Do convicts make good "wet pets"?

[RyJ]

An oscar needs alot more than a 23 gallon tank, IMO a standard 75 is minimum for one. Just curious, how big did your neighbours jack dempsey grow to in that tank?[/QUOTE


It is 4 years old and 9 inches long.
Carl (my neighbour) feeds it a high protien diet (and even worms from outside sometimes!).
He does a water change of 25% twice per week.
The tank has good filtration.
The fish is quite attractive...very nice colouring.
It is very hand tame also. He will stick his hand in the tank and the fish is very interactive. The fish doesnt mind if Carl touches it, it doesnt get startled. The only thing is...it tends to be aggressive toward other people. The fish will attack my hand if I place it in the tank....yet Carl can rub him. I guess it's used to its owner. lol...then again, I think the fish ownes Carl. He babies that fish so much...

Although tank size is important...I find some people to be overly obsessed with it. What is mostly important is maintain good water quality and diet. If you think tank size is the most important role in how large a fish will grow.....try a lil experiment: Put a baby Jack Dempsy in a 100 gallon tank by itself and make sure the water quality and diet you give it isn't good. You'll notice the fish won't grow much...despite all the room you've provided it.

One of the local fish stores actually has a baby oscar, by itself, in a 50 gallon, for display. The tank isn't well kept at all...and they can't understand why the fish isn't growing, even after months!

(not actually recommending you do this to a fish, just proving a point)

 

[L046]

Convicts are hell aggressive during spawning, and will even attempt to challenge tankmates that's bigger its size.

 

[ROLLIN]

Good points RyJ, but fish still need some room to move around. Imagine a 16" oscar in a 30"x12"x15" tank....... you would pretty much have to turn him around yourself.

 

[RyJ]

Good points RyJ, but fish still need some room to move around. Imagine a 16" oscar in a 30"x12"x15" tank....... you would pretty much have to turn him around yourself.

Eeek...16". Monster fish! I've never seen an Oscar that big. I thought their max size was 12 or 13".
Regardless, you're correct. A 20 gallon would only be a temporary home. After a year or so he would have to trade his fish in for a small one again. You'd be surprised at the number of people who do this! One of my memorable moments about working in a pet store was having random customers bring in these HUGE fish that were too big for their tanks.

Full grown Ocars are so impressive

 

[ROLLIN]

My convicts pay quite a bit of attention to me. Especially at feeding time. When I sit at my computer they all crowd into the corner nearest me and just watch me. When I only had one convict by itself, it would watch me and even try to get my attention by picking up rocks and spitting it against the glass so that it would make a sound to catch my attention. I do agree though that when breeding they don't pay as much attention to me. Three of the convicts will even take food from my hand.

Now thats more along the lines of what I was hoping for.

 

[MyTankIsAnArena]

Amen.

 

[stoneage]

Do convicts make good Wet Pets?

No, they usually ignore humans apart from the old "swim to the glass when there's a chance of some food" routine.

 

[Harry Tolen]

Reminds me of the old Monty Python argument clinic sketch.

"An argument is a series of logical statements leading to refutation, not simple contradiction."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is!"

"No it isn't."

etc. etc.

None of which gets us anywhere, if you catch my drift.

 

[stoneage]

Reminds me of the old Monty Python argument clinic sketch.

"An argument is a series of logical statements leading to refutation, not simple contradiction."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is!"

"No it isn't."

etc. etc.

None of which gets us anywhere, if you catch my drift.

What aspect of this thread reminds you of a Monty Python sketch, I thought everyone was agreeing that Convicts dont make good wet pets. Which reminds me of the sketch with the dead parrot.

 

[fishlips]

Rollins, Don't even bother with an oscar. Way too big and too much work to keep one healthy. My male con is some what interactive. I just switched him back over to my 55g. A net is not needed for this guy, I just pick him up with my hand and place him where I want him! However, Come breeding time he'll chase after my face if I look into the tank. If I put my hand in he'll bite. Not much of a bite though, just a little pinch. He begs for food too. Hes not an oscar but still a cool fish.