Oscar Alternatives

So now that I have a basically empty tank, I've started to think what my options are.

Initially I thought this is a good time to go the planted route, and just leave the fish out of it for now, and work at trying to get a really nicely planted tank going, and then only adding fish to it much later.

Ultimately I want a fish that I can keep alone, or as a couple, that will grow fairly large.

At the end of the day this is my "pet" fish, the one I treat like a child.

Generally I love cichlids, but who knows what else is out there that I'm missing out on.

Any ideas?


Sizeable
Long Lifespan
Good looking (lol)

Those are pretty much the criteria.

 

arowana

 

Tank isn't THAT big


Besides I generally find "taller" fish better looking than the lengthy eel like variety.

 

How big is the tank? What about oddballs?

 

120L x 55W x 65H (The height might be wrong).

Never heard of Oddballs...googling now.

 

Nice group of 6 Discus then

 

Oddballs = Snakeheads ? which are VERY illegal if I recall.

I was actually thinking the same thing, but then it's not very "personal" and becomes just like my Malawi tank.

Seems strange to say this, but I've always had a very emotional attachment to my Oscars, which I can't say the same for any tank which has fish in numbers.


Was thinking of Green Terrors maybe?

 

***

Now that I think about it this would be an excellent time to polish out those glass scratches that have been bothering me forever and a day.

 

Nah, oddballs as in Ghostknife, elephant nose etc.

Personally, I'd go for a heavily planted tank with discus aswell ^^,
Such beautiful fish... and I think you can get some really nice specimens from Prof. Bellstedt.

It's completely up to you though... you're the one who's going to be looking at the tank in the end

 

There are a few nice fish you can try, particularly in the cichlid group: Green Deacons (Heros severum) become quite characters, and look good too. Uarus (Uaru amphiacanthoides), while somewhat uncommon, also make good pets. Both achieve good sizes and can be bred in the home aquarium, which is a satisfying achievement.

Otherwise go for a 'themed' tank, based on a certain area from somewhere around the world. The most popular choices are normally South America (Amazon) or a South-East Asian blackwater stream, but I have to recommend a West African theme, as some of the most interesting fish come out of those rivers. You can also quite easily get the plants to match the habitat as well.



...or how about trying the brackish or marine route?

 

Giant Gourami

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/anabantoids/GiantGourami.php

 

I was going to say giant gourami or a deacan!

maybe a jack dempsey?

 

I find Jaguar Cichlids absolutely amazing to look at and they are apparently much like oscars in their habits. Then again, maybe that would be too much like an oscar... Certain larger catfish can become quite tame but you might not get the activity out of them that you do with other fish. I've seen the pic of the tank but how many litres is it?

 

50cm +...

They're good pets they get really big and often large adults are left cramped in small tanks because it can be difficult to find new accomodations for such a large fish.

 

Isn't the "Green Terror" also a Severum?

Or isn't there a Severum that's very much like a Green Terror?

They (the Green Terrors) appear to be beautiful fish, but I don't have much experience with them, and don't remember ever seeing them in any shop.

Oscars being the kind of fish that kills plants and re-arranges everything always made me feel like the tank is all about them, and not everything else.

Themed on the other hand it always seems more about he habitat and like the fish are lost in it.

Not just yet...maybe one day.

Yeah, they are very much like Oscars, and thus I would rather just get another Oscar.

If I recall correctly it was about 350 litres, but I can't remember if that was before or after compensating for the curve.

I'll probably end up just getting another Oscar.

 

A little off topic: almost all fish have a dwarf version, do you get a dwarf oscar?

 

Never heard of one.

But you never know.

 

Apistogrammas. They small and they have a lot of personality

 

Albino Oscars ... Silver Dollars ...

 

I had 2 x Oscars once upon a time, one got huge and one never bigger than 7cms, had them both for years