a q-tank and a week (minimum ) of observation if there is any way possible.

3 " oscars will be 3-5 months old depending on how much food they get. Breeding of these fish is not an easy thing, and if you do have a male female pair that won't make it any easier. they pick mates and attack others once mature. there is also no good way to sex them while they are alive so no real way to know what you have. the lip locking and chasing are normal, but it could get rough and seperation may be needed if the size difference is much at all. I feed my Oscar 2-3 times a week usually, but some weeks only once or twice. if you are trying for optimum growth heavy feeding is the way to go but that also dictates a need for heavy maintenance and cleaning. I usually prefer the easier way around, and limit my feeding to what is necessary for good health.

74*F = 23.3 *C 82*F= 27.775*C
Dave
 
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csm84

AC Members
Nov 28, 2004
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grand rapids, mi
as for the colors of them, the stripes on my oscars (about 6-7") get very bright, more on the tiger than the albino, when they are excited. like when i feed them their favorite, goldfish. they love to get goldfish. when they see the bag even they go crazy. they are just getting big so they now have some power behind them. last time i carried the goldfish inside and set them by the tank, walked away, and one of the oscars flipped the door on the hood open. they were splashing water everywhere.
 
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devz11

AC Members
Jan 16, 2005
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Just thought i'd update the progress of new tank mates to the oscars'. They are loving having new friends and they havent fought so all is looking good. I am going to build a small cave wall for the zebras as i understand they like hidy holes. Cant wait to do t he project. One thing i have noticed is how impressive in colour the africans are. Its amazing to watch their moods. My gorgeous oscars though cant be beaten in personality. Can anyone tell me how to get my red devil to eat. She is really cranky still from her move to a smaller tank 2 weeks ago. She holds grudges. And just to clear things up my oscars are in inches.
 
jagarundi

jagarundi

Bonafide, 100% Cichlid Lover!!
Oct 6, 2004
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My Oscar is about 4 inches now. He changes colors at will so I can't really put much stock into why they do this. One minute he's dark when he's swimming around and the next minute he's lighter when he's eating. As for getting your RD to eat, I wouldn't feed him for a couple of days. That would get his appetite going. Since you moved him into a new tank, he's just getting used to his new environment.
 
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