kojen

ok so i am new to the game of tropical fish but tend to jump into things before i really think them through. this christmas i bought my girlfriend a ten gallon tank thinking it would be fun to have some fish to look at. problem is after that she really wanted an oscar because her dad had then when she was a little girl. so she bought another ten gallon tank and a two inch oscar. after about two seconds of research on oscars i realized hey this isnt gonna work. so as an early valentines present i bought her a 55 gallon tank. from what i have read this should be plenty big for him. problem is one fish isnt much fun to look at so i have a pleco that seems could hide in the noon sun in an open field, and a goldfish. I tried several other tank mates and he has tried to attack all. a friend of mine has suggested using a green terror and a chocolate cichlid as tank mates. I was just trying to see the opinions of people in here. i understand that the oscar will be territorial so am thinking of moving him to another tank for awhile before i insert the other fish. i have a tank setup for quarantine-hospital tank. i am hoping that this will give him a chance to forget about his territory. he has done fine with the little goldfish and i think only because the goldfish was there first. Any opinions or suggestions on how to make this transition as stress free as possible i would appreciate. i am quickly learning a small tank is fun big tanks are more a commitment than a hobby but am really having fun with it.

Also i bought a used twenty gallon tank to use for my black moor and little american koi. While i was cleaning trying to remove buildup from the outside of the tank i accidentally used a cleaner with bleach. Why i tried not to i am sure bleach got into the inside so my question is what is the best bet to a) clean the tank properly and b) to make it safe for fish.

agabr123

1. goldfish are cold water fish, not tropical (see the posts above), he really needs to have his own tank with just other goldfish.
2. you're pretty well stocked right now, plecos especially are HUGE waste producers and will get extremely large, 14 inches or bigger (if it's a common pleco, there are smaller varieties)
3. bleach is no problem, i have personally used it several times, you just need to rinse it very, very well until you can no longer smell the bleach, and then a couple more times.
4. i personally don't know a lot about oscars specifically, but there is a lot of really great info on this site about tank sizes and tank mates and other helpful info.
http://www.oscarfishlover.com/index....ank-setup.html
http://www.oscarfishlover.com/index....tankmates.html
5. i'm not a moderator, so i can't do this but you will get a lot more info if you make your post its own thread

kojen

ok so i am new to the game of tropical fish but tend to jump into things before i really think them through. this christmas i bought my girlfriend a ten gallon tank thinking it would be fun to have some fish to look at. problem is after that she really wanted an oscar because her dad had then when she was a little girl. so she bought another ten gallon tank and a two inch oscar. after about two seconds of research on oscars i realized hey this isnt gonna work. so as an early valentines present i bought her a 55 gallon tank. from what i have read this should be plenty big for him. problem is one fish isnt much fun to look at so i have a pleco that seems could hide in the noon sun in an open field, and a goldfish. I tried several other tank mates and he has tried to attack all. a friend of mine has suggested using a green terror and a chocolate cichlid as tank mates. I was just trying to see the opinions of people in here. i understand that the oscar will be territorial so am thinking of moving him to another tank for awhile before i insert the other fish. i have a tank setup for quarantine-hospital tank. i am hoping that this will give him a chance to forget about his territory. he has done fine with the little goldfish and i think only because the goldfish was there first. Any opinions or suggestions on how to make this transition as stress free as possible i would appreciate. i am quickly learning a small tank is fun big tanks are more a commitment than a hobby but am really having fun with it.

Also i bought a used twenty gallon tank to use for my black moor and little american koi. While i was cleaning trying to remove buildup from the outside of the tank i accidentally used a cleaner with bleach. Why i tried not to i am sure bleach got into the inside so my question is what is the best bet to a) clean the tank properly and b) to make it safe for fish.

Lucy

Hi welcome to Fish Lore

I can't answer your Oscar question but I'm sure someone else can.

About cleaning the used tank. Using bleach is fine as long as there weren't fish in it.
Hard water spots can usually be removed using vinegar and elbow grease. Just be careful not to scratch the tank.

You can rinse the inside of the tank using 19 part water to 1 part bleach (I'm pretty sure thats the combo, if not I hope someone will correct me)
Rinse it until you no longer smell bleach. Fill it with water and OD it with dechlorinator and let it set for a while.

I think I heard you should make sure the vinegar and bleach don't mix. Not sure about that....I think I'll do a little research on it.
Definitely. don't mix bleach and ammonia.

Good luck

Edit: I combined your posts. It'll be easier for you to keep track of the responses and easier for the members to know what's already been suggested.

kojen

ya when you mix bleach and vinegar it can make like hydrocholoric acid. bad stuff for you so i would imagine fish as well.

The deal with the tank is i bought it used from a pet store and it just has so much buildup i got most of it off but i like clean shiny tanks not ones that are gross and hard to see through. I scrubbed my arms off but still can not remove all of it. i was just wondering if there is a product that will truly remove it all.

Thank you your replies have been helpful i need to pick up more conditioner.

Lucy

Thanks for the info about bleach and vinegar.
There was a thread recently about using other household products to remove build up. If I can find it I'll link it here.

Edit: Here it is:
Can I clean hard water stains on glass with sandpaper?
Hope it helps.

kojen

thanks again am loving this site so far

Lucy

Your welcome, we're glad you're enjoying it.

Nick G

Hi, Welcome to Fishlore! In a 55gal tank 1 Oscar is about the limit, I wouldn't add any other fish. The problem with Oscars is they'll eat preety much anything that can fit in their mouths, so all small fish are out. The only fish that can really be kept with them are other big, robust fish, such as Common Plecos, Jack Dempseys, Red Devils, Green Terrors and so on. Then you arrive at the problem that to properly keep fish this large you need a massive tank. Put them in a tank thats too small and aggression will be a problem, along with the fact that they won't have enough space to grow and live humanly. Also taken into consideration must be the amount of waste they produce. Oscars are incredibly messy fish, so superb filtration along with frequent water changes are a must. In a 55gal 1 Oscar is the limit, theres simply not enough space for any other fish big enough to survive with an Oscar. If you want more than one fish then an Oscar isn't really a good choice. On the plus side Oscars are great fish with loads of personality, and certanly won't be boring! I have a pair in my 75gal and they are by far my favorite fish!

kojen

thanks nick my oscar is definitely very personable. currently i have a filter that does like 400 gallons an hour that should be enough for the tank right. i keep hearing how messy of a fish they are and wonder if i should bump up to another filter or not.

Nick G

400 gallons should be ok for now, but just to give you an idea of the amount of waste they produce, I run filtration on my Oscar tank that cycles roughly 1500gallons per hour, and my Oscars and Plecos are still all under 6 inchs. I still do 2 weekly 25% water changes, and 1 gravel vacumn a week that sucks up an unbelieveable amount of dirt. I'd say you'll need to increase your filtration by another 50% at least as the fish get bigger.

podgethai

hi i agree with nick 55g is only suitable for 1 oscar but you should be ok with the plec for 2 years then it will out grow the tank.
filtration sounds good to me and again like what nick said 2 weekly 25% water changes.
but if you really want other fish you could get 4 silver dollars, but would get rid of plec and do a little more maintence.
Dont get 1 or 2 silver dollars as they need to be in a group!!!

i have 4 with my oscars and they are happy and very nice contrast to oscars, also from same region.

kojen

ok thanks very much for the information

kojen

ok so i bumped up my filtewr and now do like 750 an hour i think the fish like it better becuase it puts a little more of a current in there and they look happier swimming. as for now i have the three fish in there and they are all very friendly a green terror tiger oscar and chocolate cichlid. i will just have to keep an eye on them and make sure they continue to get along. i will be honest i will end up mos likely with another 55 gal before the year is out and will probably end up seperating them. other than that i am keeping my fingers crossed for their continued allegiance.

Nick G

All of those fish can get mean, and will need a bigger tank or separation before long. If you get another 55gal then I'd probably move the Oscar if it were me and give him a 55 to himself.