smokeypea

I have a 2 month old Tiger Oscar ( just got him today) , as soon as i put him in his new tank he hid insdie a large ornamnet i have in there, he wont come out, i know he will be scared so i left the light off , i also put in 2 bala sharks and they are swimming about very well, what can i do to help my baby adjust? worried about him now, should i put more fish in there for comany? i know he will try and eat them when he grows though, should i take the ornament out?, thanks for any help.

fish_r_friend

how big is the tank? don't take out the ornament he will be even more scared

Boxermom

Wow, I hope you have a REALLY big tank! Oscars are very messy and require large, overfiltered tanks. They get to be over a foot long (and they grow fast), and bala sharks can get even bigger. Minimum recommended tank size for a single bala shark is 130 gallons. Oscars are also extremely aggressive and territorial and do not make good tankmates for pretty much anything.

smokeypea

Oh noooooo, i have a 55 gall tank, but didnt know that Balas grew that big, i had them in a 20 gall and thought they would be ok in this bigger one, but i know Oscars can be aggressive when they grow, i was told at the LFS that if they started off together the Oscar and Balas would be ok, now i dont know what to do

Boxermom

Your best bet is to return them all to the LFS and get something more appropriate for a 55 gallon tank. And I would recommend asking for suggestions here before listening to the people at the LFS. They are notorious for being either ignorant about various species or not caring since if they sell you something that dies, you'll just go back and buy more, or both.

Old Sloppy

Better yet get a really large tank.

Or just return the sharks, the Oscar will do fine all alone.

Trpimp147

buy a 265 galll. or build a super tank!!

darkwolf29a

I would return the "sharks" They're too big for your tank, and your Oscar will be stressed by their night time activities.

The 55 is fine for the Oscar, just don't add anything else that's big in there. I have a pleco in mine with my Oscar, and they get along fine, for now.

The only other thing in there is 2 snails and a guppy. The guppy is a free running snack, at this point.

IMO, the sharks won't work.

55 is the minimum I'd recommend for an Oscar, as they tend to be a bit messy. Also, with other aggressive tankmates, your O will tend to take on that behavior, since he'll have to fight to survive. IMO, it doesn't make a docile fish tank.

My 55 is calm and quiet. My Oscar comes up to the top for hand feedings and a bit off attention. We played ball for a few minutes yesterday. I bought some ping pong balls, and he was pushing it around. Oscars can be quite the little loveable sih, if the tank is suitable to them. Hence, I'm really glad I only have the 1, with calm tankmates. Ody just wants attention and food...lot like a dog, really.

CPVFD325

I value alot of people's opinion around here......however. If you look at the Oscar profile on this site, it recommends Bala's as a tankmate of the Oscar. I also don't understand how everyone does their math.....1 inch of adult fish for every 1 gallon......so lets slow down and think about it. Oscar=10 inches on average. 2 adult oscars 20 gallon tank......now i realize that is mostly likely small for 2 adult oscars......so why does everyone preach that rule? Im so sick and tired of all these "Fish Masters" telling me i can only have 2 oscars and a pleco in a 150 gallon tank, and then two posts later preach the "golden rule".( get a calculator ) News flash: newbie fish keepers have to get into this hobby somehow and i doubt they will go out and spend a $1000 dollars or more on something they want to try. Most people cannot go out and spend thousands of dollars on a 3 dollar fish. However, we all share the same passion. Every fish is different, just like people. Some mix well, others do not. Give it a whirl. SO....... My advice to newbies is think for yourselves and try something new. if it works it works. if it doesn't, take notes.(build your own opinion) My advice to the "Masters" unless you want to run everyone off and not have anyone to talk to.....be helpful. Not condescending.

and on a happier note, i leave you with a dancing pickle. It made me smile.

Neville

I agree with u on some points. The 1” of fish per gallon of water rule isn’t always appropriate. But I think an overcrowded tank never looks good. Think about a room, the more people comes to that room the more it gets congested; soon people will have breathing problem inside that room, the problem is almost same in case of an overcrowded tank, we should give our fish a healthy environment to live. Moreover if u crowd your tank u will have to perform tank maintenance more often and u have o go through other troubles! like cichlids may become aggressive to each other in smaller tanks. So I think it is better to maintain the minimum tank size requirements for cichlids.

I am not a fish master just a fish keeper but I think a 29 gallon tank is way too small for 1 oscar and 1 Dempsey!

Barbrella

The 1" per gal. rule is variable depending on the fish.

A 10" Oscar is obviously not the same as 10" of neon tetras, since you could keep 10 neons in a 10 gallon tank, but not one 10" Oscar.

I"m not a "fish master" but common sense can come into play. Oscars are not just length, but volume as well. They are large, heavy fish that make a lot of mess, and need a huge tank accordingly.

CPVFD325

I agree that having what i have in the 29 Gal. is too much. But, it will have to do until I can afford the 75 or 125 gal. tank. Once one of those 2 is bought and setup there will be some rearranging done. I would honestly like to make the 75 or 125 a big community tank and upgrade the Dempsey and the Oscar to a 55. Ive got some time though. They are still very small. The Dempsey is only like 1 1/2 in. and the Oscar is like 2 in. Only time and money will finish this story.