oscar furniture

i just got my new tank and i need some ideas. what plants can be put in oscar homes without it being destroyed? can i put rocks and what type of gravel to use.

 

A lot depends on your own personal taste.

For substrate you can have a bare bottom, gravel, or sand. If you get it from an LFS, make sure it's not marine sand. Pool filter sand and play sand also work. If you do use sand make sure you rinse it really well or it will cloud your water, and make sure you either have a sponge prefilter or your filter intakes are at least 6" above the sand.

The main things to avoid for decorations are anything with sharp edges, lots of decorations (leave large spaces for them to swim around in), and live plants (chances are they'll get killed).

With rocks you want to avoid anything calciferous. A good way to test for that is put a little vinegar on it and if it bubbles, don't use it. Something else you can do is soak it in a bucket of water for a couple of days then check the water hardness & pH. If they increase, don't use it.

Personally, I have sand for substrate, a piece of driftwood, a very large pot, 3 artificial plants, a small fist-sized rock, and a flat rock (in case they ever decide to spawn). I like to keep my decorations around the parimeter of the tank so the fish have more open swimming space.

-Chelle

 

could u post a picture of your tank t_chelle?

 

I beleve she posts a picture of the take shes talking about in a string named "Public Service Announcement, why an oscar etc.."

 

The pic in that thread is pretty old. Here's a recent one.


-Chelle

 

are those plants real?

 

No, they're artificial. My oscars used to be really good with live plants until they reached about 6". Then they declared war and tore them all up.

-Chelle

 

Try buying larger plants with a molded base that is like rock at the bottom. You can then bury the base of the plant down in the gravel. This makes it harder for the fish to uproot the plants. I would recommend common gravel. Its easiest to clean. Any bigger ornaments such as rocks or artificial ornaments you buy in a fish store will work good. As the other member mentioned I would stay away from anything sharp.