Giant oscar.

[damba]

This polly probably.the biggest oscar in the uk at sixteen inches standard length - thats without the tail. She lives with her nine inch boyfriebd ozzie, wild scalares and severums in a six by twi by two. Sge is the.most scaredy fish i have kept.
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[ShinShin]

Some years back here in the States, a Georgia fisherman was bass fishing and landed an 8 pound oscar that hit his bait. He didn't know what it was and had it identified by a Georgia state fisheries biologist. Just an interesting tidbit.

Mat

[chrisb01]

Very pretty Oscar, and huge.

There's a lake here in Lakeland, where people catch large Oscars. I've heard stories about 18 inches, but have never seen them that big.

[dadecountyalan]

i caught a 17 incher in the everglades by my house. and there pretty common in certain places. sometimes could give a good fight.

[ericatdallas]

Yeah, I heard you can get some Oscars or Jack Dempseys in freshwater lakes down in Florida. I think when I move back down there, I might setup a tank. I miss having my Oscars.

[Darrell Ward]

Oscars unfortunately can be found in a large percentage of ditches and drainage canals in South Florida these days. They are considered trash fish because they don't belong, and destroy native fish. I hope you people catching them do the right thing and destroy them, rather than releasing them to further breed.

[chrisb01]

Yeah, I heard you can get some Oscars or Jack Dempseys in freshwater lakes down in Florida. I think when I move back down there, I might setup a tank. I miss having my Oscars.

Yes, you can find many freshwater species in the lakes down here, especially in the glades. TBAS members go on collecting trips two or three times a year, sometimes they just go to a lake right in Tampa.

I went to the auto show in Down Town Lakeland about a year ago and found a giant Apple Snail in Lake Mirror. Almost bigger than a baseball. Put her in one of my planted 55 gals. Got up in the morning and the tank was wiped clean, not a plant in sight. Took the dang thing back to the lake.

Eric, you go ahead and come down. We'll go to the lake and find you some nice size Oscars and Dempseys and some huge Plecos to boot. Fill your tanks up.

I go to the lake to get Gambusia fry (Mosquito fish), and Ghost Shrimp for my Angelfish.

[RudeDogg1]

Ment to be loads of huge common plecs in the Everglades

[dadecountyalan]

Yeah, I heard you can get some Oscars or Jack Dempseys in freshwater lakes down in Florida. I think when I move back down there, I might setup a tank. I miss having my Oscars.

not only those, but plecos and a wide variety of mayan cichlids. i cut them up and use them for more bait. in actual city canals though and not the everglades you could find jaguar cichlids, red devil, green terrors ect.

[ericatdallas]

Took the dang thing back to the lake.

I think that's illegal. I'm not going to rat you out or anything, but be careful, you could get a fine if someone sees you do it. :) They're so serious about it, that they won't even let you put a native species caught at the same spot.


Eric, you go ahead and come down. We'll go to the lake and find you some nice size Oscars and Dempseys and some huge Plecos to boot. Fill your tanks up.

I'm definitely up for it. My wife has family in Tampa and I'll only be about 4 hours away. While she hangs out with family, we can catch some fish :) I'm not moving down there until late 2013 or early 2014 though.


not only those, but plecos and a wide variety of mayan cichlids. i cut them up and use them for more bait. in actual city canals though and not the everglades you could find jaguar cichlids, red devil, green terrors ect.

Any good plecos or the 'common' plecos found at pet stores? Too bad it's not possible to catch Discus down there :)

[dadecountyalan]

the common ones. but they are the biggest plecos youll ever see

[chrisb01]

I think that's illegal. I'm not going to rat you out or anything, but be careful, you could get a fine if someone sees you do it. :) They're so serious about it, that they won't even let you put a native species caught at the same spot.

I know, I took a chance on that. Thanks for not ratting me out, I owe you one :-)

They are serious about those things down here.


Any good plecos or the 'common' plecos found at pet stores? Too bad it's not possible to catch Discus down there :)

Oh yeah, but large common Plecos are very cheap at the pet stores, since you can get them at the lake. The big chain stores don't carry the big ones. However, I have 2 Rhino Plecos, 2 Zebra Plecos, 1 Yellow King Tiger Pleco and 1 Red Finned Pleco, all gifts from friends and/or fish farms.

I also have hundreds of BNs, some long fin, but mostly short fin. I like the short fin more, due to the fact that they can keep their fins up better. The long fins have a hard time keeping their tail fin open.

[eaglesfan3000]

I use to love keeping Oscar's back in the day. Man are the messy.

[chrisb01]

I use to love keeping Oscar's back in the day. Man are the messy.

I have actually seen Oscars throw plants and decorations right out of the tank. My father kept Oscars and Dempseys.
Oscars have a personality like no other Cichlid.

[eaglesfan3000]

I have actually seen Oscars throw plants and decorations right out of the tank. My father kept Oscars and Dempseys.
Oscars have a personality like no other Cichlid.

Yes they do. I use to feed mine small feeder gold fish and they would put 4 or 5 of them in the back of their mouth still alive before they actually ate them. I kind of felt sorry for the gold fish but it was still cool to watch.

I also had a Dempsey I hated that thing very aggressive so I fed it to the snakehead.

[ericatdallas]

However, I have 2 Rhino Plecos, 2 Zebra Plecos, 1 Yellow King Tiger Pleco and 1 Red Finned Pleco, all gifts from friends and/or fish farms.

Nice, I would really like some Zebras. Are they a pair? Any chance you're able to breed them?


I also have hundreds of BNs, some long fin, but mostly short fin. I like the short fin more, due to the fact that they can keep their fins up better. The long fins have a hard time keeping their tail fin open.

Because of some sloppy fishkeeping, I lost over 30 BNPs :( I still have some good sized mature ones that I want to breed once I get my tank running.


I have actually seen Oscars throw plants and decorations right out of the tank. My father kept Oscars and Dempseys.
Oscars have a personality like no other Cichlid.

I think they're pretty smart and enjoyed watching their behavior more than I like watching Discus. One of the downsides for me and why I got rid of them was my wife really wanted the display (living room tank) to look nice. Well,... that's hard to do with Oscars.

[chrisb01]

Nice, I would really like some Zebras. Are they a pair? Any chance you're able to breed them?

No, I wish. I've had them for about eight months, and no playing or interest in each other. But who knows, that might change. And I'd be very happy if it does. I got them as juvies. BTW, they are offspring of a pair from a group of them someone at TBAS got from John (snookn21), a while ago. She gave me those two.


Because of some sloppy fishkeeping, I lost over 30 BNPs :( I still have some good sized mature ones that I want to breed once I get my tank running.

Great, keep me posted. I would be interested in following your BN breeding project, since that's something I do too. I'm always looking to learn more.

I will be posting some pics of some mature ones that I will put on the market soon. Proven pairs and younger than my breeders, I will always keep my breeders.


I think they're pretty smart and enjoyed watching their behavior more than I like watching Discus. One of the downsides for me and why I got rid of them was my wife really wanted the display (living room tank) to look nice. Well,... that's hard to do with Oscars.

I know, they can make a mess in their tank. No, it's not something someone who likes neatness wants to see in their living room. I agree that Discus or Angelfish would be more suited for that purpose.

I do see your point though. I won't mention names, but I know a very well known Cory and Guppy breeder who says "Discus are the most boring fish" he has ever seen. However, I don't share that view, simply because I like watching Discus move around too, they have a certain aristocratic look to them. But you wouldn't expect someone who has breeded Corys for around 50 years, and who's name is closely associated with Corys, to sit and watch Discus :-)

[TNT77]

Didn't think Snookn21 carried L46s or L98s. I know he sells a pleco he calls a zebra, but it's not a true zebra.

[ericatdallas]

Didn't think Snookn21 carried L46s or L98s. I know he sells a pleco he calls a zebra, but it's not a true zebra.

he said this was a "while" back... maybe before the 'ban'?

[chrisb01]

Well, I have this ones for about 8 months, so I figure the time it took for them to breed... I don't remember being told they were 'wild caught'. snookn21 does carry a lot of wild caught Plecos.

I only go to 2 or 3 TBAS meetings a year, due to distance, though I do pay my dues every year. I know for sure that John (snookn21) is not a TBAS member. However, I can get in contact with the person whom I got them from and get the story straight.

I will also find out when this ban was put into effect. I know someone tried to sell some through the TBAS forum some 5 or 6 months ago, and there was a controversy due to the fact the person said they were wild caught and wanted over a thousand bucks for them. Some members suggested getting an expert to verify that they were wild caught.

I'll get back to this thread with whatever info. I find out, I need to know for my own curiosity too.

[chrisb01]

OK, I went and backtracked the forums at TBAS, and here's the deal with the wild caught. It is not connected to mine. Story was, 5 Zebra Plecos for $1500.00. Male and female 'wild caught' with three F1 juvies. I don't know how the sale went, but I know the seller. Upright and trustworthy. However, a willing buyer was looking for an expert to verify they were really 'wild caught' and F1s. Again, I do believe the seller, I have dealt with the seller before. Very serious and honest person.

But this has nothing to do with mine. I'm not worry if mine are wild caught, they are not going anywhere. Though, 'everything is possible if the price is right.' But I'd like to know where they came from. So we will see.

To be continued...

[chrisb01]

OK, mine did not originate from Snookn21. She got them from Edwin - CichlidStore.com - in Riverview, FL., it was not stated that they were 'wild caught', and she doesn't think so. So much for that :-( Though they are very pretty, I'm keeping them, hope they turn out to be a pair.

Edwin 'is' a member of TBAS, I know him and have spoken to him occasionally, a very nice guy.

[TNT77]

OK, mine did not originate from Snookn21. She got them from Edwin - CichlidStore.com - in Riverview, FL., it was not stated that they were 'wild caught', and she doesn't think so. So much for that :-( Though they are very pretty, I'm keeping them, hope they turn out to be a pair.

Edwin 'is' a member of TBAS, I know him and have spoken to him occasionally, a very nice guy.
Well if they do turn out to be a pair. Be a nice fella and sell some to me for a decent price. :D

[chiligum]

That's strange, someone says that Jack Dempseys are aggressive?!...Don't they know who Jack Dempsey was?!...Makes you wonder sometimes!
Oscars are the messiest and filthyest Cichlids about IMO, i don't miss mine, shaking it's body and head up and down the glass, attacking the heater etc!
The best introduced fish ever to Florida has to be the Peacock Bass, that has to be one of the nicest looking Cichlids, just a pity they didn't stay small so i could have a few in my tank!