# community problems:



## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

we have a 45 gallon with an oscar, weather loach, 2 iridescent sharks, a flame gourami, and a rosy red minnow. plantlife includes a brazilian sword, anius sword, and a green hedge, along with a huge plastic vine that takes up one whole side of the tank. so far, the oscar has been trying to chew on the gourami's sensors, but the gourami swims away before he gets to close. his orange markings fade into a pale gray as they approach the head, never purely blending in with his dark-gray backround-is this natural? he likes to hide in the huge vine. so far, i have not seen the gourami surface for air.i'd also like to know the latin name of the flame gourami. i read one time that the flame is a hybrid between a honey gourami and a neon blue gourami-is this true(ours has no color resemblance to a neon blue)?


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

Here is a link for your flame.

Red/Flame Gourami - All About Red/Flame Gourami

Your tank is much too small for oscars even 1 oscar and also the sharks as they can get over 3 feet long

Iridescent Shark Catfish, Pangasius Catfish


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Oscars don't get along with very many fish. Does best as the only fish or a pair.


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

Oscar are an aggresive fish... I have a feeling that he is small at the this time.... but not for long he will out grow the 45 gal. tank and he WILL eat or kill all other fish in the tank. Generally they don't do plants plastic or real. You have a very strange combination of fish. Gourami also can be agressive fish to other gouramis of the same sex, so make sure you have a mating pair. The Sharks you have also get quite large in themselves as will and a 45 gal tank will not be big enough for them. 

You may want to do some reasearch on each fish and than decide if that want you want in the long run, At least you will have a better understanding of you pets. Also you learn that different fish can not be mixed, as the natural behavoir of the fish. Right Now you have some Peaceful fish mix with agressive fish...and that has never worked out for anyone.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

my dad goes for complete risks-right now, the tank temp is probably only 50.F!! my dad says that if he gets a bigger tank for his shark(which will hopefully be soon), the 125gal will be made into a freshwater tank, and this will hopefully give enough space for everybody-maybe i could get enough plants and make one half of the tank a forest, and an open half for the oscar.


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

Will in the wild you can see Ocars with other fish, but a tank no matter how big is still a cage and eventually the oscar will find them. Oscars do not like plants and will rip them up......you have a great ideal, but reality will always trump ideals. What you are thinking is not something new in 20 years in the hobby, I never heard of someone acheving it. Good Luck


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## roc-aquarium (Aug 26, 2008)

I like the look of plants. I used artificial plants and the Oscar would pull them up. Thinking that I am smarter than the fish (I'm not) I siliconed rockes to their plastic bases. My Oscar still moved them around as he saw fit. 

When it was time to move him to a larger tank I started thinking I am now much smarter than the fish (still not). I siliconed the plants with rocks attached to the base of the aquarium. Now I have a bunch of plantless plastic rock bases in the tank. The Oscar repeatedly did a tug of war with the plants, and won. I've left several of the plastic plants floating in teh tank. He still likes to grab them and drag them all over.

Trying to create a half forest with an open area for the Oscar will result in an expensive underwater salad.


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## Fishboydanny1 (Jun 13, 2008)

if the fish grow to full size, the oscar will eat the gourami, and the oscar eaten by the 'sharks.' in my opinion, delete the sharks and gourami, and you will have a very personable oscar! oscars can be taught tricks! it took me two days to train my mayan cichlid to jump, grab her food without biting me (she's growing teeth! i see them!) and eat it before the others get it! I've heard of as simple as a goldfish being trained complex tricks!

check this out! Fish School


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

what happened was my dad went right out and bought these fish, and i had no research whatsoever. i was doing a project to see if watching colorful fish can relieve stress, and the colorful i needed were powder blue gourami, bronze cory cat, 7 zebra danios, a rosy barb, 3 male guppies, and a female betta. my dad just also transferred 2 goldfish from their 15 gal hex to the 45 gal. as they get bigger, the oscar will be in a species only tank with 1 other oscar(oscars hate to be alone), and i have heard that iridescent sharks can live in indoor koi ponds.


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

Will I think your reinventing the wheel here, there has been alot of research done on the effects of fish tanks as a stress releaf. If you research fish tank and stress, you should come accross articles about the effects on having them in doctors offices in the waiting room. they have found that denist office, also in offices where generally bad new is given.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

so far the oscar has not pulled up any plants. instead of fancy guppies, im thinking assorted african cichlids. how bout it, huh?


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

you going to have to pick one or they other......Oscars don't mix will with othe types of fish. I know we covered this before but your oscar is going to out grow that 45 gal tank.... quickly... you are not going to have enough room with one oscar let alone other chiclids.


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## TheCheeseWizz (Dec 9, 2008)

I have 2 red Guoramis myself and I love them.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

i did not want the oscar. i completely opposed getting one. once the oscar gets big we'll put him in a bigger tank and get another oscar to be his tankmate. we have changed the list of fish for the project. here is the new one:
currently in tank:
-4 giant danios
-1 oscar
-2 irid. sharks
-1 neon red gourami
-1 weather loach
-1 blackfin cory cat
-1 mystery cory(sold to us as bronze, but lacks certain features)
-1 rosy red minnow
-2 goldfish

list to get:
-1 powder blue gourami
-1 rosey barb
-3 assorted african cichlids
-3 glofish danios


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