more fish....

[bell]

so my oscars are happy in the new 75 gallon tank, they get stupidly excited when i show them they're about to get a treat of feeder fish, it's fun to watch them play with they're food.........
the pacu has resorted to living off of flake food, which the oscars also like to eat, he used to follow the one oscar around and eat "after" him but the feeder fish feedings seem to freak him out....maybe he thinks that he's next
my small oscar is almost bigger than my big oscar.....if that makes sense.
he's grown about 1-1.5 inches in the past month or so.
my pleco is getting big too.......but he sucks.
here are some pics......

[bryanthompson]

I wish I had the time for an aquarium... my friend has a 75 gal saltwater tank with all kinds of anemone, star fish, some clown fish, heck, i don't even know what's in there. I wish I could get into it though.

btw, totally off topic, but I was watching state volleyball finals a few weeks ago, and heard the fricken' badassest pep band song ever. It's right up there with "final countdown". Anyway, the bands were battling across the auditorium, and all of a sudden... this chick totally busts out with the cowbell. This song was 3 minutes of solid cowbell goodness. frickin' awesome.

[woodman]

I love those Oscars. I used to have two and would dump a dozen feeder goldfish in the tank and let them have at it. Good show.

The albinos are extremely cool too.

[john70t]

An old girlfriend used to have about 8 of them, then 5, then 4, then............ all within a few months of overfeeding. There would be half-eaten carcasses on the gravel and still new ones missing. Mean little critters.
There probably was a lack of physical/visual boundaries for establishment of turf and/or places to hide for the little guys. They definitely need a big tank.

Either way, my gig is octapii: Smart as a dog. Will climb out of their tank, crawl across a table into another tank and eat all they can and return to their own afterwards. Can change a million colors depending on their mood, and grow protuberances to blend into the background at will. Can squeeze through anything their hard beak alows.

[bell]

well i picked up 2 more fish.........
2 baby african ciclids, one is about an inch, the other about an inch an a half.
they're living (i should say dominating) my feeder fish tank which is a 20 gallon.
when they get big enough they're going in with the oscars.......then we'll see which pair will dominate my 75 gallon, i've got my money on the oscars

[elwood-914]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bell
[B]well i picked up 2 more fish.........
2 baby african ciclids, one is about an inch, the other about an inch an a half.
they're living (i should say dominating) my feeder fish tank which is a 20 gallon.
when they get big enough they're going in with the oscars.......then we'll see which pair will dominate my 75 gallon, i've got my money on the oscars

Bell, I've raised oscars and african ciclids, they will never be large enough to put into the oscar tank. Just a high priced meal for the oscar.....

[bell]

then bon apetite....they were only a couple bucks

[cstreit]

Cichlids breed like rabbits though, should make for easy cheap feeders...

[osidak]

Been thinking about starting a salt water tank. Where is a good source of info that I can do some research.

[pwd72s]

Some species of Africans are nasty...they could go for your Oscar's eyes first...if so, kiss your oscars bye-bye.

[targa911S]

I had Oscars also they got huge. We could fed them hot dogs! Had them in a 65 long with a giant Arrowana..very primal fish.

[Jay Auskin]

Been thinking about starting a salt water tank. Where is a good source of info that I can do some research.

Just do a search on "Saltwater Fish" in google. You'll find tons of info. A good place for the more expensive supplies, like decent lighting is Gina's Aquarium supply. A pet shop will mark these things up at least 100%. Salt water tanks are no harder than freshwater. Just have patience. That can't be emphasized enough. Oh yeah, when your local pet store says that you can't be keeping the types of fish and coral that you are without their fancy lighting, or filter setup, just ignore them. Patience, don't overfeed, and change the water often...after it's gone thru its nitrogen cycle.

PM me if you want more info.

[Ronbo]

Do yourself and your fish a favor and don't put the Africans in the same tank with the Oscars.

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by Ronbo
Do yourself and your fish a favor and don't put the Africans in the same tank with the Oscars.

Sounds like the voice of experience here. You're joining me in feeling sorry for the Oscars?

[Ronbo]

Exactly. The Oscars may win the war, but not unscathed. I agree that the Africans will go for the eyes first.

[elwood-914]

Originally posted by Ronbo
Exactly. The Oscars may win the war, but not unscathed. I agree that the Africans will go for the eyes first.

Then bon apetite ... they were only a couple of bucks

[mitsumark]

Definetly keep Oscars and African Ciclids in separate aquariums..The majority of Oscars are gentle giants.They just like to eat live food..On the other hand,80% of African ciclids are outright nasty,territorial, and aggressive..They dont call them Malawian eye biters for nothing..They will punk your Oscars little by little and eventually kill them with stress..Also,the PH requirments of the two species are much different..Africans must be kept in alkaline water to survive(8.0 to 9.0PH)..Oscars do best in neutral to slightly acidid water(6.5 to 7.0PH)although they can survive in slightly higher PH also..

[bell]

elwood....you got the order of quotes reversed, that way makes me sound like a mean bastard.

anyway the africans will not go in with my oscars......i'm not as stupid as i look......who wants oscars who have to wear eye patches anyway.....not me