Hi everyone, this is my first time on this forum and unfortunately its not a nice story i have to tell. I inherited 2 Oscars at the start of this year and have had a terrible time learning how to keep the tank correctly ( this site has helped a lot). The past 3 months have been great with clear water and i thought things were going well. Last week on Friday night the smaller of the two (La Renta i called it and the other one is De as in Oscar de larenta) started to swim funny and was damaging herself on the gravel. I heard terrible noises from the tank as if they were thrashing around, when i looked they were fighting and La renta was very angry. De kept to the other side of the tank all weekend but Monday morning they were together again. La renta wasn't looking great by last night in that she was swimming in circles and almost upside down and i have just returned from the vet after euthanasing her. I must say i feel so sad as i did become very attached to their personality. I guess i am telling this story as a novice to help others if this should happen to them. I feel silly to be so upset but Oscars are fun to have. I was also wondering if i should replace her so the other doesn't feel lonely. I think they were together for about 5 years before their owner died and i took them on. If anyone could help me i would appreciate it. De is about 13" so i am not sure how a youg one would cope. I know i am not coping too well today. Sorry if this is upsetting to read but i felt i should do something and writing about it might help.

So sorry for your loss hun... I know it's hard.. In my opinion, I would just enjoy De... One single oscar is fine... I hope you feel better soon!

Thanks...I think i will see how De goes for a few days and decide from then.

How big is your tank hun? Maybe other tank mates rather than another Oscar???

My tank is 4ft long and i took out a big ship ornament a while ago as the sick girl bashed herself on it before getting sick. all that is in there is De and 2 plastic plants so its looking a bit boring now.

do you happen to know the rest of the measurements?

4ft long 14" wide and 18" height

Ok, hun to be completely honest, and in the best interest of your fish, in that tank you only have room for one Oscar... that is a 50 us gallon tank. we suggest 55 gallons per Oscar... If you decide you want another Oscar, please upgrade your tank first...

tina4636 wrote:

that is barely 51 gal size, enough for one full grown oscar.

Sorry i don't use imperial measurements so i should say it is 122cm L x 36cm W x 46cm H
How do you work out the gallons?

Hun, if you go to the home page on this site, scroll down about half way, on the left is a tank calculator. then you just enter the measurements, and it will give you the gallons!

Imperial gallons = 43 gallons

US gallons = 51

Liters = 196

No matter how you look at it, that is only big enough for one Oscar!