Hey everyone.
im sure people have asked these questions a million times. please be patient!

i have read on many websites and they all seem to contradict each other in terms of the right size tank for 2 Oscars. i have a 375L (150cmx50x50) tank. will this be enough? i have an UGF and will be adding a wet/dry and a small hob filter. maybe even 2.

ill look up on the breeding section, but maybe someone can help me here. im wanting a male and a female. is there anyway to tell them apart when they young!

thanks you!

the only sure fire way to sex an oscar is to watch her lay eggs, then watch him come over an ferilize them. thats about it.

now your tank works out to be about 83 gallons so that would be considered by most to be a little too small for 2 oscars. but it can be done with the proper fitration and tank maintenance. oh ya you wouldnt be able to have anyhting else in that tank. just two oscars.

as for filtration your tank really is to small to bother with a wet dry sump . imo you would be better off using a couple of canister filters each rated for the size of your tank.

Your tank is approaching 80 gallons. Having had more than one Oscar for quite a few years now, I would always advise tank of over 100 gallons for two Oscars.There just isn't enough water in the smaller tanks to maintain two adults Oscars. If you don't get ammonia or nitrite spikes all the time, you will have a real hard time keeping the nitrates at an acceptable level. The way I look at it, fish keeping should be an enjoyable hobby. If you are always having to change water and clean crap out of your tank and filters, in the end, you will find that its more of a chore than something to be enjoyed.. However, if you get a suitable size tank with good filtration, you will only have to do that water change and clean once a week, and it shouldn't take you any more than an hour.

Regarding the male and female, you can't tell the sex of an Oscar just by looking at it. A male and females sexual organs will be slightly different. They have two holes, one is the anus, the other is their sexual organ. On the female, one hole will be slightly bigger than the other, on the male, the two holes are virtually the same size., now it all sounds simple doesn't it? Wrong, you have to remove the fish from the tank and examined them very carefully. Even then, it is not easy. You will have to remove the fish from the tank to carry out venting. Have you ever taken an adult Oscar out of its tank? it's not a job mostly will look forward to doing

thanks for the help. i asked a mate whos a bit more clued up on filters and he said my filter is a side drop filter. he says it works great?!

i would like to know when you talking about gallons. is it UK or US? cos US gallon makes my tank a 99gal? confusing.. my biggest question is. will they have enough space. filtration i can sought out. im ONLY wanting the two O's. nothing else

when i post something for gallons i use imperial gallons(or uk gallons).

as ofl ssid if you want to make your oscar keeping most enjoyable the bigger the tank the less in maintenance that has to be done. can you keep 2 oscars in your tank. depends on how much work you wnat to put into it. i personally would on go with one oscar with your tanks size and try some smaller tankmates with it.

My tank is only a little larger than yours is at around 400 litres.
I have two 8 inch Oscars in it and filtered it with an under gravel filter and a 1500 litre/ hour canister filter. I also had an large internal filter with just foam filtration that used to do a good job of collecting the larger waste up but now I have replaced it with a second canister filter.
You will need a lot of filtration as well as regular vacuuming to keep your tank clean.

You need to be careful with selecting tank mates for your Oscars. The Oscars grow a lot quicker than any other fish I have ever kept. I had two Clown Loaches in with mine for a few months until one day when the Oscars must have been a bit hungry and one went missing. The remaining Loach now looks tiny compared to the Oscars whereas before they were of a similar size.

one thing you maybe overlooking is its not all about powerful filters, its also about the water you will need to change each wk. As OFL and necromancer say if you have good knowlegde of water conditions and how to keep them you will cope with 2 oscars only. you will be changeing more water each wk with this option. 1 oscar and a few small mates will give you more leway and make life easier.

thanks for the replies. really cool.

just to update: My tank has a huge crack in it when we moved (luckily i don thave fish yet!!) so im now looking at gettting a bigger tank:) i know (just for you Neco ill use imp gall) my last tank was small for 2 O's then will my next one be to small for 3? hoping to get about a 116gal tank. if its to small for 3 then ill have 2!

116 gallons is a little small for 3 oscars. having said that the biggest prob you can run into with 3 o's is if you a breeding pair they will make life miserable for the third oscars. imo i would get 2 oscars and maybe a another smaller cichlid(firemouth, jack dempsey ect.) or a schooling fish like silvers dollars and a mid sized pleco.

just my opinion let us know what you decide

that was my worry too! thanks for the help guys. really appreciate it. i think the fire mouth will look good!

cheers