Got my eye on a nice big tank for when my oscars get bigger (They are only babies at the mo though.. 3 inches each).

So would 6 full size oscars be ok in a 164 US gallon tank or is it way too small? It will be very highly filtrated of course and the oscars will have grown up together so it wouldn't be like i was adding a newcomer into their tank.

Cheers.

Not if you have multiple males in that mix.

Sory i forgot to mention that they would not all be staying in there forever, I would be trying to get 2 of them to pair up then i'd put the pair in my 119 US gallon tank. So there would then be 4 left in the 164 G tank.

Just want to know if it's safe to put the 6 in the 164 G so i can get a pair.

I don't want any harm coming to them.

Cheers.

If you have multiple males in any size tank YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE!!! So even if you have 4 in the 164 gallon, if two of those are boys they will kill each other.

I better get venting then lol

You'll have to wait until their sexually mature, and even then venting isn't always 100% accurate.

tim

what is venting?

absolutely not, 164 US gallons is far too small for six Oscars. What you've got to remember is that the fish don't automatically pair off and breed. I've got six Oscars, I know for certain there are two females because I've seen them laying eggs. However, as of yet, I haven't had any successful pairing off. My Oscars are between 10 and 11 inches and they are in my tank which is 350 gallons including the sump.

Let's say that you do have two Oscars pair off. You've still got four Oscars that you need to re-home. If they are quite big then you could have difficulties finding new homes for them.

Unless you've got an enormous tank, or you are very serious about breeding, I would advise anyone against buying Oscars that they will not be able to keep in the long run.

Of course it's nice to see fish breeding. But you've got to have a get out plan because as you know, Oscars grown very quickly.

Warlock1977 wrote:


a way of sexing fish where the fish is extracted from the water and it's genitals are inspected.

females look like this: O O

makes look like this O o

OFL wrote:


Steve did it. \/

dinger454 wrote:


You can do it, it just takes a lot time, patience, and filtration. And you have to be careful that two males won't end up killing each other. Of course having an all-female tank solves that problem.

I mean whatever works for you works for you. Hell, with proper filtration you could even try asian style:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=53210&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1208900840

If you've been to my house and seen my tanks you'll know I cram my tanks way too much. But if you filter enough, water change enough, anything is possible.

With good water parameters, the only issue is aggression. With 6 oscars in a 164 you'll have to be verrrryyy careful about aggression. Usually only male oscars are the problem causers. Don't ask me why, but the absolutely HATE each other. Well they don't HATE each other but the don't get along well. The only tank I've seen multiple male oscars in is Jonathan's (MonsterFishRescue) 800/15000 gallon. I swear he has like 4 males in that thing.

SO- what I'm trying to get at is- 6 oscars in a 164 gallon CAN be done. However, you must make sure you maintain optimum water conditions, and are wary of any aggression problems that WILL arise with multiple male oscars in a single tank. The only other problem would be if you get a pair. Which, in a tank with 6 oscars all raised from juvies could be very likely. So be sure to have another tank around (should you embark on keeping them all) to place evil males/a mating pair of Os.

Good Luck,
tim

We all have our own opinion on what can be achieved. At the end of the day, you will have your work cut out if you're going to have any chance of maintaining good water quality with six large Oscars in a 6 x 2' x 2' tank. Or whatever size your tank may be. I had two EHeim 2028 canister filters both rated to 130 gallons running on the tank. They coped really well with two Oscars and ffour clown loach. However, the filters were pretty dirty within a couple of weeks. Now imagine six large Oscars?

Having already Six Oscars in a 125 UK gallon tank it's not something I would ever try again. However, give it a go and see how you get on.

Hey Farside... I want to try and say this tactfully as I hate it when people are upset with me... But I have a question.. You said you couldn't keep your Malawis as you only had room for one tank... Now I see you have made room for two.. Go you.. But my question is, You want a breeding pair of O's.. What are you going to do with all those babies that need space and filtration?... They will have hundreds of eggs and when and if they survive.. What are you going to do will all of them?