Hey Guys,

I just acquired my first aquarium, 4 foot 75 gallon (for free, always a bonus) complete with all the necessary gear. I've done a fair amount of research, and have come up with the following tank:

1 Oscar (red or tiger)
4 Silver Dollars
3 Clown Loach
1 Pleco
1 Jack Dempsey


Before I buy I will cycle the tank for at least a week. Question is, what do you guys think of this setup and the tank mates? Any response would be appreciated.

Chugget

chugget wrote:


Congrats on the new tank--personally I might suggest that's a pretty tall order for a 75 gallon...ideally a 75 gallon is good for just one oscar, although a pleco of the smaller variety and/or perhaps the JD could work. Keep in mind those SD's and loaches can get pretty big themselves...the SD can get upwards of 6-7 inches and the loaches even bigger, so I wouldn't recommend them for a 75, especially with all the other fish.
Some people's oscars and JD's get along just fine, others have problems with aggression. From my experience I have seen more JD's becoming overly aggressive with the oscar as opposed to the other way around. Still, like I mentioned before, many people have success with those two--just keep a close eye on things.

As to the cycle have you picked up you have a liquid test kit? It's essential in making sure your tank has cycled completely, and the process can (and more often than not does), take longer than 1 week.

Jhonny got there first lol X2

Thanks for the reply Johnny,

In regards to the liquid test kit, I posted this before I go to the aquarium tomorrow to pick up all the remaining gear we need: a liquid test kit is on the list of things to get. The tank originally housed 3 goldfish: with heater, lights, pump. Due to the lack of compatibility (and the fact I'm not really a goldfish person) I rehoused them with the aquarium store.

I agree with you about the fact that that amount of fish seems to be a tall order from the research I have done. The store informed me that up to 14 fish would be alright, but this seemed a little irresponsible. I originally had bala sharks on the list and eel tailed catfish: but took them off due to their size.

My family would like a community tank, tand I am trying to balance this with my love of Oscars. I will be purchasing the oscar from a small size, around 3 inches but I know just how quickly thew grow.

The question is:
1: If I took the 3 clown loach off the list, would the tank be alright?
2.If not, what species of fish would you replace the others to make it a community tank?
3. What are the best cleaning fish that are compatible with Oscars?

Wow, long post. Just excited to finally have my first aquarium. Thanks again.

Chugget

congratz on the new tank! If you went w/o the loaches (sounds like they are your first choice to drop) and the Pleco you may be okay for a while. Remember Oscars grow very fast. And it won't take long before your water quality will be difficult to maintain due to the shear amount of bioload on your filter system.

I am glad you want to stick with an Oscar, they are great fish!

Forget the community tank idea buddy just Keep an Oscar and two SD.

Other option is dont buy an Oscar and do a community...

well big list but i am glad yu have chossen an oscar =]
these guys will steer yu in the right direction

STAFFIE wrote:


Probably the best advice.

If you want the type of community tank you're thinking about with an oscar you're looking at about 120 gallons for starters. Oscars are BIG, MESSY fish, and like I mentioned before a 75 gallon is ideal for 1 oscar. So really anything extra in there is not really adivsable. Doable in certain circumstances, but not necessarily advisable. You could get away with another cichlid or the like, but not really anything more, especially 'schooling/shoaling' fish that require groups of 3 or more. To fit your tank you would need pretty small 'grouping' fish, small enough that they would very quickly become a meal for the oscar or any other cichlids.

As for algae eaters you need to be careful on what you get from your local fish store. The vast majority of plecos sold there fall under the umbrella term 'common' pleco...and regularly grow to lengths of 12-15 inches, some even bigger. Also, the amount of waste they produce far outweighs any cleaning capacity. I had a common plec that I had to rehome because he grew from about 3 inches to well over 10 in less than a year. I wouldn't house a common in anything smaller than a 90 gallon.

chugget wrote:


See this is what pisses me off about fish stores and the advice they give. It doesn't surprise me anymore that they generally don't know their a$$ from a hole in the ground. I'm sure there are good, knowledgeable guys out there, but definitely few and far between. Stick around and you'll be amazed at how many new guys come around here with a brand new '20 gallon tank' and '2' oscars that they were told would be 'just fine.' I'm sure the majority of them aren't necessarily out to 'kill' fish so you come and buy more...most probably think they know way more than they actually DO, which is far worse than knowing nothing because they have juuuust enough info and technical knowledge to instill confidence in the buyer.

It usually works out badly for the oscars too, as quite a few new owners don't really want to hear that the tank they are so excited about and planned for isn't going to work at all so they ignore the advice they get here, and wind up with sick and dead oscars down the road. You'll see them--they'll post 1 or 2 threads asking for advice and when they hear things they don't want to hear--they disappear. One can only surmise what eventually happened.

Anyways, 14 fish?! lol So they were giving you acceptable stocking levels based upon 'numbers' of fish without any regard for species?

Drop the Jd and pleco and pick either 3 CL's or 4 SD's and you will be fine with enough maintainence for a long time

But eventually you will need a bigger tank if you go for CL's as they do get quite big but they are very slow growing, maybe take 5 years to get to where you will need a bigger tank

Fantastic responses guys, thanks for the input.

Well today I'm heading round to the aquarium store after work to pick up the rest of the gear so I can start cleaning and filling the tank. Plenty for thought in this thread, I guess the rest is up to me and my love for the Oscar. Pretty much just him and one/two cichlids on one hand or a community on the other.

Either way, much appeciated.

Might leave some photos in the coming weeks to let you know which way I went.

Chugget

I look forward to seeing how your tank unfolds. Clown Loaches are a great fish, but they get really, really large. Like 12" large. They are also extremely sensitive to water quality. If this is your first aquarium, having a harty fish (like an oscar) will help ya out.

Oscars are sometimes called the dogs of the aquarium world. They are extremely smart, extremely playful, and you will get endless hours of enjoyment out of the oscar.

(FYI, keeping the oscar by himself will also be fun to watch.)

That is until you are ready to upgrade your tank and have two oscars!

thats a great point. I had my first Oscar in a 60 gallon all by himself and I enjoyed that as much or more than any community tank I have done since. Oscars have amazing personalities and they are more human targeted when they don't have any friends inside the tank.

Cheers Chugget!