Intro: Just when you've started
thinking "enough of these oscars," we find ourselves in possession of 19 of
these fish-eating machines.
LA
LA
Very large snow oscar.
Snow Oscar Definition. I've
never seen a dictionary definition of the snow oscar. Technically,
:albino: means the absence of melanin (black pigment). Snow oscars
look like albino oscars with their red eyes. However, they also sport
a splash of black. They're sort of an albino with black pigments that
look like snow with a bit of soot on it.
Size. Most oscars quickly grow
to 10 or 12 inches, then slow down and enter into a slow growth phase
opposite of their former growth spurt. The oscar above kept growing.
He was easily the largest of the oscars we've housed over the last few years
-- about 14 inches.
LA
Full profile of the above dude. He is a biggy.
LA
More normal sized 9-inch snow oscar.
LA
Another snow oscar about the same size.
LA
9-inch red oscar with a few nicks from the transit bucket.
Moving Oscars. White five-gallon
buckets make the very best transit vehicles when transporting oscars.
One per bucket, please. We had one gentleman who brought in three
large oscars in the same bucket. This usually causes unnecessary
whapping together with lots of nicks and missing scales. Most oscars
heal fairly rapidly, but nicks and missing scales definitely cause extra
stress which often encourages disease.
LA
10.5-inch red tiger. His scrapes have already started healing.
More Bucket List Info. Besides
presenting a smooth (non-abrasive) internal surface, those white five-gallon
buckets are handy as heck. Their handles make them easy to carry.
And, just because the bucket will hold five gallons of water, this does not
mean you should put five gallons in it. You only need to add enough
water to cover your fish. The more water you add, the heavier your
bucket. And, the more likely your oscar will try to bail. And,
the more likely your bucket will tip or slosh when you turn those Steve
McQueen corners. No names, but you know who you are.
LA
Another red tiger about equi-size as the one above -- not quite as much red.
LA
10-inch red tiger with lots of probable transfer wounds.
LA
Other side of same guy -- maybe some hexamita at work also. Not a
happy looking fish.
Wounds Info. Oscars sometimes
"suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" as Will said. So
what do you do? First oscars (especially wounded oscars) need clean
water. The less excess bacteria in the water the better. Then
feed lightly. Oscars produce enough waste products and other bits
floating in their water without uneaten food floating in their water.
You want no excess food feeding the bacteria in their water. Frequent
water changes help. Big oscars love 50% water changes with Des Moines
water. Forbes magazine rates our water #1 in the U.S. You
undoubtedly have different water parameters in your area. We add
NovAqua to put NovAqua's protective slime coating on the wounds.
LA
Bevy of 5-inch reds -- perhaps the hungriest size -- sort of teenagers.
LA
8-inch red really scraped oscar. As they say in the Westerns "this
could leave a mark."
LA
Another red about the same size and not as badly scraped. We'll have
him awhile, too.
LA
5-inch red. Smaller guys suffer less during moves.
Even More Bucket Info. You
don't need a white bucket per se. We use the white buckets from
restaurants and construction jobs because they cost way less than the ones
from the hardware chains. The white ones are easier to tell if they're
clean. Most of them stack very handily. Last word, the
three-gallon buckets work pretty well also.
LA
10-inch snow oscar to wrap it up.
Special Disease Wrap up. I'm
always harping on large water changes for oscars. They're fairly messy
beasts and really need regular water changes -- with a gravel vacuum
cleaner. Get rid of all the crud(well, most of it, anyway). Your
oscar will stay healthier, happier, and hungrier. An example follows:
LA
He had four uneaten feeder goldfish rotting in his tank. He looked a
lot like them .
LA
Next morning after a 95% water change. We repeated the water change.
LA
One week later.
Enough Said. Make those water changes.
LA
Oscars 1
Oscars 2
Oscars 3
Oscars 4
Oscars 5
More Oscar
More Oscar II
More
Oscars III
More Oscars 2007
More Oscars 2007.5
More Oscar 2008
More Oscars 2008.5
Oscars of 08/08
© 2008
LA Productions
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