Who knows oscars?

hirschy75

AC Members
Nov 14, 2006
379
0
0
Hello everyone i have a question. In a book i rented from the library it said oscars could be kept in a small aquarium, even a five gallon because they only grow as big as their surroundings let them to live peacefully. Is this true?
 
WOW..that book and all copies should be destroyed

it is a MYTH that a fish will only grow as big as their surroundings

a SINGLE oscar needs at least a 55 gallon tank, 75 would suit them better
 
This is NOT true. A single oscar will need at least a 75G tank to be happy. Oscars are messy fish. They eat alot and poop alot. If you were to put one into a 5G tank, the water quality would be terrible. The oscar would become stunted as well. Although some say that stunting only causes the fish to stop growing prematurely, this is not the case. With stunting, the outside of this fish will be smaller than normal, however, the internal organs will continue to grow resulting in a grossly deformed fish. This is a horrible life for any fish, but a 5g tank for an oscar is unthinkable. PLEASE PLEASE do not put an oscar in anything smaller than a 75G.
 
Technically, that book is right. It will only grow to the size of the aquarium because it will suffer and die a premature death.

For the fish to be happy and live the way it should that book is very very wrong.
 
I would be interested in knowing the name of the book as well. You could file a report with the library telling them that the book contains information that is WAY off. Hopefully they would remove the book from circulation. I know whenever I'm researching a new topic I go to the library to find information. If I had read that book 8 months ago, I may have ended up with an oscar in a 10 gallon tank!!!
 
or you can just write in the good info. cross out that it can be kept in a 5 gal and put in needs a 75gal min. just another reason why you cant believe everything you see in books or the net.
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

You cant beleive everything in books or the net :eek: I thought if it was on the net it was 100% true. So does this meen I should take my minow out of my large oscars tank. They realy seem to like to play tag alot.

There is no way I would keep an oscar in a 5,10,29,30 or any of the small tanks. I feel a 50 is fine and I have kept them in a 29 but for short periods of time only. Oscars are cool fish but very mis understood. Why is it that the publisher didn't look in to the factual basis of this book. I meen this puts a bad name on them.

What is the title of the book? Who is the auther? Who is the publisher? I will never do buisness with any of them.
 
hirschy75 said:
Hello everyone i have a question. In a book i rented from the library it said oscars could be kept in a small aquarium, even a five gallon because they only grow as big as their surroundings let them to live peacefully. Is this true?

Are you sure it was oscars and not Otocicnlus :joke:
 
AquariaCentral.com