Tank Setups

Question
Little background information on what I have.

My "A" tank is a 10gal with Water Wisteria planted in it. I currently keep a bristle-nosed plec, 2 Black mollies, and 3 Sunset fire Platies. I keep a Aquaclear brand 30gal Power filter going on this tank, water temp at 78-80F and 1-2 gal water changes bi-weekly.

My "B" tank is also a 10 gal, a few sprigs of Water Wisteria and a bamboo sprig as well. This tank is currently housing the 7 fry remaining fry out of 13 from Tank A, not sure who was the mother as they are white and black. This tank also has a Aquaclear 30gal power filter, water at 78-80F and weekly 1-2 gal water changes as I don't currently have a "cleaner" fish like a plec in it.

My current plan with tank B is once the fry are large enough to identify, I plan on either selling them or finding them a new home. I'm thinking of putting either an Oscar and the Bristlenose from tank A in there until the Oscar is about big enough to move to a larger tank, or getting blue dwarf gouramis.

I know the Oscar will outgrow the 10gal eventually, but I don't know how long it would take. I plan on having a 50 gal set up in the next year or so that will have at least 1 Oscar in it. Also if I put the bristle nose plec in there, I need to find another suitable cleaner fish to put in with my mollies and platies, preferably something a little better looking than the pleco



So to boil things down for easier answering:
1. What "cleaner" type fish that looks better than a plec would work well with my Mollies and Plays?
2. How many Gouramis should I get minimally for social reasons?
3. What makes good tank mates for the Gouramis if I have room for more?
4. If I get an Oscar, what would be good tankmates for him, and should I get tank mates so he is used to them for when I get the newer bigger home, or just wait until I move him?

Answer
Hi Joseph, Thank you for your letter and for doing your research first!

Please be warned, while a baby oscar -can- live in a 10 gallon. He has the potential to almost grow an inch a month if well-cared for. And I'm afraid you may not have enough time to upgrade. It's ideally best to start with a suitable size tank in the first place but if you are willing to keep in with the giant water changes and varied feedings these demanding water pets need, then definitely go for it! ;-)

In a 10-gallon even a tiny baby oscar will need at least three partial water changes a week. And up that to every day water changes as he gets more and more bigger. It's very important for an oscar's young life that he gets lots of variety. This is so he grows well and has fewer deformities from lack of vitamins, and has less of a chance of developing the dread "Hole-in-the-head" condition which can come from poor water quality and insufficient diet. It's a persistent long-lasting condition that can really ruin the beauty of oscars.

*Variety early in life will also ensure he accepts new foods as he gets older. Far too many people just feed nothing but pellets or nothing but feeder fish (leave these out of your oscar's diet) and then the oscar has a hard time accepting any new foods.

Just take note of these considerations because I wouldn't want you to have to deal with a sickly and stunted oscar and I am speaking straight from experience myself.

As far as tankmates for oscars. I wouldn't try to keep any other fish with an oscar in a ten-gallon. Far too crowded.
But some fish that have been known to get along with Oscars are Firemouth cichlids and similar south american cichlids, Silver dollars, Clown Loaches, ect...


*A very ideal cleaner fish for your molly and platy tank would be a small group of otocinclus catfish. These are commonly available 1 inch long catfish that are quite cute and do a good job at algae cleaning. But don't let them just depend upon whatever algae grows in the tank because like any algae eater, they could starve to death if the tank just isn't growing enough algae. Algae wafers are a ideal solution and your algae eater will still keep the tank clean even if fed. Vegetables like Zucchini, Cucumber, Romain lettuce and peas are also enjoyed by Otos and other algae eaters.

Keeping dwarf gouramis together can be a challenge, especially with all males. Pairs are said to get along better (1 male and 1 female of course) but it can help  some of the aggression issues if the tank is well planted to create territory lines and borders. I feel that with such a little tank your best bet would be to try to find a pair of dwarfs. Instead of risking all males together.

You could easily keep a small shoal of tetras such as Neons, Cardinals, Glowlights, ect... Or some Harlequin Rasboras, White clouds, fancy guppies. Most small peaceful fish are fine with dwarf gouramis.

I really hope this helps answer all your questions and best of luck!
Karen~

Great website on oscars!
oscarfishlover.com