IheartmyOscars

hello, i have a 55 gallon (long) tank. its about to complete its "new tank" cycle, and will soon be ready for my 2 3-4" tiger oscars. I also have a 6-7" pleco. what other, if any, fish can i add? assuming i'll get another, much larger, tank in the future, can i get a Pacu (same size as oscars), and keep him happily in a 55 gallon for a while?

Isabella

You can have ONLY 1 Oscar in a 55 gallon tank. For 2 Oscars you need at least a 110 gallon tank. And if you want 2 Oscars + a Pleco, you need an even bigger tank (probably over a 150 gallon).

Pacus ... are a big "no-no" for a 55 gallon tank!

Sorry for all the bad news ... and by the way, WELCOME to Fish Lore

Jim

The other problem you'll have with an oscar, besides it's size, is they don't along with other fish... mine ate smaller ones and beat the snot out of ones it's own size or bigger!

IheartmyOscars

why can't i keep 2 in a 55 gallon? see, i bought these fish not knowing a thing about them. we had a 10 gallon tank, and my boyfriend and i went to the pet store and he picked them out. we told the kid at the store that they were for a 10 gallon tank, and he didn't mention anything about the size they would grow to be. so, they've been in this 10 gallon tank for about a year. I've taken excellent care of them while i saved up the money to get them in a bigger tank. I plan to upgrade to a 175-200 gallon, once they grow "out" of the 55 gallon. also, i had a friend who raised a pacu, started in a 10 gallon, moved up to 20, and so on. if i plan on getting the bigger tank in another year or so, is it really that aweful?

btw, thanks for the welcome, and the advice.

adamzieger

i say do as you wish my friend, fish can withstand a **** of a lot more then you think.
I have to get rid of my 3 Maroon sharks cuz they are still juvies and are all rdy 8 inches. they are not mean or anything, the three of them stick together n dont bother the oscar or my Bala sharks. But they are juvies n 8inch and that is To big cuz i know they get very verylarge sniffel.

Jim

You can keep 2 in a 55 gallon tank for a year or 2, depending on how fast they grow. But someday they're gonna get REALLY big. Mine was over 14" when he died. At that point you'll probably want to invest in a really big tank.

atmmachine816

Pacus get over 2feet that's why they are a no-no.

Like Jim said, oscars get over a foot and take the measurements of your tank, they won't be able to turn easily and they each need to establish their own territories. Plus they are HUGE waste producers. Keep them for now, don't get anymore fish, have large filtration, keep up on your gravel vacs, and save now for a new tank, look at classifieds, craigslist.com, ebay, aquabid, your local fish club for deals and get the largest tank possible. If you can't find your tank you can return your fish at that point, but don't get anymore fish for that tank.

Good luck