Question about overcrowded oscar tank

cbirk

Hello, this is my first post here so be gentle

I Have a 55 gal tank that has an Adult female Oscar in it. The only other inhabitant is an 8 inch Pleco. The two fish seem to live in peace, since the pleco has a large log and a hollow rock to hide in. Even when he is out ant about the Oscar does not seem to be interested in him because of his size.

My question is, a friend of mine has an Oscar she wants to get rid of, it is about 3/4ths the size of mine, so large enough that it couldn't be eatin. I am not sure if it is a male or female Oscar. I would like to get it and put it with my Oscar, however I am not sure if My tank is big enough since they are both rather large fish. I am not sure how they will respond to each other either, I certainly do not want to lose one of them.

Can anyone give me there thoughts on this?

Angel079

First of Hello & Welcome.

If you're asking what the tank size is for adult Oscars....for a pair you'd need a 120g
If you're asking will they or not get along on a personal level - Anyone's guess is as good as yours there and you won't know until you try...then I'd stand by & watch whats going on so you can act asap if needed.

cbirk

I was Asking both questions, Wanted to make sure that say if both were female, or one male and one female, they would not be more prone to be violent etc. But it sounds like that at present my limitations is the size. I was pretty sure that 55 Gal would not be big enough for the pair. Thanks for the quick response!

iamntbatman

How big is your Oscar now? Even a single Oscar should be kept in at least a 75g tank. The reason for this is simple: a 55g tank is only 12 inches front to back and a full grown Oscar can reach 12 inches or more in length (though a bit smaller for your female). The fish barely has enough room to turn around!

A 120 or 125g tank would be great for a pair, though. As for the behavior...well. Oscars can be territorial, but every fish is different so who knows what would happen. If they're similar in size they shouldn't be able to do too much damage to one another, so just have an aquarium divider on hand just in case. It might also be a good idea to remove your current fish, change the decor around, add the new fish then add your old fish. This helps prevent your old fish from feeling the need to protect its territory.

cbirk

She is about 11 inches. she can turn around just fine and often will float looking out so I don't think it is a hindrance at present, though if she gets any bigger I can see it being a problem. Guess I will start saving/looking for a 125 gal.

iamntbatman

craigslist is your friend when shopping for new tanks. I snagged a 125g with wood stand, canister filters, heater, hood and lights, nets, substrate, decor, medication, food, the works for a total of $150.

molliefan09

i too LOVE craigslist.....we got a 150 gal with stand for 80$ and a 160 with everything you would ever need for a salt water set up for 495. we had 2 oscars and a Jack Dempsey in a 55 for about a month the oscars are about 6 inches and the JD 4 inches...this past monday we moved them to the 160

cbirk

Yeah i will have to keep my eyes pealed but I havent seen anything in my area larger then 55 :(