[evan4218]

Hello, I am the new owner of a nice set of 3 Oscars (one red, one tiger, one albino) and had purchased river stone for the substrate. The pebbles are about half an inch in size. Should this be okay till the fish get bigger?

They are currently way to big to fit in there mouths. I am getting them there final tank in a month or two. The fish are currently 3.5" long. I believe the Tiger and the Red are paired up, the albino is off on his own 50% of the time so he may be returned to the pet store.

Since finding this site I plan to change the substrate to pool filter sand (silica) now that I observed it as a good choice from my reading on this site. But if I can wait till February or March when I have my 200gal set up I would prefer that.

 

[BigDaddyK]

Hey Evan,

The substrate should not be a problem. Oscars, from my observance, tend to get bored and put gravel in their mouths often when they landscape your aquarium for you.

I'm not sure how big your current aquarium is but make sure that if it's < 75 it's pretty small for 3 Oscars and although you will likely be ok until Feb/Mar you should ensure waterchanges are frequent. I've found that they get exceedingly messy/dirty as time goes on and bad water conditions = bad oscar health. I'm not trying to imply this is the case just some helpful advice from a fellow oscar owner.

Make sure you seed the new tank when you have it setup with water, and if possible some filter media like a sponge or something to help the cycle move along. Your Oscars will likely be closer to the 6" mark by then. It's usually a little later in the Oscar life cycle but if you're correct about the pairing (I personally think its a little early but....) you might be seeing some aggression towards the "outsider" before too long

 

[evan4218]

Thanks BigDaddyk,

This is there starter tank. There getting a nice 200gal in a few weeks. At that time there tank becomes the new home for a lizard. LOL

I plan on getting a FX5 Fluval filter and will keep running the current 305 canister. If it is possible to use the media that is in the 305 and transplant it to the FX5 then I will just do that.

There is already minor aggression towards the albino. I noticed last night when I walked up to the tank the albino and the tiger locked lips for a brief moment. I had never seen that behavior before so I am not sure what that means. But the Tiger and the Red are never more then an inch or two away from each-other, completely inseparable.