Oscar and Blood Parrot 75G Tankmates?

[crharvel]

You guys are great with knowledge sharing so I will hit you with a list of questions regarding filling out a 75G I just got:

1. Can I keep and Oscar and BP together, assuming they are similar sized upon entry and put in at the same time? Would a small school of dithers help or would they just be "lunch" for the Oscar (thinking danios for escape speed)?

2. Can I put a couple of small corys in for maintenance? What would you suggest? Given the existing bioload I would focus on the small guys.

2. I would like to go sand vs gravel. Is that going to be an issue? Figure this is easier to surface clean vs gravel vac and black sand will make the fish colors pop.

3. Given how legendary Oscars are for waste generation, I have picked up an Emperor 400 and a HOT Magnum 250 to run concurrently for filtration; is this enough? Given the carbon in the Emperor, should I use the HOT Magnum with a different type of media?

4. Should I add powerheads to generate some current (above what the filters create)? Dont know if BPs and Oscars like a good current!

I plan on getting the tank cycled with the dither fish (if you folks think they wont be gone in 30 seconds after adding the Oscar) and with the help of the HOT Magnum that I have hanging on my existing 12G Platy Tank to get "cultured". Should I drop the money for the Bio-spira?

Any help is much appreciated and may the earned karma save your next fish that is on the "edge".

 

[mcox3]

thats probably going to be an extremely tight fit... (an oscar and bp in a 75)

but lets see what the rest of the guys say... i dont know much.

 

[jm1212]

oscars and blood parrots are both fairly large fish. you will be pushing the bioload as it is.

dont get a fish just for "maintinence." corydoras will get easily gobbled up by your oscar anyway. insead of adding a powerhead, add a penguin 350 or another Emperor 400

if you get sand, there is a chance that pockets of anerobic bacteria will form, which excrete gasses that will be harmful to the fish.

you are going to need more filtration. both of the fish you want are big waste producers.

 

[Ruben Tolon]

You should consider not adding the blood parrot, and stick just to the oscar, otherwise the bioload will be pretty high.

 

[icecubez189]

1. 75G is a good amount for just an Oscar. A blood parrot would just add to the bioload of the tank which you won't want. Plus, Oscars are quite territorial and Blood Parrots are not built for defending themselves. Dither fish won't be necessary since the Oscar will be by itself. If you want a small schooling fish, try opting for a larger tank, like around 100G or more. Then you can start to think about Silver Dollars or Giant Danios.

2. As mentioned, Corys will only add to the bioload more than they "maintain". Remember, even if they do eat leftover food, you still need to adequately feed them. That means more poop and more waste. Your best bet for maintanence is weekly water changes.

3. I would recommend pea sized gravel over sand if your keeping an Oscar. Thats not to say you can't use sand but maintenance wise, its a lot easier to do those rigorous vaccing (which you will need to do with the amount of poop an Oscar creates). Also, your oscar will want to move around objects in the tank and rearrange its surroundings when bored, so be sure to include large rocks, slate, and driftwood as decor. Fake/live plants will only be uprooted and destroyed.

3. That filtration seems adequate. Carbon will only be effective for a few weeks, then they will need to be replaced. Try getting as much biomedia as you can, areas where good bacteria can grow thus strenthening your biofilter.

4. Oscars will do fine in the current that your filter creates.

I would suggest ditching the dither fish idea, since they will probably become dinner for the Oscar when it gets old and wise enough. I've used Bio-Spira before with great success and my tank cycled within 3 days. It will be a bit expensive, especially for a 75G tank and theres always the small chance you get a dead batch, but it works great.

Oscars are great fish with a lot of personality, they are one of my favorites. Good luck and have fun with it!

 

[Mgamer20o0]

i would just go with the oscar in the 75gal.

 

[Rbishop]

Thats a tight fit bio load was but it can be done with good filtration and maintenance, and the personalities don't clash. That may happen right away or down the road. I would skip the dithers and cleanup crew.

 

[crharvel]

Thanks for the advice guys.

What I am gathering is that my options are either:

1 Oscar

or

2 BPS

When it comes down to it, which choice will be more entertaining for my three year old (me too!)? I dont want a fish that is hiding/sitting still the entire time. I have observed both in the LFS but with such small tanks I really cant seem to judge what their activity level will be in a larger tank.

 

[Lupin]

1. Can I keep and Oscar and BP together, assuming they are similar sized upon entry and put in at the same time? Would a small school of dithers help or would they just be "lunch" for the Oscar (thinking danios for escape speed)?

No. One day, your dither fish will all disappear and neither should you keep both the oscar and BP.

2. Can I put a couple of small corys in for maintenance? What would you suggest? Given the existing bioload I would focus on the small guys.

Oscars are piscivores. Therefore don't be surprised if the cories one day disappear. You have to do the maintenance yourself. Oscars and cories are incompatible.

 

[jm1212]

Thanks for the advice guys.

What I am gathering is that my options are either:

1 Oscar

or

2 BPS

When it comes down to it, which choice will be more entertaining for my three year old (me too!)? I dont want a fish that is hiding/sitting still the entire time. I have observed both in the LFS but with such small tanks I really cant seem to judge what their activity level will be in a larger tank.

if you want active fish, consider a community tank instead. there are plenty of smaller fish that have just as much personality, like angelfsih or severum