preventing HITH

[jim&debbieloveoscars]

I've kept oscars all my life, some more successfully than others (getting more successful as I get older and wiser). I had them back in the days when UGF were one of the better choices for filtration.

With raising this new oscar I decided to follow my new wife's advice (who's never kept oscars nor cichlids before) and I removed the gravel completely, painted the underside of the tank a pretty copper color that looks like sand on the tank bottom and just run the tank bare-bottomed. It astounds me how much nasty stuff remained in the gravel irregardless of how many siphon water changes I did. Now it is very easy to remove such waste immediately (and oscars produce A LOT of waste).

I've also quit keeping a pleco with my oscar. It seems common for folks to partner plecos with oscars, I've heard or read many times "the pleco will clean the tank eat the algae and the excess food the oscar doesn't eat". Maybe so but plecos poop at the very least as much as oscars do plus sometimes they will actually attack oscars causing them stress.

So as for me this time - one oscar in the bare-bottomed 55gallon with plenty of filtration and water changes plus a variety of good pellet and other foods.

[cichlidfish]

Well, i have to agree with your 'new wife' my oscar tanks have been bare bottom too, and mainly for same reasons, I think the oscars just make too much waste...i've used gravel and gravel filters for small fish ok...
I also agree about not keeping other fish that might bother the oscars, I think they can stress each other enough as is, they don't need no strangers! Well if they can easily fit the 'strangers' in their mouth for dinner guess they wouldn't mind that

[pernrory]

I want you to help matters.

[Supermaxi]

I like the stories you bring a lot of publicity, I really like it.