5' setup

[Simian]

Hey all

I have a 5' tank I'm setting up.

I have the following in an existing 3' I know its not a perfect match so I want some advice on what to add/subtract

I have

1 Jewel

1 Green Severum (not very good colouration) Cull

2 Nicaraguans

1 Yellow Lab (dirty colours) Cull

1 Texas Blue

2 Bristle nose

2 Convicts Cull?

My wife really wants another Lab with better colours so I'm trying to find a nice American option.

I really like the Jewel so want to hang onto him.

I was hoping to get an Oscar (for his intelligence) and remove the severum, convicts and Lab and chuck in a couple of Blue rams for colour.

But I'm starting to think the tank is just too small for an Oscar

What do you think? I'm keen on going American, as I really like the Texas Blue and the Nicaraguans so many fish so little room

:evil:

[SpidersWeb]

Oscar will eat Blue Rams no worries. So might want to scratch that. Blue Rams are a small delicate fish, Oscars have teeth and grow to 30cm quite quickly.

Oscars are good with sevs, convicts etc (the fish you're getting rid of). A 5 foot tank is fine for an oscar or two depending on volume, min 200L for a single Oscar, but you want good filtration because when he's older he'll make a huge mess when eating.

Oscars make great pets, but so do Sevs and even convicts I'd recommend convicts for most oscar tanks, they provide background activity without getting eaten.

If you want blue rams I'd recommend getting another small tank. 40-100L etc. (40 is fine for two, but if they're both males you'll need plants etc to seperate the ground area)

[Simian]

so rams are out, what about the other guys i have with an oscar?

[David R]

I'm not sure how oscars got the reputation for intelligence, IMO they're no smarter than any other large ca/sa cichlid.

[Simian]

Jack Dempsey? they are pretty and not as big as an Oscar, or are they just too mean?

[SpidersWeb]

I'm not sure how oscars got the reputation for intelligence, IMO they're no smarter than any other large ca/sa cichlid.

Yeah, I kind of agree, I love oscars and their personality, but I've had just as interesting fish in Severums etc My biggest personality fish have been the Red Devil cichlid and Green Severum. An excited Oscar is awesome though! Especially at food time.

But anyway back on topic hehe

Those other fish seem fine to me in the start Simian, but you'd have to watch as the oscar got older (after a year or so), make sure everyone is getting on OK. You'd probably want to replace the bristlenose with a redspot or common plec at some stage (recommend redspot, commons are lazy). Reason being is its possible an adult oscar will try to swallow the bristlenose, only to find out later it has spikes.

Now the african cichlids you have are better suited to a high pH tank, but if you've got them living in normal tap water then sweet as. Might be something to consider before getting more though.

All of the above advice depends on size. Having an adult oscar with a baby Lab probably wouldn't work out, and vice versa. You'd have to give us specific sizes to get a more accurate reply, but you can also just rely on common sense

Remember, if it fits in an oscars mouth they'll eat it, or at least chew it.

[SpidersWeb]

Oh and oscars vary on personality, but I've found they're mostly talk, and when beaten are absolute sulks, I dont know the Jack Dempsy well enough as I've never kept one myself but I did grow out a Red Devil with an Oscar (~15-20cm). As soon as the red devil was almost as big as the oscar that was it, game over.

So I'd be cautious, oscars make good tank rulers but sad losers.

[Casper]

I really like the Jewel so want to hang onto him.

Depending what size he is, he'll stand up for himself against almost anything! (i know ours do!)