PlanetCatfish.com

I just got a Pictus cat. Right now its in my 29g. with my neons, corys, etc. I dont want the cat to eat my other fish so when it gets bigger, will it be ok with my oscar? 55g.

Whilst it will probably eat your neons at a length of 2-3", it will not be suitable to keep together with Oscars when the Oscars get big. Oscars, as you may know, grow to 12"+, and will most likely see a 6" pictus cat as a nice variation on whatever you're feeding it.

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Mats

dont you dare let him die!! please!!!
also, if you dont like those neons, i would let them ' go for a moonlight stroll' with your pictus, that will sort them out

I'd say get rid of the OSCAR and ADD MORE CATFISH! I'm not a big fan of the large fish for my home aquariums. I would probably add more Pictus and remove the Oscar. Heck you could even add some Pimolodae and/or dianema longibarbis

Thanks,

Scott

Another fishkeeper that seems to think a 1 foot adult sized fish can live in a 55??

I STRONGLY recommend you do some research on Astronotus ocellatus, better known as the Oscar.

then you'll find out -as long as you go at fishkeeping with some ethics, otherwise it's beyond help- that you either buy a much bigger tank, or get rid of the poor fish asap.

sidguppy,you seem like a very smart person and a great fish keeper,but you really should try to understand that not everyone can afford a 'huge" tank,but that doesnt make us bad hobbiest either.

nick.c wrote:sidguppy,you seem like a very smart person and a great fish keeper,but you really should try to understand that not everyone can afford a 'huge" tank,but that doesnt make us bad hobbiest either.

Nick, I think that's not the point. If you have a one-bedroom flat, with no direct outside access, you wouldn't keep a Newfoundland or German Shephard dog in there, but a small Terrier or something would be fine. I think most would agree that the excuse "I can't afford a bigger flat" is acceptable as to why a big dog is kept locked up in a small flat.

Same with fish. If you can't have (space or money-wise) the big tank to keep big fish, you shouldn't keep big fish. I know that _MOST_ of the owners that get this wrong are:
1. Beginners and therefore ignoratnt of the needs/size of the fish.
2. Suffering from the fact that a lot of fish are sold by shops that either don't care or are where staff ignorant themselves.

This doesn't make it right, but somewhat more understandable, IT IS the owners responsibility to keep the fish under conditions that are good.

There are PLENTY of fish that can be kept in small tanks, from 10 gallon upwards. Just not fish that regularly grows to more than 12"...

The diference between a good fish-keepers and bad ones are the care with which they choose the fish to go in their tanks. If you REALLY want to keep Oscar's, you need to pick a tank that is at the very least 4' x 2' x 2' (120g), preferrably 6' x 2.5' x 2.5' (280g). If that's not within the realm of what you can have, then a smaller type of fish is the solution, not keeping the big fish in cramped conditions...

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Mats

nick.c wrote:

sidguppy,you seem like a very smart person

yes, I am

and a great fish keeper

another yes, we're getting there

but you really should try to understand that not everyone can afford a 'huge" tank

having been quite poor for almost 20 years with just 1 65G (and a much smaller one at first, before I got the 65G) tank I very well know what it's like

but that doesnt make us bad hobbiest either.

it DOES if you knowingly buy a fish that reaches a size wich is unsuitable for the tank you have!

If it happens UNknowingly you can always correct the mistake with some research and trade that fish or upgrade the tank if you get hold of more $$$.

It's called responsebility for your actions and for your fishkeeping.
Nobody FORCED you to buy that fish, nor did anyone foist it off on you without you being able to do research (if you can get here, you can also get facts about the Oscar elsewhere on the web) or being able to trade it (perhaps to a friend with a bigger tank, Oscars make really great pets, being a very smart fish).