Topic: wet pet! devil v oscar

[hammerman]

HI, gotta 48x20dx26h 100us gall tank comming any day now,along with twin eheim 2217s, like to keep either a oscar or devil/midas alone as a family pet,Got 6 kids in the house and would like something for them to have an interest in also, as my other showtank is a bit boring for them(Mpimbwe frontosa colony+b tricotis)my tap water is med hard 7.6ph. the tank will be sited  right next to my sofa,Anyone got an opinion on whether the devil would be more enjoyable,or will he frighten the life out of my little ones?Leaving the oscar as the best option!Im happy with either though!Your views please!

[RED TERROR]

I would go with the Red Devil! Mostly because I love hot sauce, but also because I enjoy aggressive fish with attitudes.

[Demseyfan]

I personally would vote for the oscar but either will probably be OK.  Both are very owner oriented and will be active.  If kept alone there wouldn't be other issues to worry about.  I'd probably go wtih two oscars in a 100 gallon tank.

[mrbigfish]

I personally like oscars.but I've never been fond of the idea of keeping one fish alone in a tank.I like to see some interaction.

[RED TERROR]

Plenty of people out there already have uncles named Oscar, but I have yet to hear of someone having an uncle named Red Devil. My logic is always fault tolerant. Definitely Red Devil! 

[RED TERROR]

By the way, Welcome Aboard! 

[hammerman]

Thanx for the replies and the welcome! Im leaning towards the devil myself,its just with a house full of little girls i wonder if they'l get frightened by the devils general demeaner once it gets a little size! attacking the syphon,charging the glass etc,while a moody more lethargic o may be easier to live with!but less fun!Im torn really,two o's mean possible fighting and the returning of one of the pair that we've all got attached to,or worse death!and a mate for the devil seems extremely hazardous!The lfs around here in england are not very accomodating re returns,and i dont want to breed the o's although my fronts would enjoy the fry no doubt!I'v searched thru hundreds of postings on all the cichlid forums,(This one is the best so i joined) trying to piece together a profile,and i just cant decide!guess all fish are different,can get aggro o's, quiet devils etc!but generally are devils hostile like a dobe and o's like a labrador ie gentle giants to have around a lot of children!Im a house husband in the room with the tanks all day so im company for which ever i get!Just wanna make sure i get it right first time to avoid upset for my family and most of all the fish!Any more imput is very much appreciated guys!Iv'e decided and changed my mind so many times now, im looking for the one comment that'l sway it!! 

[RED TERROR]

I don't know if you know this already, but Red Devils Love Rugby! Just thought it might help with your decision. LOL 

[cichlid89]

why dont you find a pic of each, and let your children decide which one they would rather have!
                                                              Travis

[hammerman]

I don't know if you know this already, but Red Devils Love Rugby! Just thought it might help with your decision. LOL 

:)well thats a plus for me! not sure if the rest of us here are so keen though!My girls fav sport is swimming!!does anyone know if devils like swimming? Seriously though i read somewhere that someones devil would just stay stationary most of the time then lunging out when someone approched the tank!is that the norm or are they forever moving around ?are o's once fully grown real lazy in their manner,making a bit of a unexciting tank?these two are usually no;one and two in the personality stakes i hear but which ones personalities are the ideal for my circumstances?any ideas?

[corey]

i think that oscars would be the best idea. only because they would be cool with your children the oscar would probialby play with the kids. the oscars will come to know who is who and play with every one  that they know.pluss they rock there cool

[JC]

As far as kids and fish interractions, my kids absolutely love their oscar. I have him in a tank with a few other fish and he is extremely socialized with both fish and humans. He'll show different aspects of his personnality depending on who is in front of the tank, he'll follow the boys around when they're rolling their hot wheel cars on the edge of the stand, he'll compete for attention by "wagging his tail" when his roommates come out to play...    Not only were they fascinated at first by his incredible growth spurts since we've got him, but they absolutely love to interract with him and to give him the odd treat.     I'd definitely definitely go for oscars      I don't know if I'd have just the one fish in the tank though. Seems kind of boring to me and rather antisocial hehe

[hammerman]

Mmm! Guess a single juve o, with 3 of the the biggest clown loaches i can find around 4" maybe,together with 3 silver dollars might solve my dilema! Plenty of hidey holes for the loaches,and bogwood to lower my water params a bit.all introduced while the o's young should see a fun lively trouble free tank!Only prob is the bio load when they'r all full grown?clowns are eventually big i know,but seldom seem to pass 8-10" in aquariums i hear, & with sd's @ 8" will my 2217s cope?(we dont have hang on the back filters in the uk just internals or canisters really) is there room for 7 fish?, im changing 50usgall a week now with my fronts,and always syphon their aragonite weekly so  my maintenence never slackens! So should i go for this set up??(100us gall 4'long20"d26"hi)  Views anyone? thanx.

[JC]

I honestly don't see anything wrong with that bio-load. True that clown loaches can get quite large but they can take years to reach that optimal size, and I find that silver dollars make a nice additions to oscar tanks because they seem to catch the mess that oscars make when they're blowing food out of their gills. As far as filtration, sorry I'm not too knowledgeable on canister filters. 

[hammerman]

Evidently there are some slightly smaller speices of sd's that are either spotted or with red on them!think i'l do a search on them on google in a mo!would be handy to have some  peacefull fish earning their keep, keeping the o company and his dinner plate clean, while also adding a splash of colour and activity to the tank to! The eheims are good for a 160 us gall each and turn over 264 usg an hour each to, so with a massive 12litres(3.15usg) of bio and mech media between them and having the water turned a total 5.28 times an hour,i should be ok! shouldn't i? anyone?