# A complete startover



## zephspacer (Jul 29, 2011)

Well i sold all my fish and did a start over for my 55 gallon. I got all new gravel and everything. The fish i got are all babies, I have 2 oscars one is the normal orange black an the other is absolutely beautiful i cannot pinpoint the type because its not an albino tiger because he doesn't look like any oscar i have ever seen. He can change his main color to peach/skin color to white to brown. he has NEON orange stripe design. He is not a genetic hybrid. But he/she is gorgeous! I got 4 convicts and 3 firemouths. All are about the same size(2-3 inches). Yes i do know how big oscars get Im not an idiot!!! I will trade the 2 in when they get to big for my tank!


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## stephgrim (Oct 12, 2011)

Hi Jim,

Would love to see a pic of this Oscar. I breed Oscars, and I've never seen one like you described. Sounds very interesting.


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## zephspacer (Jul 29, 2011)

yeh i still cannot figure out what type it is. i have gone to every mom and pop store and they have said they never seen this type of oscar before. and the place i bought it from says its just a normal oscar(which i doubt) but i will have a pic of them in a bit.


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## BeccaBx3 (Sep 21, 2011)

I would be careful with the convicts as well.. they breed like rabbits... trust me.. i have a swarm of fry lol


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## zephspacer (Jul 29, 2011)

BeccaBx3 said:


> I would be careful with the convicts as well.. they breed like rabbits... trust me.. i have a swarm of fry lol


thats exactly why i got them. so theres fresh food for when my oscars and pangasius's get older. 
oh yeh i also got 3 BABY pangasius's and 5 BABY tinfoil barbs. I am fully aware of how big they get especially the id sharks. I want to make a pond in my back yard next year and put the iridescent sharks in it for the summer.


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## BeccaBx3 (Sep 21, 2011)

Hmm.. well cons are also super protective of their fry.. like aggressive towards every other fish.. and hand or anything else that comes around. IDK how you are going to have other fish feed on the fry.. cons will kill other fish if they feel threatened or their babies are.. even much much bigger fish...


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

It doesn't sound like too good of a plan...hope you got a backup just in case it doesn't work out.

You put in new gravel and everything in this tiny tank and already have that many fish in it? I appreciate a good challenge like most, but I hope you're up for the water change needs you are going to have in trying to keep all of them alive during a cycling tank. Most of your choice in fish will not do so well in a tank with ammonia, but I know you have heard all of this before. Good luck with the new project.


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## zephspacer (Jul 29, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> It doesn't sound like too good of a plan...hope you got a backup just in case it doesn't work out.
> 
> You put in new gravel and everything in this tiny tank and already have that many fish in it? I appreciate a good challenge like most, but I hope you're up for the water change needs you are going to have in trying to keep all of them alive during a cycling tank. Most of your choice in fish will not do so well in a tank with ammonia, but I know you have heard all of this before. Good luck with the new project.


no i dont need to cycle it i have the same canister filter running and i never even emptied the water out of it. so its all good. there might be a major die off of bacteria do to the lesser amount of the fish compared to disastrous amount fish i had before. so the bioload is super small compared to what it was.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If you let it sit for any period and didn't have water flowing through it, you probably had a big die off of beneficial bacteria. Even still, the filter will help but you will still get an ammonia spike. I would be standing by with my test kit and bucket at the ready.


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## zephspacer (Jul 29, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> If you let it sit for any period and didn't have water flowing through it, you probably had a big die off of beneficial bacteria. Even still, the filter will help but you will still get an ammonia spike. I would be standing by with my test kit and bucket at the ready.


dont worry i have 2 test kits and i have a python siphon hose that connects to the faucet. Its so easy doing water changes! it literally requires no effort! my life is so much better without carrying buckets after buckets!


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Just a heads up if you don't already know: Most fish grow quickly in the first few months and then growth slows down. A well looked after oscar for example grows to about 8 inches in 8 months so it's only going to be a couple of months until you need to start rehoming fish.


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## zephspacer (Jul 29, 2011)

snail said:


> Just a heads up if you don't already know: Most fish grow quickly in the first few months and then growth slows down. A well looked after oscar for example grows to about 8 inches in 8 months so it's only going to be a couple of months until you need to start rehoming fish.


exactly except the rehoming part. I am wanting to put in one of those plastic pond starter things they sell at menards. i have always wanted a little pond!


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

good luck


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