Fullofit343

My new Tiger Oscar. He is a very cool looking fish with a great pattern on his sides. I have him in my 10 gal with my black ghost, 2 giant danios, and my 2 gold barbs. yes i know a little over crowded. i'm upgrading to a 39 or to a 50 in a month or two and the guy said they should be fine for now.

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Amanda

A 39 will be too small for all of those fish. Even a 55 gallon is pushing it. And I have a feeling that the Oscar will eventually eat the danios & barbs when it gets big enough.

Mike19

Nice Oscar, i like the coloring it has. its good to hear that you are going to upgrade your tank soon larger is always better especially if you plan on keeping the Oscar and Black Ghost together. With your smaller tank be more cautious of the water parameters and continuing the weekly water changes


Mike

Fullofit343

Yeah i was warned about the oscar with danios and the barbs and he has already made several attempts at the barbs. It's upsetting because the gold barbs are very nice and active fish but i love the oscar. It's funny since the oscar is still getting used to the tank he hides alot and he has been hiding with the black gohst. they hide in the same corner behind a plant and he will stay there for quite a while even with the black ghost rubbing up against him.

Fish Addict

Just wondering about the parameters of the tank (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) because I'd imagine they're pretty high...
I am not sure if any of those fish are able to be kept in a 10gal

Fullofit343

I checked my parameters. My pH is at around 7.3. i put some powder in to reduce it to 7 just to be safe. As for my total ammonia it is about 3.0. i did a 25% water change yesterday because i was worried about my high ammonia levels but they haven't seemed to change. I'm still worried about the ammonia levels because if i'm correct i believe the black ghost is a sensative fish. I have a product called AmQuel plus that claims to remove nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and chloramines as well as chlorine. should i put some in? does the product really work? if not what should i do instead?

Nick G

You need to do a 50% water change daily with ammonia readings that high, or your fish won't last long. Use Prime when you do a water change, this will detoxify the ammonia for 24hrs whilst still making it availible to benefical bacteria. But the main thing is to get a bigger tank ASAP, or you'll lose your fish. Oscars can grow an inch a month when they're young and a tank that small will impede they're grow, leading to an early death.

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!! I would do daily 50% water changes with the amquel..it will not get rid of ammonia or nitrites just make them safer until your next water change in 24 hours..im sorry to tell you but all those fish will die if you dont have a new tank within a few days if not a week or two the most ...even with those water changes, the tank will never be rid of ammonia ....and it will kill the fish... 55 gal as someone said will be pushing it but will do for a year or so...the danios and barbs would be fish food by now for the oscar if he wasnt effected by the ammonia.....please think about returning the oscar and the sensitive ghost or getting the new tank asap ...

Fullofit343

Alright i need to get this sorted out. I emailed the man who sold me the two fish, he runs a very good business near me and he seems to know what he's talking about. i can't imagine him telling me it would be alright for these fish to be together if it weren't. what is it that caused the high ammonia levels so i know for next time? is it because the tank is over crowded?

Shawnie

im sorry for all the negative advice but anyone who would sell you a ghost knife and an oscar for a 10 gal tank, is seriously out for your money only....I dont make a dime telling you this and im only trying to help not be critical...we all have been steered in the wrong direction many times by ppl making money off fish sales......the ammonia is a natural process for cycleing a tank and yes you have high bioload (waste producers) fish in a small tank..goodluck no matter what you decide

Fullofit343

thank you shawnie for all your help. If i were to get the 55 gallon tank that would still be too small? right now the Black ghost is only temporary. once the black ghost gets too big i would figure it out then and arrange some way of getting rid of him as of now the black ghost is about 3 inches and the oscar is about 1 1/2 inches. the danios are relatively small and the barbs are tiney (i have a feeling they aren't going to last long with the oscar). Would this arrangement work out?

Amanda

The Oscar really needs the 55 gal. to himself. They are very large, aggressive, DIRTY fish.

Amanda

Maybe this will help
http://www.oscarfishlover.com/index....ank-setup.html

Nick G

Both the Oscar and Black knife get VERY big. You don't need to worry about the other fish because the Oscar will eat them. I don't know if you could keep an Oscar and Black Knife together even in a big tank. Shawnie will probably know if they're compatible

Shawnie

in a 55 gal, the one oscar and bk will be ok as long as you are good about changing water and tank maintenance...hardest thing alot of us think is "these fish are small so the tank is ok" but its their poo habits and not their size that polute the tank....their size catches up to them eventually and if their organs get stunted (the inside growth of their body) it will effect their life tremendously...if you can get the 55 soon and get it cycled fast with some tetra safe start, that would be best ...