[jeb5573]

A few months ago my wife brings home a orange/black oscar that was being terrorized by a much larger convict at LFS. The oscar was under 2" when we got it, made a good recovery and is growing quickly.

Trying to plan for a move from the 29 gallon tank it is currently in at almost 4" now in length. Will ultimately be setting up a 150g tank for the oscar and on or two other SA/CA tank mates.
How do I get the oscar used to being around other fish while introducing into a tank with other fish?

Have two 55g tanks with JD and Texas cichlids in each with a small herd of giant danios. One tank being slightly more aggressive in nature, so would go for a test run with the less aggressive bunch. The JD's and the Texas's are roughly 5-6" in each tank. Realizing this will only be temporary as our wet pet continues to grow, before moving to the big box. Wife's mother had oscar's when she was a kid, so this new addition is very sentimental to her. Want to make sure this transition goes the best it can.

Any thoughts you could share would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Auballagh]

Things are getting dicey!
And be careful about getting large growing (or hyper-aggressive) fish for the aquarium 'you are GOING to get'. Too many problems keep coming up in situations like that, which are best avoided by stocking to the aquarium(s) you currently HAVE.
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Both of your Central American Cichlid species are sort of marginal for keeping an Oscar with. In a 55 gallon tank, an individually kept near adult-sized Texas or even the somewhat milder temperament Jack Dempsey will almost certainly claim THE ENTIRE TANK as their personal territory.
Introducing an Oscar into a situation like that, will merely result in a dead or severely thrashed Oscar.
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But, if you have multiple JDs (three or more) in the 55 gallon aquarium, that are comparable in size to this baby Oscar? Things should work out okay. I would not attempt to keep the Oscar with those Texas Cichlids - they are a much more unpredictable and aggressive species.
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The upcoming, 150 gallon aquarium.
Will this be a six-footer? if so - great! But, I sincerely hope that this aquarium will be the 24 inch wide version? If not, and you are getting the 'upsized' 125 gallon type, that is 18" wide? I would strongly recommend you reconsider, and look at getting a six foot long tank with at least a 24 inch width. That extra six inches of bottom space (footprint) can be huge in successfully keeping larger, new World Cichlid species.

 

[jeb5573]

Things are getting dicey!
And be careful about getting large growing (or hyper-aggressive) fish for the aquarium 'you are GOING to get'. Too many problems keep coming up in situations like that, which are best avoided by stocking to the aquarium(s) you currently HAVE.
-
Both of your Central American Cichlid species are sort of marginal for keeping an Oscar with. In a 55 gallon tank, an individually kept near adult-sized Texas or even the somewhat milder temperament Jack Dempsey will almost certainly claim THE ENTIRE TANK as their personal territory.
Introducing an Oscar into a situation like that, will merely result in a dead or severely thrashed Oscar.
-
But, if you have multiple JDs (three or more) in the 55 gallon aquarium, that are comparable in size to this baby Oscar? Things should work out okay. I would not attempt to keep the Oscar with those Texas Cichlids - they are a much more unpredictable and aggressive species.
-
The upcoming, 150 gallon aquarium.
Will this be a six-footer? if so - great! But, I sincerely hope that this aquarium will be the 24 inch wide version? If not, and you are getting the 'upsized' 125 gallon type, that is 18" wide? I would strongly recommend you reconsider, and look at getting a six foot long tank with at least a 24 inch width. That extra six inches of bottom space (footprint) can be huge in successfully keeping larger, new World Cichlid species.

Yeah, I teased the wife when she brought the Oscar home. Seeing all the tongue lashings *** gotten recently because we have "too many tanks". I admit its gotten out of hand, mostly due to her bringing home one fish here and there and expecting them to all get along. Tried to tell her is doesn't work that way. But for the Oscar, I had to make an exception on account of the sentiment aspect.

As I recall the tank we have in waiting measures 72L x 18W x 28T, so maybe this will be short term for the Oscar until a 24" width can be acquired.

Have read thru the forum since getting him/her to start planning ahead. Thought the JD's would be ok and iffy with the Texas's. One of the two Texas's is more mild in manner, but would avoid the risk if this is not a recommended pairing.

All else fails, I have one more 55g that the Oscar could go into for the time being. Again, until the 24" tank is obtained.

What would you recommend to be a more ideal tank mate for the Oscar?

 

[Auballagh]

Okay then...
At least consider the 24 inch wide tank. I mean seriously - you're in for a tank that is SIX FEET in length anyway! Adding an additional 6 inches to the width won't matter much for YOU in terms of siting that big tank in your space. But trust me, that extra bit of width will be huge for the larger-sized Cichlids you choose to stock in this thing.
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If your baby Oscar is of a size comparable to the Jack Dempsey(s)? Then it should be fine to move it over to a 55 gallon tank - temporarily - with them.