CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

Hey guys and gals, from what i can see this is an american based site but i found this place while browsing through some websites and this places looks like its full of informative people so i thought id post here with some questions, that, hopefully someone can answer!

Today i purchased a Juwel REKORD 60 tank (whole package, heater, filter, light etc), now i have a question, my father has a fluvel 304 filter and he has to change the media now and again, but since the juwel filter uses the foam pads more, how often should i change all the pads, or shoudl i change some filters one time and others later on?

Thanks very much for the help guys and gals!

Welcome to the forums.

how often should i change all the pads, or shoudl i change some filters one time and others later on?

if you change them at different times it will keep living bacteria in the filter all the time ,so it will work better and avoid the tank needed to cycle again.


Good luck with the new tank

ok my next question is, within this filer i have 2 blue filter pads, one is course and one is fine, so should i change the course one first leave that for a few weeks for the biological stuff to transfer from the fine, and then change the fine?

Also can i ask fish questions here as well? dont want to create another thread asking questions lol

so should i change the course one first leave that for a few weeks for the biological stuff to transfer from the fine, and then change the fine?

you got the right idea - the actual time will depend on how dirty your fish get the media,which you'll figure out after a little while.

Also can i ask fish questions here as well? dont want to create another thread asking questions lol

You can,but you'll get more anwsers from more people if you post in the right catagory.(makes it easier for other seaching for anwsers to find also)

Don't worry about asking questions or makeing different posts thats what these forums are for

hehe, well ill ask the main one here since im really worried about it

As ive said ive bought a REKORD 60 tank, if you dont know the dimensions of this tank is 61cm x 31cm x 36cm which holds about 65 ltr's (13.8 gal? dont know if that is US or UK gal or if there is a differance )

anyway, my father a long time ago kept lots of O's and im looking to get into keeping some, but my father tells me that oscars can just up and decide one day they wish to die.

i have witnessed this happen but is this something that is usual for O's or is there something wrong he has done?

also how many oscars would be ok in the tank i have?

minimum size for ONE oscar is 55 gallon (full grown wit exscellent filtreation) but one o would b fine in ur tank for a couple months if hes small (2-2 1/2in.)

they grow extremely fast when on the proper diet of hikari gold and beefheart

i noticed a growth of 1 3/4 in in my 3 in O on beefheart and hikari gold (the small kind)wardley makes a cheaper brand thats almsot as good

if you dont know the dimensions of this tank is 61cm x 31cm x 36cm which holds about 65 ltr's (13.8 gal? dont know if that is US or UK gal or if there is a

I think thats UK/Imperial gallons.
Converted I get
24.4 inches X 12.4 inches X14.4 inches
By the measurements I get 18.86 U.S. gallons
(would be considered a 20 gallon tank in the U.S)

So as was already said in the future you'll need a larger tank.



This might help you out when reading this forum
.4 inches = 1cm
1 Imperial gallon = 4.54609188 liters
1 US gallon = 3.7854118 liters

I know it helps me in reverse dealing with non-u.s. figures,or else I'd get lost

also how many oscars would be ok in the tank i have?

Keep in mind that the more oscars you have the more room you need. Like only 2 for a 75 gallon!:D

Billy

hehe thanks guys.

Im not talking about buying a full grown pair (saw a pair of BEUATIFUL tiger oscars today at my local fish place, about 9 - 10" which were only £20!)

Im talking about buying baby oscars and trying to grow them on, the ones ive seen are about 1in - 2in and with my dad saying they just up and decide to grow im hoping to buy about 5 and if i lose say 3 then id be ok.

can anyone explain this odd "up and die" thing oscars have?

set the tank up and its all set out with 3 real plants

Have a gander i know its small but im new

Nice.

I need to get some pictures of mine up here soon.

can anyone explain this odd "up and die" thing oscars have?

sorry never experianced that,most of the oscars I've ever kept have lived over 10 years.






rember when buying those 1-2inch oscars they'll be 10-12" in a year (or less)

in a years time im planning on getting between a 4 foot or 6 foot tank, got the space where my tank is now to the left of it, so thatd be nice for the O's if they come on.

so would you recomend just buying 2? what should i do to make sure the o's live long happy lives?

Originally posted by FatherN'Son

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so would you recomend just buying 2? what should i do to make sure the o's live long happy lives?
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hi there!at last ive found someone from the u.k!!lol

the most important thing as with any fish keeping is that your water paremeters are all correct!e.g amm-nitrates-nitrites-p.h.

once they are all correct you need to run your tank in,[or cycling as they put it in this forum] this normally takes a couple weeks.
then depending on your filter arrangements add just a couple of fish only and keep em small.loading your tank with fish will overload your filter system and your parameters will rocket!keep a chk on your parameters weekly and do regular water changes.

i have just set up an o tank i have 2 small o's on there own thats all! they look swamped in my 30gal tank!
as long as you vary diet and keep them in a large enough tank to avoid stress and your water quality is good you should have no troubles with the o's growing old.

sorry to waffle but hope this helps.

For your 18 gal tank make sure you get a filter system for a 30gal. O's are really dirty fish and you have to exaggerate the filter system. I would only get TWO at the most, but start saving money now cause in a few months you'll need at least a 75gal for them! They will get big quick!

The only thing I have ever seen as far as them "up and dying" is jumping out of the tanks sometimes. I had one go after a moth one time and landed outside the tank, luckily I was in the room when it happened. My fathers died that way, it jumped out while he was away from home. it was in a 55gal without a lid, so you might want to have a lid to were they don't see anything that they might want to taste and jump for it. But other than that, O's are really hardy fish, maybe he wasn't having alot of luck with them because he was keeping them in small tanks. Like it was stated before, O's need around 55 gals per fish, I would say at a minimum they need 30 gal per fish, but that is a worst case scenerio. They could survive, but they won't be happy. Also, if you need more room, take out some decorations and make sure the gravel is only about 1" - 1 1/2" deep, every little bit helps when their in smaller tanks.

I have an 85gal tank but I'm only going to put 2 O's and a catfish in it (unless I go with 4 convicts)