I have had many tropical fish aquariums in my life and have always wanted to set up an Oscar tank. I have done a lot of research and know that the bigger the better, however my house will accommodate either a 55 or 75 gallon tank. I really only want 1 Tiger Oscar.

Based on my research, I have seen that people recommend getting some sort of Catfish to help with CleanUp duty, and that Pictus or Synodontis would be the most compatible. The set up that I am considering would be 1 Oscar, 1 - 3 Pictus (since they are schooling), and a Pleco. Would a 55 gallon accommodate this? Also, do I really need the pictus and pleco? I would be fine with simply an Oscar.

I know that I can't cycle a tank with an Oscar and have had little luck with fishless cycling. I do have the liberty of using some gravel from another aquarium to help with this and was considering using that as a base and placing larger rock on top. I usually set up about 5 - 6 tiger barbs to help cycle. I know these will become Oscar food eventually. Is this a good method or are there better?

I have never had a large aquarium before. I am tearing down one of my smaller ones so will have a previously used filter, although I will need to add extra. Would 2 HOB filters, one designed for 1 55 gallon and one for a 30 gallon be sufficient for a 55 with my previously mentioned setup?

Any tips/suggestions/answers will be appreciated. Thank You.

since a 75 and a 55 have the same footprint i would go with the larger.bigger is always better when it come to oscars.

as for if you need a bottom feeder the answer to that is no. even though they help clean up food that the oscar spill for his gills they produce waste so it really imo it is not necessary. as fro cycling the tank the tiger barb idea is a good way to go. they will afterwards either be a meal for your oscar or you can simply rehome them.

now to filtration, i would strongly recomend getting away from the hob filters and going to a canister type unit. something along the lines of a fluval 405, or eheim equivalent, would give you more than enough filtration for the life of your oscar. just my opinion.


good luck to you with whatever you finally decide to do.


oh ya and welcome to the site

welcome to the site.
necro got you covered for that. as you have said,
the barbs will help expedite the cycle. if not remove
can be a meal for oscar, or a good tankmates taht are nice
to watch. you can gamble for that.