KC
Kimberly Coleman
Feb 12, 2026
I’ve been raising my Oscars and Pleco since 2022, and yes, they have always had personalities. Anyone who says fish don’t have personalities has never lived with Oscars.
Current roster for scale:
Pleco: a solid 15 inches of ancient armored survivor.
Big Boy: ~12 inches of grumpy tiger Oscar energy.
Angel Baby: 9 inches, pearl-white with orange markings, floating around like an aquatic angel with a temper.
This is not a starter tank.
Now, the Pleco deserves his own paragraph, because this fish is not normal.
I got him a year before the Oscars. Back when I had a whole community tank that got wiped out by ich. I did the body count. Everyone was gone. Depressing. Tank got stripped down except for one stupid little castle ornament sitting in the middle with barely any water left in it. I ignored that tank for MONTHS. No feeding. No water changes. Nothing.
One day, I finally go to clean it, lift the castle… and plop. Out falls the Pleco.
Alive.
There was barely water above the rocks. To this day I do not know if he dug a hole, created a micro-ecosystem, or simply refused to die out of spite. He hadn’t grown at all. Same size. Same attitude. Surprise, you still have a fish.
I put the tank back together, fed him solo for a couple weeks, then thought, “I should probably get this guy some tank mates before he gets too big and homicidal.” Enter the two Oscars.
That’s when he started growing. That’s also when he started coming out. Apparently he just needed roommates to thrive.
Fast forward to January 19, 2026. I wake up to EGGS. On the shell I put in “just in case.” Both Oscars went full parental mode. Guarding. Taking shifts. No sleep. Angel Baby, usually Switzerland, decided I was a personal threat for existing.
Two days later: white eggs. Fuzz. Sadness. And then I notice… both Oscars still look eggy.
Plot twist. Two girls.
Cue ammonia chaos in a tank this size. Multiple water changes a day. Buckets everywhere. My arms hurt. My soul hurt. The Pleco, of course, remained emotionally stable and unbothered.
This is where Seachem Prime stops being optional and becomes life support. It binds ammonia, buys time, and keeps large, dramatic freshwater fish alive when biology goes sideways. Not sponsored, just loyal. Which explains why it’s always the last bottle on the shelf.
Now the real pro tip: CHECK ONLINE FIRST. Same store. Same product. Often much cheaper on Petco’s website than on the shelf. You can price match their own site or order online for pickup. If you don’t check first, you’re paying the “I’m tired and just want to go home” tax.
Also, email sign-ups and repeat delivery discounts can be unreasonably good. Not on everything, and I only speak aquatics, but when you’re maintaining a 15-inch Pleco and two emotionally complex Oscars, every dollar matters.
Aquatics staff have been solid, selection is legit, and this store has saved my tank more than once.
Fish are alive. Pleco is thriving. Ammonia is under control. The girls are not currently laying eggs again.
Five stars.
Check online first.