my fish i got for xmas

[spitfire]

look what i got for xmas :woo:



i got 2 of those and 2 of these

can someone tell me what they are?

i was told they are ghost fish and oscars??

[ORCA.]

spitfire,
Those fish are Black Ghost Knife Fish and Oscars, how many do you have?
Some info on Oscars:

Scientific Name: Astronotus ocellatus (invalid/outdated synonyms: Lobotes ocellatus, Cychla rubroocellata, Acara compressus, Acara hyposticta, Astronotus ocellatus zebra, and Astronotus orbiculatus)
Common Names: Oscar Fish, Velvet Cichlid, Marbled Cichlid, or any number of color/pattern variations + Oscar (Red Oscar, Tiger Oscar, Albino Oscar, etc)

Size: 12-16 inches standard length (SL) and up to 3.5 pounds (though closer to 12+ inches SL is more typical in a home aquarium). When young, can grow at the impressive rate of up to 1+ inches per month. Don't be fooled by their small purchase size and get a small tank thinking you will have time to upgrade later; this is a common mistake.

Origin: Natively found in South America - Amazon and Orinoco River Basins - Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela

Water Parameters: Tolerates pH between 6-8, a General Hardness of anywhere from 5-19 dH, and a water temperature of about 72°F - 78°F. While this is a wide range, this doesn't mean your water can fluctuate between these extremes. Stability must be maintained or else it is extremely detrimental and sometimes fatal to the fish. Oscars are benthopelagic, meaning they swim and feed in open waters as well as on the bottom. They are typically found in shallower, slower moving waters, with sand or mud bottoms.

Food Items: Insects and insect larvae, crustaceans and other invertebrates (such as crayfish and worms), fish, and various plant matter. However, being opportunistic, just about anything that will fit in their mouth is fair game. This nature causes them to always act hungry, even if they are being well or even overfed. Overfeeding and resulting health issues is fairly common in the hobby because of this.

Longevity: Oscars can live for well over a decade. Success with these fish is measured in years, not months. These fish are a long term commitment that should not be taken lightly.

Temperament: Oscars are mildly aggressive. They have a rumored vicious nature, but that just isn't the case. This rumor is derived from the fact that they are many times willing to attempt to eat anything in the tank they think will fit in their mouth. In all reality, the are pretty mellow compared to other cichlids, and are many times bullied by other more aggressive cichlid tankmates. They are territorial though, and a breeding pair may become highly aggressive towards tankmates when spawning. Also, providing too small of an aquarium can cause two Oscars in the same tank to constantly fight, sometimes to the point of being fatal.

A Brief Overview: Oscars are extremely intelligent fish capable of being conditioned to do many little tricks. They quickly learn to recognizing those that feed them and reacting accordingly (usually begging for food). They have a unique presence, intelligence, and attitude that makes owning them a true joy to those that love them. This combined with the fact that Oscar can live just as long as a dog makes them more like a pet than most other fish could ever be. Each fish seems to be an individual with its own unique nuances, making owning one of these fish even more appealing.

Oscars are hardy fish for the most part and can take a lot of abuse without displaying outward symptoms of many health problems. Just because you can't tell there are problems doesn't necessarily mean the fish are healthy by any means. This unfortunately leads many people to believe that they really do not need much care, when that is not the case at all. They are actually fairly susceptible to poor water quality and nutritional deficiencies. Many times these sensitivities will express themselves in the form of Hole in the Head/Lateral Line Erosion (HITH/LLE). This is why it is extremely important to replicate the variety found in their natural diet and even supplement with vitamins when necessary.
Many people feed an unbalanced diet that contributes to these nutritional deficiencies. Fish stores typically promote feeding solely of live feeder fish. There are two problems with this. First of all, only feeding fish can lead to nutritional deficiencies from lack of variation. Oscars are not piscivores (only eat fish), and have evolved to consume a wide diversity of foods, and really need to do so to be healthy. In the wild they typically eat more insects and crustaceans, but since they are opportunistic, they typically won't pass up anything that could be a possible meal. Secondly, live feeder fish from a fish store is almost a sure way to introduce parasites and other various pathogens into your tank that are harmful to your fish.
Other individuals only feed beefheart. Again, this can lead to nutritional deficiencies if it is the only or primary food given. However, another more serious problem can arise from the fact that fish are only capable of processing so much fat, especially saturated or or hard fats found in higher concentrations in most tissues of warm blooded animals. Luckily beefheart is relatively leaner that other beef (except liver), and in very sparing amounts feeding would be OK, however the tendency of the home aquarist is to overfeed with such a product can be a fatal mistake. Uncooked it is still extremely higher in saturated fat than other natural foods. The long term results of overfeeding saturated fats can be deadly, as this can attribute to what is commonly called fatty liver disease. This is a swelling of the liver and/or other internal organs. Even worse is that there are typically no external symptoms of this condition, right up until the point the fish just dies and an autopsy reveals the cause. This is an extremely likely cause of death for many Oscars that unexpectedly die sooner than 10 years that have otherwise been very well cared for. It is so easy to avoid potential problems like this, yet so many people fail to provide the necessary diet Oscars require. Providing a wide variety of foods, in the correct amounts, while feeding a staple of a quality cichlid pellet goes a long ways towards ensuring the health of your Oscar.
A lot of individuals also don't realize just how large these fish get. They can easily grow to a length that exceeds the width of a standard 55-gallon aquarium, and do so very quickly! Because of their mass, they can put an extraordinary bioload on an aquarium, so plenty of water to dilute waste and massive filtration is critical. Large water changes are also required to keep down nitrates. The myth of 1" per gallon just doesn't apply, if that happens to be crossing your mind right now. Think about it; would 12 1" guppies come anywhere near the mass of a single 12" Oscar? Not even close. This is a common misconception which leads to the demise of many Oscars every year. To further complicate things, Oscars are somewhat territorial, and too limited of a space can cause two Oscars to fight to the point of being fatal sometimes.

Info on the Black Ghost Knife fish:

Common name:
Black Ghost Knife Fish

Distribution
Northern, South America in the Amazon river basin

General Body Form:
An elongated, laterally compressed species with a long anal fin that starts at the base of the pectoral fins. The caudal penuncle is also long, and the rounded caudal fin is very small. The small Dorsal fin is filamentous

Coloration:
The body and fins are a jet Black color, the base of the tail fin is marked with two wide vertical bands. There is a white stripe on the back starting at the head and extending about halfway down the body.

Maintenance:
The aquarium for the Black ghost should be large with a small grained substrate. It should be fairly densely planted with many floating plants. The floating plants will help the fish overcome its shyness as it is nocturnal and sensitive to bright lights. Driftwood is also recommended along with some sort of inert piping for the fish to hide in. The water should be soft, and kept at a temperature of between seventy-five and eighty-two degrees. The pH should be neutral to acid. Feeding should be a mix of live tubifex brine shrimp and meaty frozen foods. The Black ghost is sensitive to water pollutants, changes in water conditions, and medications. Although timid they are aggressive to their own kind but can be housed with other large peaceful fish such as Angelfish, Discus and Gourami.

Biotope:
Found in fast flowing waters of rivers and streams with a sandy bottom

Breeding:
Little (or nothing) is known of their sexing and breeding habits. It has been reported that they are being bred in Indonesia

spitfire,
You really have got to start researching the fish you get. If you have those in the 100l tank you are headed for disaster :rip:

[mralgae]

i have to agree with orca.

spitfire.
what also concerns me is how they were transported and kept b4 xmas, and if you knew you were getting them then as orca said you do have to research b4 you get anything else. above all else spitfire it is the fish that are going to suffer if you dont.

[karen]

Spitfire you really are heading for a disaster you now have 2 oscara 2 black ghost knife fish and balloon mollies in a 100 litre tank can you please take your oscars and black knife fish back to the shop you bought them from they will kill each other.Everyone here has tried to help you out help but you just dont listen all you needed to do was ask would they be ok together first or even done some research its not that hard.i really think you need to rethink about keeping fish.

[spitfire]

mralgae said:

i have to agree with orca.

spitfire.
what also concerns me is how they were transported and kept b4 xmas, and if you knew you were getting them then as orca said you do have to research b4 you get anything else. above all else spitfire it is the fish that are going to suffer if you dont.

my dad bought the fish on xmas eve and gave them to me on christmas day they were left in a bag over night

no1 told me that they wouldnt go 2gether so thats not me fault

4 of the fish are getting on ok 2gether they just dont like balloon

mollys and a oscar has eaten 1 of them buts thats ok because i dont

really want them anymore

i wont be bringing any of my fish back to the pet shopm because i

like them

i wont ask for any more help

people here dont like me

[mralgae]

first of all let me say that NO ONE on this forum ''dislikes'' you spitfire. of all the help you have sort from the members and all advice has been given by experianced fish keepers, some with many many years experiance, you have chosen NOT to listern to any of the advice you have been given.
this only leaves me to believe that no matter what advice you will be given you will not stop for one moment and think of the health of the fish which is why we are all hear and help each other to better the quality and health of our fish. as the saying goes are you a ''fish keeper or a ''keeper of fish''. if you keep up with what you are doing then unfortunatly no matter what fish forum you ask your questions you will get the same answer the fish are the most important thing. you are most welcome here and to continue to ask for help. but we will not continue to help if you do not listern.

[karen]

spitfire said:

mralgae said:

i have to agree with orca.

spitfire.
what also concerns me is how they were transported and kept b4 xmas, and if you knew you were getting them then as orca said you do have to research b4 you get anything else. above all else spitfire it is the fish that are going to suffer if you dont.

my dad bought the fish on xmas eve and gave them to me on christmas day they were left in a bag over night

no1 told me that they wouldnt go 2gether so thats not me fault

4 of the fish are getting on ok 2gether they just dont like balloon

mollys and a oscar has eaten 1 of them buts thats ok because i dont

really want them anymore



Spitfire what you just said there tells me that you really are not serious about being a fishkeeper,please rehome your fish if you are serious and nobody here dislikes you, if you do decide to continue keeping fish you are more than welcome here.

[spitfire]

i went 2 another forum and asked them about my fish i got for xmas

and they said all MY fish would be ok 2 gether

so i will keep them

and i am serious about havin fish

[mralgae]

admin said:

spitfire said:

mralgae said:

i have to agree with orca.

spitfire.
what also concerns me is how they were transported and kept b4 xmas, and if you knew you were getting them then as orca said you do have to research b4 you get anything else. above all else spitfire it is the fish that are going to suffer if you dont.

my dad bought the fish on xmas eve and gave them to me on christmas day they were left in a bag over night

no1 told me that they wouldnt go 2gether so thats not me fault

4 of the fish are getting on ok 2gether they just dont like balloon

mollys and a oscar has eaten 1 of them buts thats ok because i dont

really want them anymore



Spitfire what you just said there tells me that you really are not serious about being a fishkeeper,please rehome your fish if you are serious and nobody here dislikes you, if you do decide to continue keeping fish you are more than welcome here.

i agree with karen as to how can you say you are serious about fish keeping when you allow your fish to be eaten by others ( although this is a natural thing in the wild) and too say you dont want them any more, what are you going to do when you get bored with the fish you have know? flush them down the toilet?
sorry but that is not fish keeping.

[karen]

We have all tried to help you here spitfire but it doesn't really matter what we say you dont listen the subject is now closed.