Oscar tankmates?
- Thread starter SinaiTSi
- Start date
reptile guy, i just don't understand why agressiveness in a cichlid is a BAD thing? one of the biggest reasons i want an oscar and two fire eels is because i want to feed them live foods and watch them hunt.
i plan to have a 180-200g tank that contains only 1 oscar, 2 fire eels, and a trinidad pleco. and i intend to feed them live foods several times a week, live foods that i raise myself for quality control. its actually quite common for spiney eels to reject all pelleted food. i want my fish to desplay their natural hunting instincts and behaviors. i think its fun to watch.
i plan to have a 180-200g tank that contains only 1 oscar, 2 fire eels, and a trinidad pleco. and i intend to feed them live foods several times a week, live foods that i raise myself for quality control. its actually quite common for spiney eels to reject all pelleted food. i want my fish to desplay their natural hunting instincts and behaviors. i think its fun to watch.
actually, what your plan is would be great. you would still have the risk of parasites and disease, so quaranting feeders for at least a week or raising them yourself would be a good idea. the problem with aggression is it can complicate compatibility. aggression in and of itself isnt bad. i like my jaguar cichlid because he is SOO aggressive. the problem with aggression is that it can increase the likelihood of aggression among tankmates, which leads to stress, and then disease, and then death. in nature the inferior fish could simply swim away, not possible in a tank. i dont know how well oscars and fire eels go together, but i hope it works out for you. fire eels should be able to take frozen pretty easily though. all the fire eels i know of were fed frozen or prepared. (im not trying to talk you into not using live, im just saying.) most people are wanting to put certain fish together that will be more likely to work out together if they arent fed live.
well back to the filter deal HOB filters are fine as long as u buy a quality filter like and emporer 400 or an aqua clear 110 would be a nice addition to your aqua tech filter. by the way if u buy a new filter dont remove ur old filter for i would say about 3-4 months give your new filter a chance to become established if u remove it at all . you can never have to much filtration when it comes to big messy cichlids like oscars. if u want to add a tank mate with the oscar i would also suggest buying a bigger tank like a 90 gallon at the least. remeber as stated earlier a 55 gallon would be the barest of bare minimums for 1 one oscar and i am gonna venture to say that a 55 gallon tank probably wont let that lonely O reach its full potential so u may want to invest in larger living quarters for your fishy friend. just my 2 cents take it for what its worth.
Watcher, i forgot to reply to your question. for each type of fitler i am mainly talking about whispers (and a little about emperor/penguin) and fluvals because these are the ones i have a lot of experience with.
canisters are better because:
-much more media (more filtration at the same gph)
-may be quieter (although i have bever had problems with my whispers, i sleep within about 5 feet of 4 whisper 60s, and when i was sleeping within feet of my fluval, i heard it and not the whispers).
-higher quality water, for things like sensitive species, or species with very specific water parameters.
HOBs are better because:
-easier to maintain (30 seconds as opposed to an hour or more)
-no more expensive than a canister to maintain if you buy cartridges in the 12 packs
-better water flow, it just seems that there are more low current spots in a tank with a canister than one with a HOB
-biological filtration probably not any worse than a canister's at worst. the bio media in a canister is in the airtight canister, so only oxygen dissolced in the water will get to the good bacteria. in a HOB, the water is going threough turbulence at the surface before it gets to the good bacteria, but the bio media is smaller on the HOB
-they are much cheaper. why spend many times what you need to on filtration that isnt needed in the first place
-most notably mechanical filtration. i have now had water turtles for about 8 years. i have found whispers to be the best filter for these messy animals. on reptile forums i frequently see people recommending canisters for water turtles. these same people are recommending very frequent water changes and tank cleanings. i had a whisper 5 (it took 2 XL biobag, they dont make it anymore) and used that for my 40 breeder. that tank had 4 4-5" goldfish, and 3 turtles averaging 5" each (one being a snapper, so he actually produces more waste than a basking species of the same length) before that filter could not handle the tank by itself. if a whisper can keep that tank crystal clear, with better results and less needed water maintenance than a canister, it is more than enough for even the messiest of fish. water turtles are many times dirtier than a cichlid. i have used whispers for all my 10 years of dealing with fish. they have always been more than enough. as said, unless you have very sensitive fish that need the massive customizable filtration media found in a canister, you really just need a whisper.
canisters are better because:
-much more media (more filtration at the same gph)
-may be quieter (although i have bever had problems with my whispers, i sleep within about 5 feet of 4 whisper 60s, and when i was sleeping within feet of my fluval, i heard it and not the whispers).
-higher quality water, for things like sensitive species, or species with very specific water parameters.
HOBs are better because:
-easier to maintain (30 seconds as opposed to an hour or more)
-no more expensive than a canister to maintain if you buy cartridges in the 12 packs
-better water flow, it just seems that there are more low current spots in a tank with a canister than one with a HOB
-biological filtration probably not any worse than a canister's at worst. the bio media in a canister is in the airtight canister, so only oxygen dissolced in the water will get to the good bacteria. in a HOB, the water is going threough turbulence at the surface before it gets to the good bacteria, but the bio media is smaller on the HOB
-they are much cheaper. why spend many times what you need to on filtration that isnt needed in the first place
-most notably mechanical filtration. i have now had water turtles for about 8 years. i have found whispers to be the best filter for these messy animals. on reptile forums i frequently see people recommending canisters for water turtles. these same people are recommending very frequent water changes and tank cleanings. i had a whisper 5 (it took 2 XL biobag, they dont make it anymore) and used that for my 40 breeder. that tank had 4 4-5" goldfish, and 3 turtles averaging 5" each (one being a snapper, so he actually produces more waste than a basking species of the same length) before that filter could not handle the tank by itself. if a whisper can keep that tank crystal clear, with better results and less needed water maintenance than a canister, it is more than enough for even the messiest of fish. water turtles are many times dirtier than a cichlid. i have used whispers for all my 10 years of dealing with fish. they have always been more than enough. as said, unless you have very sensitive fish that need the massive customizable filtration media found in a canister, you really just need a whisper.
