[supadave1981]

hey guys my david an i am new here. this is my very first post an i didn't think that my first post would be trying to hellp someone else an not myself lol. oh well i don't know if this is the right place to post this but i saw oscar an thought "well she has an oscar maybe it is"
so if a mod reads this could you please move this to the right location an let me know in a pm where it went, cause i would love some feedback on this.
Ook on to my question or her issue. a friend of me an my wife's has a 55 gallon tank that house a large oscar, a electric yellow cichlid, one small pleco, an i think she has a few gold fish in there still :thumb: (i know right super great idea lol)
anyway she is running a hob filter that is about the size of my hob filter for my 20g tank. when she does a water change she takes all the water out an cleans the tank an then its back to normal, which i tell her to only do a 50 to 60percent water change, then within a few weeks maybe 2 i think, its cloudy an the water is turning green.
this happens everytime she does a water change. i tell her that its her filter its not big enough for her tank, she says the girl at "petsmart" tell her that the oscar fish is a nasty fish, i say b/s cause their oscar tank is never cloudy when we go up there to buy new fish.
if you guys need to see pics of this tank lemme know an i will try to get some pics sorry this is so long, have a nice day an thanks for future help.

 

[Adrian101]

too small a tank for an Oscar never mind anythin else and they are a messy fish so water should be changed every week.

 

[supadave1981]

well besides the tank being too small i think the filter is too small too. an water changes every week are we talking 20-30 percent changes or 50.

 

[Adrian101]

twenty to thirty is ok. But the tank is to small and the filter is as well. Generally its not right for an Oscar at all as they are large and active.

 

[TheFishGuy]

Welcome to the C-F and welcome to the oscar folder.
I'll jump right in:
The problem is every time she does this massive cleaning the tank cycles over and over again.
She's going to kill her fish from ammonia spikes. Have your friend read this:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cycling.php

Keeping an oscar in a 55 by it's self is not a crime, it can be done as long as a few rules are followed.

1.) No tank mates. None. Period.
2.) No live food, only pellet food. Oscars create enough waste as it is and the waste created from live food is just too much to try and control.
3.) Adult oscars only need fed once every other day as much as they can eat in 30 seconds.
4.) The tank should be bare, no decor, no substrate. This makes it easier to clean
5.) 25% water changes need to be done every fourth day at a minimum. It is beter to change less water more often then it is to change a whole bunch at a time less often. The reason is oscars are big fans of stability. They hate change and when you change a lot of water at one time it changes the chemical make up of the water causing them stress. Stress kills.

While yes it seems as if the filter is too small we really don't know exactly what she has. So to[/i] say she needs a bigger filter is pure speculation.

 

[supadave1981]

thanks guys i sent or emailed her the link for the sticky about oscars earliar. i hope she read some of it an will take heave to it.
i am not sure on how big the filter is but like i said its the same size as the filter i have my 20 gallong tank which is what was reccommended
we have told her to stop making full water changes just do 25% changes only but she won't listen. either way thanks guys i hope she will get better at taking care of oscars.