my friend bought me some oscars for my birthday, and i was totally un-prepaired to take in any new fish, so i bought them a 10 gallon tank while i read up on them, they are each 2 inches long, so the question is how fast do they grow, and do i ABSOLUTELY need a 125g tank, can one any smaller do?, i live in a small house, so something as large as a 125g tank takes up a lot of room, not to mention how much money it costs.
and while we are talking would you mind letting me in on anything i should know about these little guys?.

they grow fast.. they become anywhere around 6 - 9 inches in a years time.. and they are very territorial hence people say a bigger tank would be the best...you can read all about them from the "Helpful Articles" Section on the top of the page...

btw. welcome to the community... hope you have a blast here...

one other thing, i am feeding them baby shrimp right now, but they go throught it really fast, when can i start feeding them feeder fish?.

better not feed feederfish.
Bugs, worms and pellets or cichlid sticks are a better option.
I started with feeding bloodworms and cichlid sticks, then switched to mealworms, and after a year to pellets.
And NO, you cannot keep Oscars happy and healthy for their whole lifespan if you do not provide them with a big enough tank.
I got a 180Gl and as my fish are still growing the tank seems to get smaller and smaller.
Plus a bigger tank will need less maintenance, and if you got to care for your fish for 10 Years, that's a good thing.
Better think big!

x2 .. i think Noddy has covered you there...

They grown an inch a month so either get a bigger tank now NOW or rehome them back to a shop. The minimum for 2 oscars is 75g but with a tank this size will require a lot of work to keep the water good, best go for a 100g tank

do NOT give them feeder fish and i would *highly* recommend a 125g minimum, you can find them on craiglist as cheap as 150$.

I got mine for $400, but it came with canister filter, TONS of rocks, awesome pleco, stand etc...

CL is the place to go, I snatched up a Rena xp3 for $50 bucks, and found another for $85 but got a heater, airpump and large driftwood with that one.

everyone is right with the 75 gal minimum, but your filtration will have to be up to par, I had them growing up in a 55 gal and did weekly water changes, but my filtration couldnt keep up with the bio load and I moved them to a bigger tank with SPECTACULAR filtration and now its all good, never a cloudy water day or spikes! And if you want em big, get em a huge tank.

I have found that the hikari staple gets em big fast, as do worms... mine are huge for their age. Actually, they are about as big as my aunts 5 yr old Os but mine are only about 10 months old.

mylutino wrote:

Yes, mylutino is so right, it's fun to see how fast they grow given enough space and monsterfiltration.
It worth a big compliment if Oscars grow fast and reach their full potential by best living conditions.
Makes me proud...

Hey gcollin welcome to the site. On the home page at the top their is colossal info on these babies. The fish, tank set up, health, food and even if you fancy breeding them... Well worth a read. Plus you can ask away with ur questions you will always get a reply hear

Yeah, these Oscars grow quick. And in your position you will probably want to feed them a minimal amount daily to buy you some time to get your bigger tank. Like the old saying, "a hungry fish is a healthy fish".

I have a new oscar in his own 60 gallon. I honestly think he has grown an inch in 2 weeks (2.5inch to 3.5inch). I am doing weekly water changes and mainly feeding Hikari Cichlid Staple pellets.

Good luck with your new Oscars!

sorry for late check-in but this thread can give you several
grow rate from different members here.
www.oscarfishlover.com/oscar-fish-advice...oscar-transformation