This is directed to those of you who have aquariums or those who may know someone wanting to get rid of a tank in the Brisbane/SE QLD area.

We have two Oscars who are currently in need of larger lodgings. A 4' tank is the minimum required by "Walker" and Texas Ranger" but bigger is even better. I have been checking out some sites and lots of people recommend that a 4' tank is only big enough for 1 Oscar but I am willing to take my chances, as they are only small at the moment (2-3') and I may get another tank down the track.

If you are interested in Oscars this site/forum seems pretty good:
http://www.oscarfish.com

A lot of people on the above site seem kinda fanatical about pH, nitrites, nitrates and all that jazz, but I have never had too many problems with a bit of tap water and some water ager thrown in for good measure.

I have had a look on Ebay, Trading Post, etc but I am a bit wary about buying anything in the 4' range unless I can see it first. Apparently glass thickness needs to be 6mm minimum (pref 8mm).
We went to look at one tank but it looked pretty shonky ie. silicon looked like it was holding one corner together and metal corner strip was hanging off. The glass looked pretty thin and I don't fancy cleaning up 200+ litres of water off my loungeroom floor.

Prepared to pay decent price for a good solid tank (and stand would be good)
but hoping to get something under $200 if possible.

http://www.aquariumsrus.com.au/pricep.htm

The have other package deals that have filters and stuff as well.

i don't have any tanks to sell.. but i recommend checking the aquarium trader forum on www.qldcichlid.com ... can pickup some good bargains if you are prepared to wait for them to roll around. if you don't wanna wait... checkout aquariums'r'us ... brand new 4'tanks start @ around $200 with a stand though.

4' tank should be fine for 2 oscars... even fully grown. i used to keep 3 fully grown oscars in a 4' x 20" x 18" tank & they seemed fine. i did have an uber 1800lph biological filter on it though which helps. you really don't have to be too fussy about ph , ammonia, nitrite or nitrate levels in your water with oscars... they are pretty tuff in that regard. the main thing is just to have a really good biological filter & to do regular water changes.

But I am willing to take my chances, as they are only small at the moment (2-3') and I may get another tank down the track.

My only suggestion is that that is the exact opposite of how the majority of fishkeepers will suggest you keep fish. Especially if you are going 2ndhand, buy the size tank that the fish will require. I mainly keep marine, but have a Seratoga and a few other freshies so can't comment on sizes required for Oscars like others here, but after research etc u believe u know the size of tank that you need, buy it to begin with. Keeping water decent is soooo much easier with a bigger tank and the last thing you want to do is keep changing the size of tanks depending on the size of the fish at its current stage, especially with fast growing fish like Oscars.

Thanks for the advice guys!

I will post some pics and have a proper read when I get home.

I have one to sell, however the fella who could be buying of me may be unreliable... its 4ft.. selling for 250. Ill grab your email if you want me to buz you if the deal falls through. Comes with Cabnet, tank, backing, lids etc... still thiking about heater/filters.

Talk to step, he has a 6" he's looking to get rid of

- step wins an I win cause I get my garage back :)

No stand tho

last edited by HERMITech at 20:28:18 15/Jan/07

Yep I sure do, it's seen here.

6'x2'x700ish high (holds around 750L)

Do have a sump with about 1200 bio balls aswell

It would be a perfect tank for a few oscars!

last edited by step at 20:38:44 15/Jan/07

I am always facinated with people selling second hand fish tanks for more then new prices.

That's cause tanks don't really lose their resale value unless they're
A - scratched to f***
B - so old that the edges are "slipping" or have a substantial spread in their dimensions

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4489/img1541ni9.jpg

This is the bigger Oscar I have.
He's about 8-9 inches long.
Oscars have great personality and Biggie is no exception. He is pretty aggro and usually goes for anything within striking distance. He once had a companion (when they were both a fair bit smaller), an albino Oscar who leapt to freedom while I was on holidays once. Coming home to a week-old dead fish on the bathroom floor wasn't the best.

More pics when I get some decent ones..



last edited by IncrEdible_vEgetable at 22:33:15 15/Jan/07

You have any problems with nitrites/nitrates Step? Bioballs in the past have only caused problems for me.

I use and wholehearted recommend Prime for all your nitrite/nitrate/chlorine/chloramine/ammonia needs

Anyone have a saltwater tank?

Once i finish uni and get some cash behind me i'd love to start one of these. If done right they kick the crap out of any freshwater setup. But alas, with a lack of 3k-5k in spare change i'll have to stick with these darn chichlids.

You have any problems with nitrites/nitrates Step? Bioballs in the past have only caused problems for me.

Nope, um were most of yours under water?

I use and wholehearted recommend Prime for all your nitrite/nitrate/chlorine/chloramine/ammonia needs

Seconded, exotic fish connections at Rocklea have it for a sweet price too (500ml for $30).

Prime for water, Seachem products for the rest!

If done right they kick the crap out of any freshwater setup.

They look nice, but for some strange reason I prefer freshwater.

I'd like to do salt water tank cept I'm not going to until I know that I'm going to be permanently living there
f***ing restarting a tank the size of mine!

I use and wholehearted recommend Prime for all your nitrite/nitrate/chlorine/chloramine/ammonia needs

thirdsees!

exotic fish connections at Rocklea have it for a sweet price too (500ml for $30).

sweet they're just up the road from me(moorooka) thanks for the tip, didnt even know there was one up there.
Main place i normally go(Beyond Aquarium-way home from work) is 250ml for 20 bucks. nice bloke tho and good range

Anyone have a saltwater tank?

Once i finish uni and get some cash behind me i'd love to start one of these. If done right they kick the crap out of any freshwater setup. But alas, with a lack of 3k-5k in spare change i'll have to stick with these darn chichlids.

Yeah I have a saltwater and a freshwater tank. Each to there own, but I much prefer the marine tank. Everything is just so alive in a marine tank. You really get the feeling of creating an entire ecosystem with marine and everything interacts with everything else.

They are expensive to setup, but once thats done, no more expensive really than a freshwater tank. Neither of my tanks require me to do much apart from feeding and a very rare water change. One of the filters in the freshwater tank is on its way out, but the Saratoga takes care of that for me, he likes bubbles, so every time it stops, he goes over to it and keeps knocking it till it starts again :)

he likes bubbles, so every time it stops, he goes over to it and keeps knocking it till it starts again

classy !

Mine (my ~ 70cm Saratoga) likes to swim against the 8000 lph Unistar pond pump I use as a powerhead
Just about everything else gets smashed against other end of the tank :)

Everything is just so alive in a marine tank. You really get the feeling of creating an entire ecosystem with marine and everything interacts with everything else.

Its awesome hey? Its not just the fish and the hard and soft coral, but its all the other invertebrates that come with the live rock that just make it seem so real.

And again its not that i dont like freshwater tanks in general. Its cause i'm so jealous of the beautiful tanks that people conjure up. They are a sight to be seen!

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7819/kwn1.jpg
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/3098/k3jy3.jpg
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/2403/k2qb0.jpg
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/1351/k6gf2.jpg
http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/7307/k4os0.jpg

This is one of my favorite fish. A Sixline Wrasse. It always looks like its coming to get you hehe
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1226/k5va1.jpg

Too bad equipment is so darn expensive =/http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/8946/k9lv0.jpg

Holy s***balls at that setup.

Marine is nice.

But is a lot more work to do, and a lot more tricky to look after (particularly if it has corals). ie. Not suitable for a beginner.
And the cost is scary. A marine tank is twice as expensive as a freshwater. And a reef 3 or more times more (chillers, halogen lights, quality filtration).

I had a marine tank once for about 12 months. I gave them all back eventually and stopped the tank. Too much work for me, it used to take as much work as my other 35 freshwaters combined.

yah marine tanks are awesome! those linked by smashingpumpkin are fukn luush! :D one day i will definitely do a marine setup & get crazy shiz like nautilii & cuttlefish!!@ :P
at the moment though i will stick to freshwater american cichlids because i find thier behaviour to be hilarious some of the time & of course coz i have all the right equipment already.

i simulate a freshwater ecosystem by keeping one small 2' tank that just grows new plants & has glass shrimps breeding in it. i use the new plants to replace the ones that the cichlids destroy in my 4' tank & feed the baby shrimps to my smaller fish & my breeding convicts. the convicts breed in another 2' tank & when thier fry get about 4-5mm long i feed them to my bigger fish. live food for all makes the fishies much happier & lively.

gratuitous fishtank pix!!!! :D

my 4' main cichlid tank.
http://dem0n.qgl.org/images/fish/maintank.jpg

my 2' convict breeding tank.
http://dem0n.qgl.org/images/fish/convictbreedtank.jpg

my 2' plants & shrimps tank.
http://dem0n.qgl.org/images/fish/plantshrimptank.jpg

shrimps! where did you get them from demon?

http://members.iinet.net.au/~rips/tank1.jpg

now mine looks crap after those you posted pumpkin ! Although the 3rd tank looks to have a major Cyano bacteria breakout, like we had a while back.
We had 2 clams but the f***ers wouldnt sit and take hold where we put them, and would fall to the bottom of the tank and die, and the fish would eat them. Most expensive fish food ever I think :)

it used to take as much work as my other 35 freshwaters combined.

How come? I rarely ever touch mine other than the usual twice a day feeding that takes 30secs. Sure it takes freakin ages to setup and get everything looking the way you want it (I'm never satisfied hehe) but once thats done and the tank has a bit of age to it, just a water change every couple of months is all it needs.

Nice planted tanks demon :) Wish I could have done that, I would always came home to find more green floating than where I planted it.


last edited by Lunch at 14:07:57 16/Jan/07

splash: i got a heapof native glass shrimps first from the creek near my olds at narangba.. but they also brought a heap of itchy parasites with them... so after i treated the tank n killed just about everything in it :P i got some pretty big shrimps, including pregnant females, from the strathpine aquarium... 5 for $4 :D i talked to the dude there & he said just like most fish the shrimps will breed if water quality is good & the egg laying will usually be triggered by a water change.

the ones i got from the creek were only about 20mm long.. the ones i got from the aquarium are twice that size & have protective nippers to keep the rams away (there are 2 blue rams in that tank also.)

Nice planted tanks demon :) Wish I could have done that, I would always came home to find more green floating than where I planted it.

hell yeah... i replant plants every arvo after i come home from work... it's a constant, ultimately futile war with the digging cichlids... but i still enjoy doing it. :D there is the satisfaction of a tranquil looking tank to watch & also i like the pissed off looks from the cichlids when they find a plant they took 2 days to uproot is back again ;D



last edited by demon at 14:14:19 16/Jan/07

we bought a Blue Acara once and I swore he could upend a plant before I had even put the lids back on the tank. I took him back to the shop I bought him from, where he was then put into a planted tank to live happily for 3 weeks before he was sold again.... and didn't touch any of them. f***er.

we bought a Blue Acara once and I swore he could upend a plant before I had even put the lids back on the tank. I took him back to the shop I bought him from, where he was then put into a planted tank to live happily for 3 weeks before he was sold again.... and didn't touch any of them. f***er.

They probably tied their plants to a sinker with fishing line, seen many places do so to stop that very thing. But it's hilarious either way! My fish do the same, about 3 bunches have survived out of 10 :(.

Yeah I haven't bothered with plants for that reason; Ol Biggie uproots em and they end up a mess. I might try the sinker/weight option when I get my big tank set up.

I also have a bristlenose and a resident cray that has holed himself up in the castle. Any idea how long these suckers can live for? I think he preys on smaller crays and basically hides most of the time but can be coaxed out with a snack. He is pretty big, but not enormous.

However while at Pet City at Mt Gravatt the other day I saw a species of Macro Prawn that was truly gargantuan. Apparently these beasts live in NT and can grow as big as 3 feet long!!! The one they have there was about 30cm and the guy told me that he ate everything that was unfortunate enough to be dropped into his tank.


This is the only pic of a similar prawn I could find:

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/5580/c16dc4.jpg


last edited by IncrEdible_vEgetable at 22:13:45 16/Jan/07

sweet tank Lunch!

Are those tangs just really small or do you have a HUGE tank?

And out of interest how much live rock you got in there? That must have set back a fortune!

The tank is about 800L, so yeah the tangs arent that big. They grow so fast tho! There isnt anything with a whole lot of size to it as I bought all the fish as juvie's. There is a pretty big foxface and a pair of gobies of decent size.

I lost track of how much rock and coral I have hehe. If you want to see a cool shrimp google a 'Mantis Shrimp'. They look awesome but are f***ing deadly to stock. They have this hammer type arm that bursts through the water really quick and makes a clicking noise. Punches holes in fish which then dies and they eat. Quite a few people keep them in their sumps etc. Here is a pic of one.

http://www.eco-divers.com/peterlange/15.jpg

ah the mantis shrimp, ever reefers worst nightmare lol

its funny how people hear some strange clicking sounds at night then immediately run onto a forum yelling OMG OMG WHAT DO I DO I HAVE A MANTIS. Happens at least once a week on the MASA Forums =P

hahahaha! I went thru that too but it was just the pistol shrimp :)

good to see I'm not the only person who overreacts .

that mantis shrimp is mad! if that is an example of a marine pest... i want a marine tank !@#! :P it makes the fresh water shrimps seem very boring :[

Glass Shrimp.
http://dem0n.qgl.org/images/fish/shrimpy.jpg

A giant Mystery Snail that lives in a hang-on filter :P
http://dem0n.qgl.org/images/fish/filter_snail.jpg

Red Forest Jewel.
http://dem0n.qgl.org/images/fish/jewel640.jpg

my community tank pic from yesterday :D
http://dem0n.qgl.org/images/fish/4foot_20070118.jpg

:D



last edited by demon at 11:19:20 18/Jan/07

No new pics of our tanks at home, but i've just started to re-do the little tank I have on my desk at work.

http://www.unit3.net/gallery/d/716-1/work_tank_03.jpg

Got some eco-complete substrate and a basic little C0² setup, hoping to get a little planted tank going. Prolly buy some plants and maybe a couple of fish this afternoon :)

Sif bother with co2, just overstock the tank!

ooh nice splash! let us know what fish u end up getting. Id love a little setup like that to breed Apistogramma's :)

How much did that little tank and equipment set ya back Splash? Tempted to get something small for my offspring or to breed some underwater rabbits (mollies, guppies etc).

i got it from my brother when he upgraded to a bigger tank, not sure how much you'd pay for a new one.

also, not sure what kind of fish i'm going to put in it yet.

prolly something small, but hopefully interesting. any suggestions?

Well I was saying I'd love to get a tank like that to breed Apisto's again. they are dwarf cichlids. So you get all the personality of the big fish, but they are alot smaller and easier to maintain.

Some of the more common species are pretty hardy and tolerant of water quality/ph etc and you can get heaps of colour morphs. They aren't meant to be a community tank fish, but I kept a Nijsseni in a big community tank and she was the missus's favourite fish. Would follow her around to stay next to her regardless of where she was looking in the tank. Would let clown loaches school with her and would eat out of her hand.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Apistogramma_nijsseni_(f).jpg/240px-Apistogramma_nijsseni_(f).jpg Thats a Nijsseni

http://www.thekrib.com/Apisto/A-cac2-bork-icon.jpg Thats a cacatuoides

http://www.thekrib.com/Apisto/A-borellii-opal-icon.jpg and Borellii.

I've never had a Borellii but apparently they have the best demeanor (Apisto's can get territorial once they breed like their bigger cichlid brothers) out of all of them.

Thats just one way you could go with a small tank, could always try shell dwellers (although you hardly ever get to see them :( ) or lots more. check out this article if you want some more info on apisto's.


last edited by Lunch at 15:33:50 18/Jan/07

all good suggestions from lunch :D although other than the cacatuoides its very rare to see those dwarf cichlids for sale in local aquariums.

blue & gold rams are nice looking, fulla character & generally easy to keep. i have noticed in the past though that even though they will fight quite viciously with each other... they hate being alone. if you just get one ram.. chances are it will die quickly. whenever i get 2 rams they fight hammer & tongs till one is dead, then the victor does a victory lap of tank & goes motionless for a few days then it dies too. :P 3 or more seems to be the solution so far!

i recently got 5 juvenile silver sharks for my community tank (which i know are prolly a bit big for what you are after) & was amazed how quickly they clear blooms of black hair algae from my plants! that hair algae was one of the biggest problems with my planted tanks coz it would go berserk on the leaves of a plant, denying the plant sufficient light & eventually kill the plant. but the silver sharks zoom around nibbling the blooms off. solved. :D

http://members.optushome.com.au/exz0r2/8ft

Mine...

Hermi, post yours.

hot

Alot of the rams come from germany. For some reason they seem very fragile.

It looks to be around a foot long ?

The Apistograms are definately ok. (Just don't buy expensive ones .. expensive usually means hard to breed/keep)
Convicts would handle it... they'd handle anything I think.

There are some african cichlids that handle that small a tank.
Shell dwellers in particular.
eg.
Lamprologus ocellatus
http://www.alloddballaquatics.com/cichlids/NocoGOLD.jpg
lamprologus multifasciatus
http://www.mojatanga.host.pl/gfx/ryby/lamprologus/multifasciatus/max/lamprologus multifasciatus.jpg
lamprologus caudopunctatus
http://santron.no/fisk/caudopunkt.JPG

Other wise live breeders : Guppies etc (bleh)

Fighters

Or Killie fish (mostly annuals extremely colourful for freshwater)
a few randoms pics from the AKA website and elsewhere.
http://www.aka.org/aka/modules/xcgal/albums/userpics/nothobranchius/KORred.jpg
http://www.aka.org/aka/modules/xcgal/albums/userpics/aphyosemion/ottogart2568.JPG
http://www.killi.co.uk/graphics/goldenWonder1.jpg

You could go a catfish tribe.. Corydoras family would work well
http://aquadings.de/bild/144.jpg or http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Corydoras_schwartzi.jpg/300px-Corydoras_schwartzi.jpg

Or if you wanted fish with 0 personality ... Tetras...

Excruci@ting i didnt know that you could even have red devils in a community tank.

I thought they attacked everything in sight.

Guess i'm wrong =\

Guess i'm wrong =\

Found that if you grow most of the fish together when their small, they usually tend to leave each other alone.

Something that surprised me was seeing my 2inch red tail shark survive in a tank with a 70cm saratoga and numerous south american cichlids.

I gotta learn to take photos....

http://www.users.on.net/~thevault/HERMITech/Fish/Images/19012006/FemaleFestae.jpg
Awww yeah, the FireHoney of the tank!!

http://www.users.on.net/~thevault/HERMITech/Fish/Images/19012006/FestaePair.jpg
Hurry up an f*** dammit - I want to sell your babies!!!

http://www.users.on.net/~thevault/HERMITech/Fish/Images/19012006/FestaePAir1.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~thevault/HERMITech/Fish/Images/19012006/FestaePair_Juveniles.jpg
Well, if the big ones don't you better or your being served with a side dish of chips!

http://www.users.on.net/~thevault/HERMITech/Fish/Images/19012006/Splendidae.jpg
edit: too f***ing tired Managuense Splendidae looking unspectacular

http://www.users.on.net/~thevault/HERMITech/Fish/Images/19012006/Splendidae1.jpg
Lights - camera - ACTION!

http://www.users.on.net/~thevault/HERMITech/Fish/Images/19012006/Scarface.jpg
You looking at me?

http://www.users.on.net/~thevault/HERMITech/Fish/Images/19012006/Community.jpg
The merry mayhem corridor

last edited by HERMITech at 09:10:47 20/Jan/07

Managuense looking unspectacular

I don't see it ? :S Did you buy another one?

I don't see it ? :S Did you buy another one?

Guessing he was a bit intoxicated and mixed up the names, good ol Splendida.

Man, I have to say my bitch is looking quite awesome Troy, did you do anything special lately? Or is that the nitrate stuff doing its job? Might have to rethink the whole swap for a male!

Also - anyone interested in some baby convicts? Have about a dozen or so which are probably around 4cm or smaller. Also parting with 2 Jack Dempsey's, mainly trying to cut down the numbers in an attempt to get my freakin festae's to breed!

Honestly we're better off falling in love with another fish Troy, everything that we don't care about breeds but they won't!

awesome looking fish hermi! :D

yo step, how big are the dempseys? i wouldn't mind grabbing them if they are females & not too big! :D i've got a nice male dempsey but the female i got i am pretty sure is from the same batch as the male... & although they have layed eggs they always fail. also i dont wanna be spawning genetically fuctup dempseys by mating siblings.

pass on the convict spawn though... i currently have about 200-300 of them :P only ~3mm free swimming fry atm tho.