just got me a 55g today

right now its got temp ornaments and fish from other tanks to give it a cycle boost maybe help t cycle a litle faster.

soon as thats done and kosher the ornaments will be ripped out cause they look silly anyhow and ill replace it with a big hollow fake log from walmart and some other fake tree roots and such.

as for now i got a inch of ugly brown gravel im going to cover with another inch of black gravel once the tanks cycled.

as for inhabitants im going to go for some kind of central american cichlid, so instead of moving the temp fish they can become lunch for the new guy/s. im still trying to decide.

oscars are easy to get around here but there would only be one. but they are so personable. the filters a kit filter that came with the 55 so id have to upgrade befroe the oscar got tooo big.

i could manage 2 JDs but they are pretty common

err theres allways water rodents err i mean convicts, but they breed like rabits and kill everything else in the prossess.

mmm the salvinis i wanted are proving a challenge to even get here. i asked the petstore if they could get salvinis (note i exsplained they are a central american cichlid and even went as far as to tell them they are from near costarica) and they said they would ask their supplier, so they call me today and say "we cant get those plants because they are ilegal in oklahoma" im all like plants???? i wanted a fish. soooooo long story short they are a cool fish but too much trouble getting them when dealing with a supplier that aprently hires special ed people.


and theres always our walmart that has firemouths (pretty but boring) and what i could only guess is a green terror cause the fines are linned in orangfe and it has a dot center of the body and one on the tail although some seem to have a sorta black lateral line.

anyhow i can already tell im going to love this tank

I understand were you are comming from because] I had to ask my lfs manager to get some kribs in. He told me if the supplier had them he was going to get them in on wednesday.

Oh don't forget the pics :up:

pics will come when i dont have these silly but bacteriallyy rich ornaments in there

ones a conch shell ones a gaudy sunken ship with dolpins and a bunch of maien stuff painted on it and theres a decent but little log.

i hate anything that dont look natural

smae but my parents and my brother want me to get fake little shipwrecks and things like that i just want rocks, driftwood and plants

yep cept im useing fake plants this time (my other tanks have real plants) cause new world cichlids are famous for killing plants

ok ignore the decorations,

yeah my 55g is basically built into the wall right next to my computer "WOOOOT"

oops heres the pic

Is that AquaTopiaForum.com in the background?? :o

:lol:

couldnt hinestly tell you . im registered on over 100 forums although i only really visit like 10 and only post on like 3. i think thst may have been a "look only" forum

Looks good. :up: :star:

kinda considering doing a native fish tank

that would make late entries for photo of the month easy :)

i dcided to go with a tiger oscar and a JD and by the time they get big ill either have another 55g or ill take one to the fish store.

great choices :up:

Here's an article about decorating for cichlids that I've always thought to be very informative. I have never kept an oscar, but that reminds me of a friend who used to have an ocar in a 55 gallon who would do lots of "redecorating." As soon as the tank was cleaned, he would tug up each aritificial plant, shake off the gravel, and send it floating to the top of the tank. He would then push the gravel around the tank for a while. I found this habit of his to be rather amusing, but I didn't have the chaoticly "redecorated" tank in my home. But, then again others don't have this problem with cichlids, so I guess it varies between each individual fish.

This off of a geocities thing, I can't find the author name and the link I tried to put in didn't work so . . .


Aquarium Decorations
One thing about Oscars and many other large Cichlids is that they will decorate their aquarium the way they want it. In an effort to feel more secure, an Oscar will move anything and everything around at his whim, and will dig around in the gravel relentlessly. There are exceptions, but for the most part this is normal behavior.

Oscars of breeding age and above will play with and smash your aquarium heater. Click on the Oscars and Heaters link above for a thorough discussion.

The important thing for a fishkeeper to do is provide some unmoveable landmarks with the purpose of dulling the Oscar's territorial nature. Two things to concentrate on are: Hiding places and items that hide or distort the ends of the aquarium. Good hiding places are overturned flowerpots, pvc pipe and rock formations cemented together with silicone. If you use plastic flower pots, make sure to weigh them down with gravel or they will float. Do not use metal pipes, because they will corrode and foul the water. And avoid those plastic rock formations you can get at the fish store -- Oscars will tear them apart in a day!

Avoid live plants if at all possible. Oscars generally tear them up quickly. Floating plants, like Duckweed, may be OK if you feel like you need plants to help with Nitrate. Oscars need tall plastic plants, preferably in the center and at both ends of the aquarium. When his view of the ends of the aquarium is blocked or distorted, it dulls his territorial nature. Perhaps it's because it gives the illusion of a larger aquarium. However, in an Oscar tank, you can't simply bury plastic plants in the gravel! Oscar will move them around at will. The best idea is to cement the plants to the bottom of the tank with silicone before you add water and gravel.

It is important that your aquarium gravel be smooth rather than sharp-edged. Oscars, while digging around and while looking for food will oftentimes fill their mouths with gravel, and sharp edges may injure them.

Lighting in an Oscar tank should be subtle; they don't appreciate bright lights. Leaving the lights off when a room is normally lit is a good idea. Bright lighting may increase their irritability and their territorial nature. If you do keep bright lighting, it certainly won't harm them, however.
Another important point in decorating the tank is to leave the front of the aquarium open. An Oscar's "territory" extends out the front glass and into the room. Although he can't actually swim out there, the vast area gives him the impression of not being crowded, extending the lifespan of his tankmates!

yeah ima confuse them all when i get the new decorations lol

ok i put hem in yesterday and both ate within minutes of getting settled in so far on the personality scale my JD is blowing my oscar away hes one hell of an active kid although any loud noise and hes in the sunken ship he claimed as his home. also the JD is quite a bit older than the baby oscar so were bound to see some changes as he catches up. the oscar seems to enjoy the top of the water coulumb minding his own business where the JD likes near the gravel bullying the temporary cories . both are extremely beutiful fish as seen in my post about blue and captin rubberfins

http://aquatopiaforum.com/index.php?showtopic=514

ill keep you posted on their changes and new pics when they go throu color morphs into adulthood

oh ps : since they are so small im feeding them bloodworms and betta bites instead of cichlid pellets

they look like they could handle some small sticks. try it.