Oscar advice - Im a newbie !!

Hi all - im new here, i've always been interested in keeping fish. And this coming w/end im getting myself some Oscars!

Can anyone maybe help me as to what kind of oscars these are? They are a dark green/back colour, with orange markings on the body.

And another question....

How often do i feed them? They about 11cm long and was planning on giving them crickets and occasionally guppies and gecko's as food. Heard they also will eat liver.

Thanx alot

***H@VOC***

 

Its great you found the wonders of fishkeeping. If you want to keep oscars, you have to know how big these fishes can grow.. And you need to get a very big tank.. trust me.. ask t_chelle or somebody.. they know a thing or two.. Best of luck.

 

Thanx !!

Yeah i know how big they get - was told they get to about 35cm or so? Is this correct?

I plan on getting a large tank very soon, i just need to sell my anaconda and my gamecube :lol:

Another question: How much does the size of a tank really influence the size/growth of your fish?

Im doing alot of research now before i go and get them on sat/sunday...

 

Don't believe in the popular myth that fish only grow to the size of their tank!!!! It's really irresponsible to keep a large fish in a small tank for many reasons:
1) the fish will not fully develope and it will develope deformalities etc...
2)you will have to do water changes and other matienence procedures a lot more often to keep the fish from poisoning itself.
3)your fish will live a short painfull/boring life

I'm not saying that you have to have a huge tank to house your oscars, I think t-chelle said something like a 55gal for one oscar and a 75 or bigger for two oscars. Just remember fish keeping is a huge responsibility, but it is very enjoyible too!!!!!!!!!!GOOD LUCK

 

First of all, did you cycle the tank first? Not just let it run or a couple days, but actually cycle it (could take up to 2 months). You need to do that before you get any fish. Here is an excellent article on cycling a tank:
http://www.flippersandfins.net/cycling.htm

Secondly, what size tank do you have now? It really isn't a good idea to throw potentially large (35cm is about average), fast growing fish in a small tank with plans to upgrade later. There's always the possibility that your plans will fall through, and you'll be stuck with large fish suffering in a tank that's too small. Oscars grow about 1"/month and will quickly need at least 50 gallons each. And like Alen already mentioned, keeping fish in a tank that's too small will cause stunting. That will lead to deformities, poor health, poor water conditions, and premature death for the fish (after lots of suffering). If you don't have a large enough tank now, I suggest stocking it with something suitable for its size and waiting on the oscars until you have a large enough tank. It will be a much more rewarding experience that way.

The best diet for oscars is a good quality pelleted food such as those made by Hikari, New Life Spectrum, Omega One, or HBH. Oscars are mainly insectivores so a wide variety of insects (such as crickets, flies, meal worms, etc) make really good treats; just make sure the insects have never come in contact with any pesticides. Feeder fish, really aren't a good idea. If they're store bought, you risk introducing a plethora of diseases to your tank. They also have pretty much no nutritional value and feeder goldfish can cause a vitamin deficiency which will lead to HITH disease. That being said, if you raise your own feeders, it's fairly safe to give them as an OCCASIONAL treat w/o causing health problems. But definitely avoid store bought feeders like plague, and NEVER make them a staple part of an oscar's diet. And don't think gekos would make a good treat.

And for how often to feed them, I recommend giving them as much as they'll eat in about 3 mintues about 3 times a day.

The oscars you described sound like tiger oscars. The most common oscar types are red, tiger, common/wild type, and albino/lutino red & tiger. There's also goldens, lemons, veil tails, and dyed oscars (which you should NOT buy) but they're not nearly as common.

I think that covered everything so far. Here's a really good article that several people with lots of oscar experience put together.
http://www.oscarfish.com/cms_view_article.php?aid=29

-Chelle

 

Sheez :shock:

Thanx for all the info - its helped alot! Im bound to come back and ask more questions

Thanx all!

 

i just wanted to say hi, and welcome. for help on oscars chelle is the best to go to, and on other fish we are all here. just ask away.

 

Cool thankz alot !!!!

 

feel free to pm me with any questions!