# Oscars or Angelfish?



## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

I have a 55 gallon tank at home and since im moving (YET AGAIN) i'm going to have to empty it and fill it up again obviously:roll:.

So I was wondering. Which fish should I get? An oscar or two or a few Angelfish? I love them both, but it just wont work well with both.

Angelfish I like because they are VERY beautiful fish and even though they aren't 'solitary' fish they are a really nice addition to the tank. They also will make the tank look full. (Unlike now, where I have about 5 gouramis, an eel and a ghost knife). Also they pair themselves off which would be pretty cool to see then bond with another mate. Also I can have them with other fish such as certain tetras and bigger fish ECT.

Oscars I really enjoy because they are 'solitary' fish and something about them just draws me toward them. They will also fill the tank. While I can add some other cichlids like African cichlids and maybe a jack depsy. I LOVE Electric blue african cichlids and certain colors will fit in really well. At the moment, I currently have two african cichlids with a zebra pattern on them both.

I do have one question...Why does one have an orange stomach and the other doesnt?. They are both the same size and look like 'baby" zebra cichlids.
This is the exact way they look:








And only one of them has that gold/orange looking belly. (Unlike the picture, one of them with the orange/gold has it on both sides and it covers their entire belly). I'll have to get some pictures up soon.

Anyone know a good link as to how to tell male from female?

And this is the EXACT same eel that I bought:









And this is the EXACT same Ghost Knife I got:









Both are still small and I was told that the eel can get up to 2 feet. as will the ghost knife. (I'll find out how much that is true though).:roll:


Anyway...What are your thoughts?'

P.S.
I'll get some of my own pictures up soon.


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## Christople (Sep 7, 2010)

Two oscars need at least 125 and one needs at least 75. The BGK WILL get around 20 inches long if healthy and the eel will too. The BGK is a rigid fish unlike the eel, which means it can't turn if it doesn't have the space to do so completely. The convict with the orange belly is the female and the male is the non-orange belly.


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## Christople (Sep 7, 2010)

Also oscars can't be together with African cichlids because their water requirements are on opposite poles, if you were talking about rift lake cichlids.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Your fire eel will reach about 1 meter. (36").
Your BGK will be around 50cm. (20"). 
They will need MIN. 75 gallons EACH. And I'm not sure how compatible they are with each other. They will eat anything that fits in their mouth. BGK are pretty much blind, they sense things with an electric organ, and can easily be picked on by other large fish.
Oscars are happiest with a buddy, so will need min. 125 gallons, like Christople said.
You can't mix african with south american due to pH and hardness needs.
Those convict chiclids are MEAN. I had a pair and they ripped apart a 15 inch pleco.
I think you're best off with a few angels, if you get rid of those other fish. When they pair off, breeding pairs will battle for territory and pick on unpaired fish. They school when little but are quite mean to other angels when they get large. You may be able to fit 2 pairs in a 55 though.


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## Sheldon31 (Mar 21, 2012)

I voted Oscars as my preferred fish. I love Oscars. If I ever get the chance for a larger tank I will definitely have Oscars. But for the tank size etc. Angels are the way to go.


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## copperarabian (Apr 27, 2011)

The female convict/zebra cichlid has the orange. Also, the fish your are buying are going to get to big. Either find a new home for the knife fish and eel or be prepared to invest in a very large aquarium as they get bigger faster then you expect them to.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

I want to thank all of you!

I knew it wasn't going to be as easy as I hoped so. I already knew I was going to have to get rid of most of the fish I currently have.

I don't know what the colorful cichlids that look neon yellow, blue, and red are. Sorry for the ignorant terms, but i'm not very educated too much on Cichlids. I will do my research, but we all know how it is.

Anyway, The colorful neon cichlids...I saw those kind with an oscar before and they lived in that tank for many years with little to no agression. Is this okay?

I really want to find a way to get an Oscar in the tank, though I've successfully housed two oscars in a 55 gallon before with no issues. It's not advised, but I have.

I know I'll have to get rid of the eel and the BGK because they are not compatible with the oscar. I have wanted a BGK for so long, but I guess im just not ready for them.

I was going to get about 4-6 angels, but they were only quarter sized and from what I hear, grow very slow. The tank would be a bit empty for most of the time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Parot fish: I know they are very bad nippers and can harrass any other fish in the tank, but I'm asking, would it be too passive for an Oscar?


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

You need to get fish that are suitable for your tank. There's just no way around it. Oscars get to be very large, min of 75g for one. Blood Parrot Cichlids have a minimum of 55g, with no other tank mates. It's another quite large fish. Just because someone forces fish to live in tanks that are much to small for them and they survive for a short time, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. I don't make my kids live in their bedrooms 24/7 right? They could technically do it, but it's not fun for them. Or a Betta in a 0.2g tank, it's doable but not humane. The reason these fish need such large tanks is because they grow quite long and need the room to turn around. Height isn't so important with these fish in tanks, it's width of the tank that counts. 55g tank are very narrow, good for cichlids, but not for larger fish. 

Best thing to do with Angels is to buy a group, and wait for them to push angels out of the group and rehome to rejected ones. You'll eventually end up with a paired couple, the others you will have to rehome. Angels are cichlids, they are just as aggressive. 

The cichlids you're talking about with the Oscar were probably a mild type of cichlid. I know there are cichlids with mild, med and high aggression.


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

Oscar are NOT good for a 55 gallon. Lets use simple logic. A happy healthy oscar will eventually reach a foot long and can get over 14 inches. A 55 gallon tank is 11.5 inches wide. It would not be able to turn around, or if it would would be very hard for it to do so. This isn't including the filtration needs or anything. Lets just say you living your entirely life in a jail cell would give you more room then that oscar in a 55 gallon tank.

The eel you have is a peacock eel, they do not get neerly as big as the fire eels someone mentioned before (if you look at the colors you can clearly see it is not one of these) and a 55 gallon tank is more then big enough for them.


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

Pitluvs said:


> Best thing to do with Angels is to buy a group, and wait for them to push angels out of the group and rehome to rejected ones. You'll eventually end up with a paired couple, the others you will have to rehome. Angels are cichlids, they are just as aggressive.


Angels are a schooling type of cichlid, best kept in even intervals so that there isnt a loners that are left without anyone. Though they can live alone (i have a single one because my mom bought it and is in love with it), or in a paired couple, the best way to keep them is in a group of 6+


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

I'm just going by what the topical community says and what is usually done with Angels. I'm a tropical fish owner as well as a Betta owner lol Most if not all the owners I know personally have paired off Angels only, or tanks large enough for two pairs  I personally could never keep 6+ angels and let them tear eachother apart during mating.


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

Pitluvs said:


> I'm just going by what the topical community says and what is usually done with Angels. I'm a tropical fish owner as well as a Betta owner lol Most if not all the owners I know personally have paired off Angels only, or tanks large enough for two pairs  I personally could never keep 6+ angels and let them tear eachother apart during mating.


A mating pair wouldn't claim the entire tank in a tank big enough for a school of angels. 4ft+ long tank is what is needed for keeping more then a pair. Odds are the other angels would still have around half the tank or more to roam during breeding times. Odds are you will not have 3 pairs out of 6 fish.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Is 55gallons big enough for 6 grown angels though?


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Philnominal said:


> A mating pair wouldn't claim the entire tank in a tank big enough for a school of angels. 4ft+ long tank is what is needed for keeping more then a pair. Odds are the other angels would still have around half the tank or more to roam during breeding times. Odds are you will not have 3 pairs out of 6 fish.


This is why I do not own Angels, and never will  Too many this that and the other thing. If I did though, I'd feel more comfortable with a paired of couple, than multiple. Would you believe years ago, when I first got into tanks... they told me a group of 6 would do great in a 29g? Thankfully I rehomed them and kept my Silver Dollars.


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## Christople (Sep 7, 2010)

Silver dollars are even larger than angel fish and way more active.


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

Pitluvs said:


> Silver Dollars.


Depending on species these can grow from 5-10 inches and are the shape of plates.


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## Fabian (Dec 16, 2011)

I like angles more because when they are happy they will spread their fins looking much more bigger.I do not like oscars because they will grow larger than the ones you see.I saw one bigger than my dog before and you cannot house oscars with other fishes.


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## fish monger (Dec 29, 2011)

Looks like you prefer larger fish; however, I have come to appreciate the impact groups of small fish can make. Additionally, a nice sized school can require much less space than one large fish. Just a thought. You mentioned making the tank look full. You get a lot of movement and, depending on the type of fish, a lot of color from small schooling fish.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Well my family has bugged me for so long about getting bigger fish. My guess it that they'd like to see bigger fish mostly because they think of fish as decor rather than fish, another being that does much more than swim in a tank.

My 55 gallon tank isn't very high but is also not narrow. The width of the tank from the side view is not like most 55 gallons I have seen. Its wider and almost looks custom made. I'm sure an Oscar will fit in here. I will get rid of the rest of the fish in the tank currently when I do decide to get it. I am getting a bigger tank soon...possibly in a few months because of my need for bigger fish. It's not oly my family's idea of wanting bigger fish. I like the idea of having solitary fish that know wo their source of food is. I'm tired of cattle fish like neons and platties, guppies that do better in groups. Also they end up being very expensive in the end.

So what other fish can bewitch an Oscar? I am hoping someone can tell me the name to those really colorful cichlids. I saw an Oscar with some other really colorful cichlids before and they were perfectly okay.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## PhilipPhish (Mar 6, 2011)

Oscars.... I don't recommend them. Nor do I like them too much. My oscar is destructive.

*Get angel fish!*


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

bettalover2033 said:


> Well my family has bugged me for so long about getting bigger fish. My guess it that they'd like to see bigger fish mostly because they think of fish as decor rather than fish, another being that does much more than swim in a tank.
> 
> My 55 gallon tank isn't very high but is also not narrow. The width of the tank from the side view is not like most 55 gallons I have seen. Its wider and almost looks custom made. I'm sure an Oscar will fit in here. I will get rid of the rest of the fish in the tank currently when I do decide to get it. I am getting a bigger tank soon...possibly in a few months because of my need for bigger fish. It's not oly my family's idea of wanting bigger fish. I like the idea of having solitary fish that know wo their source of food is. I'm tired of cattle fish like neons and platties, guppies that do better in groups. Also they end up being very expensive in the end.
> 
> ...


Measure the tank out, dimensions are needed. Oscars get huge. There are other cichlids that would fit a 55 gallon MUCH better then Oscars, especially if they will be alone. even if it is 18inches wide and 4ft long think about how much room a fish that can easily reach over a foot would fit in there. 

Rotkiel Severums, Green Terrors, Red Devils, Blue Acara, Firemouth, Convicts, Jack Dempseys are just a few that come to mind. Plan for the tank you have now, if you upgrade then you can upgrade your fish too.

Also, check out your poll. 9 to 1, Angels for Oscars. You asked our advice, it is up to you to listen or not.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

You could put in one (maybe 2) blood red parrot cichlids. They are much more attractive IMO than oscars, and I head they are quite comical. I'd love to have em :3


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

@Philnominal: I understand that I did ask for advise and very well will take it. The whole point is that I want a big fish. Angels are nice fish and can live together nicely with little to no problems.

I wasn't ignoring the poll results. I honestly think that I am going to get a few angels because they will be a nice addition to my tank and will be more appropriate for the aquarium. Also I didn't say that I was getting an Oscar. I want to make sure that when I do get one I can do it the right way. I know that oscars can really be some destructive fish and don't do well with ornaments in the tank. Also their bio load is ridiculous.

I am planning on getting a bigger tank soon so the next tank that I do get will be for an Oscar.


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

bettalover2033 said:


> @Philnominal: I understand that I did ask for advise and very well will take it. The whole point is that I want a big fish. Angels are nice fish and can live together nicely with little to no problems.
> 
> I wasn't ignoring the poll results. I honestly think that I am going to get a few angels because they will be a nice addition to my tank and will be more appropriate for the aquarium. Also I didn't say that I was getting an Oscar. I want to make sure that when I do get one I can do it the right way. I know that oscars can really be some destructive fish and don't do well with ornaments in the tank. Also their bio load is ridiculous.
> 
> I am planning on getting a bigger tank soon so the next tank that I do get will be for an Oscar.


sorry i must have misread somewhere.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

It's alright. Your looking at the best interest if the fish itself not my needs. That is what I really like to see. I understand because I'm the same way.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

Yep, this isn't a forum on how to please people but fish lol. 

I just realized you said yout 50 gallon is wider rather then tall. You might still want to take those measurements as angelfish need height. Prefered height is 20 inches + _*of water*_ but 18 is the minimal. Leopard angels could probably handle a little less but not that much.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Well its 55 gallons it makes a little difference, but not much.

Though the average longfinned angel can fit since some I've seen the size 6 inches in length and 10 inches in height.

Though to REALLY be sure ill still take measurements.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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