I have 3 oscars a large agressive albino, and 2 who are still growing a tiger oscar whos about 6-8 inches and a red oscar whos about 6 inches I will post pics if anyone wants to offer thier opinion

https://i.servimg.com/u/f46/17/56/56/38/2012-025.jpg
Tiger Oscar

https://i.servimg.com/u/f46/17/56/56/38/2012-027.jpg
Red Oscar


https://i.servimg.com/u/f46/17/56/56/38/2012-028.jpg
Albino Oscar

Oscars can't be sexed unless the genital papillae (the sex organs) are showing. It's blunt and thicker around to deposit the eggs on females, and thinner and pointed on males to deliver the milt. There is none of the sexual dimorphism typical of many cichlid species: no color differences, no nuchal hump on males, no difference in the shape of the anal or dorsal fins. You may find a few who claim that they can sex oscars based on these characteristics, but they're foolin' themselves. Anyone who has kept oscars long term knows better.

Nice lookin' fish!

WYite

Gotcha lol in that case I ouldnt know the first thing about trying to sex them. Im new to all yhis but went from having no fish to having a 92 gal with 2 oscars (my tiger n red) and an incandescent shark, a 29 gal with my albino oscar because he had to be seperated out cause he was beating the snot out of my poor shark and a 125 gal with my 2 jds and currently 9 various mbuna cichlids(currently 6 blue mbuna and 3 kaliedoscope peacocks that I can find absolutely no info anywhere on (adding more over the next few weeks) but I have to say my oscars are up there at the top of my list of favorites they have gorgeous coloration and amazing personalities I can handfeed all 3 & I love how they all recognize me when I approach the tank. The main reason I guess I was attempting to sex my oscars is because idk if my red n tiger would try and mate together? They get along great and were put into the tank together at prob a inch in size maybe 4 months ago and grew very quickly they are both at least 6 imches already but like I said I know nothing about breeding any of them but would like to at the very least be able to recognize if mating does occur so I can attempt to make it successful. Im slowly becoming addicted to the hobby of keeping my pretty fish and am eager to keep learning all I can about them thank you again for any and,all info u have given me and im sure will continue to give me

I agree with Wyite on the sexing of Oscars. Not easy unless you see them spawning.

Lol my kids have named all 3 Oscars the tiger is sheldon, the red penny and the albino peter and I keep waiting to find out pennys a boy and peters a girl or something lol so baisically if I see them spawning I know I have a male and a female. They get along great niether ever getting aggressive with anything but thier food. It doesnt matter tho to me what they are lol just was curious

Yer tanks are set up fairly well, with a coupla concerns. The 29 is way too small for even one Oscar, eventually he'll start developing problems due to the cramped space. The ID shark is the other big problem. They can reach 3' in the wild and 2' in an aquarium easily. You really don't have a tank large enough for him. I'll give ya some ideas for rearranging yer set up later, typin' on this tablet suck s.

WYite

The 29 has only one oscar and thats it and the shark is in a 92 gal tank, everything ive researched hes at his max size of 12 to 14 inches. I took him from my brother who had him in a 55 gal with a huuuuge tiger oscar and green terror. I did extensivw research prior to setting up any of my tanks except my albino being in the 29 I had to put him in there cuz he wont get along with anyone hes very aggressive but I saved him from being stuffed in a 10 gal with 3 albino frogs in my nephews room the poor thing was not only crammed in a tiny tank with 3 rather large frogs but it had a malfunctioning filter and u couldnt even see into his tank. He seems to be very happy and healthy although aggressive and territorial. When I put feeder fish in his tank I honestly dont jnow if he eats em cuz they are in his area or if hes actually hungry. I am always open to suggestions thou because I do want my fish to be healthy and happy. We had thought about getting an albino incandescent for the 125 gal but def dont wanna if it may be 2 small, the kid I bought the tank from actually had 2 in there and nothing else and had to downgrade to a 55 for then when he moved, but everything ive read says they reach a max size of 12 to 14 inches. But thanks for any advice u may have to offer

tinker477 wrote:

...the shark is in a 92 gal tank, everything ive researched hes at his max size of 12 to 14 inches.

True, in a manner of perspective. What most web sites and books fail to mention is that in any aquarium the average hobbyist will be able to provide, their growth is stunted. This leads to spinal curvature, rostral injuries (due to running into the glass) and compression of internal organs leading to internal deformities and subsequent health issues. All these issues will significantly shorten the lifespan of the fish. Pangasianodon hypophthalmus are active, fast-swimming fish from the Mekong River basin in Thailand, Cambodia, and Viet Nam, and anything less than 6' for a tank length is really doin' the fish an injustice. And please trust me, over the years I've seen plenty of ID sharks that far exceeded 14" in home aquariums. Not sure of the dimensions on yer 92 gallon tank, a standard 90 is 48" long x 18" wide x 24" high. On the other hand, IME they are relatively peaceful and ignore anything that won't fit in their mouth. I'd reccomend puttin' the shark in yer 125, except I'm not sure yer mbuna and peacocks wouldn't go on the menu. A standard 125 is approximately 72" L x 18" w x 24" deep, IIRC. saint_felony has a lot more experience with these fish than I do, we're chattin' here tonight 'round 11 pm EST, I'll hit him up on his experience with keepin' 'em with fish like mbuna if he's tried. Yer also welcome to join us and ask him yerself.

tinker477 wrote:

...except my albino being in the 29 I had to put him in there cuz he wont get along with anyone hes very aggressive but I saved him from being stuffed in a 10 gal with 3 albino frogs in my nephews room the poor thing was not only crammed in a tiny tank with 3 rather large frogs but it had a malfunctioning filter and u couldnt even see into his tank. He seems to be very happy and healthy although aggressive and territorial. When I put feeder fish in his tank I honestly dont jnow if he eats em cuz they are in his area or if hes actually hungry.

Oscars are pigs and will gorge until they can't get another bite in their mouths if ya let 'em. I've seen my oscars with one worm hanging out of their mouths 'cuz they couldn't swallow it all the way after eatin' the previous worm or three, and they were still tryin' to beat the other fish to the next uneaten worm.

Eventually ya may wanna consider a 55 or 75 for the albino oscar alone. I have a 12" male albino who was kept in a 20 gallon high by the previous owner until he was 10" long, and he has severe spinal curvature. His back is almost a perfect semi-circle. I guesstimate he'd push 14.5" to 15" if he'd been raised in an adequate sized tank. Unfortunately, his mate just died and he's been a little more aggressive toward the other fish in my 225 gallon tank, but the redhead cichlid and red devil are startin' to tone him down. The high aggression yer seein' is partly due to the confines of the tank and the need to establish what's his. IME, in larger tanks, aggression decreases dramatically, even with oscars kept in groups. I had four oscars and several large CA cichlids in my 225 for several years without problem, until the two largest oscars paired up and spawned several months ago. Fortunately, the red devil, redhead, salvini and pleco turned into built-in birth control and the aggression never lasted more than a day after each spawn. Since the female died two days ago, I expect to see little aggression from here on out. Anyways, yer good in the 29 on a temporary basis with plenty of water changes, but for the fish's sake the 29 isn't really a viable long-term solution. Generally, a 75 is considered minimum by most hobbyists for a single oscar, but a 55 will do if necesssary, and I do know a lot of people who have kept oscars long term in a 55 without health issues. A 55 is also a bit more economical and I know Petco has "dollar a gallon" sales where ya can get a 55 for $55. Craigslist is also a good place to look for deals on tanks.

tinker477 wrote:

I am always open to suggestions thou because I do want my fish to be healthy and happy. We had thought about getting an albino incandescent for the 125 gal but def dont wanna if it may be 2 small, the kid I bought the tank from actually had 2 in there and nothing else and had to downgrade to a 55 for then when he moved, but everything ive read says they reach a max size of 12 to 14 inches. But thanks for any advice u may have to offer

For the most part, I'd say yer doin' purdy durn good for bein' new to the hobby. No "I have an oscar in a 20 gallon tank", "I have 15 mbuna in my 10 gallon tank so why are they killin' each other", or "why is my oscar eating my neon tetras" type questions. You've done well with the research. Ya fell into the ID sharks only get 14" trap and ya eventually need to get a bigger tank for the albino oscar, but no mistakes that are stupid, careless or along the lines of "I don't care, I want one and I'm doin' it anyways." You've started better than I did several decades ago.

WYite

Hmm I am considering putting Bob (my ID) in the 125 ive never even seen him eat any of the feeders I put in the tank. Hes the most peaceful fish I think I own aside from the koi n goldfish out in the pond. I put feeders in for the oscars prob once a week and I have never even once seen him chase one and all my mbuna and peacock are at least 2 inches. If I move Bob I can attempt to put Peter (my albino) back into the 92 but my only worry there... is him getting aggressive with my 2 other oscars who are considerably smaller by prob 4 inches. Hes an awesome fish and ive been trying to convince the bf into gttn another tank and he looked at me like im crazy lol but if I just show up home with one or get one n set it up while hes working what can he rlly say? Lol im trying to convince him we can then raise guppies in the 29 and save money on feeders. Im hooked I love my fish and just keep wanting more . I actually picked up 4 red devil fry this evening to add to the mix.