Oscar companions

[crackatinny]

Which of the following would or would not be Ok in the same tank as an albino Oscar

Silver Dollars
Clown loaches
Sucking catfish
Red Devil
Bala Shark
Glass Catfish
Angelfish

[deckard_wa]

Silver Dollars and Clown Loaches are usually fine with an Oscar (you'd need a school of at least 3 for both species). Sucking cat fish is a bit too vague, if it's a pleco or sailfin, that would be ok too if you have a big enough tank. A Red Devil would be a big no no. Most of them are way too aggressive for an Oscar and and Oscar is not physically equiped to deal with the onslaught (of course there are exceptions but 95% of the time that O wouldn't survive IMHO). Bala Sharks could work but they are a bit skittish and get pretty big, and need a whole lot of swimming room. They scare easily and are jumpers so you could easily find they bang themselves against walls and lids a lot trying to avoid your O, hurting or even eventually killing themselves in the process. Glass Catfish, if it's the ones I'm thinking of are another nervous species and I would think totally unsuitable. Angel fish I don't know too much about as I've never kept them, but my gut tells me no.

There's no doubt someone could come along next and contradict everything I've said but I think, SDs, CLs and large cat fishes are the only real choices out of the fish you have named

[Abbeys_Mom]

I kept a Parrot with my Oscar, but he wasn't an aggressive Oscar. I also had a large pleco in the tank. Just make sure it won't fit in your Oscars mouth.

[Lady Hobbs]

I would be afraid to keep my Silver Dollars with an Oscar. Maybe they'd be fine but they are timid fish and I think they would spend all their time hiding. Oscars are odd, tho. Some are much more docile than others as I am always reading.

[kimmers318]

We have a large pleco with our oscars and there are quite a few annoying skirmishes between the 2. The O's are forever sneaking up behind him to nudge and nip at him, and then when he gets annoyed he goes full blast from the bottom and head butts them! There may not be anything the O's will live with peacefully, to me they act like toddlers:grin34: . It may not be the best situation, but the pleco is certainly in a better place now than the 55 gal with 5 large goldfish he was with previously!

[Glasstapper]

well, another oscar of the opposite gender would work out nicely. I've heard lots of people keep the big plecos with them, but personally, I would just try to stick with same sized, same temperament cichlids only. If your O is meaner than the rest, then a jack dempsey or texas cichlid could work. A more docile O allows for more selection of tankmates as described by other members above.

As always, there is never any way to predict ANY cichlid's behavior. It varys from each individual to the next.

[crackatinny]

Currently the Oscar, Devil and Catfish are in same tank, but it is getting a bit small.

The reason for the combination question is, like a lot of people when they begin, I bought fish that got to big for accomadation, I am soon to get a 500ltr tank and hope to put as many of this combo in it to bide me a few more months of growing

Here is a pic of the catfish if anyone can give a definate identification of it, it was sold to me under the name suckermouth catfish

[deckard_wa]

That's a coldwater fish, with a few different names. I've heard them called Chinese Algea Eater, Indian Algae Eater, and Chinese Sucking Loach (though they are not technically a loach). Here in Australia they are the algae eater of choice for a lot of folks with goldfish tanks. They can get up to 10" long though this is thought to be rare. I've heard that when older they can be a little aggressive but obviously not up to cichlid standards.

They are very active and inquisitive and I really like them. But once again, I can't see them living with most Oscars. At the end of the day, only you can know YOUR fish. My Red Devil would destroy my Oscars in a minute and my Os would eat that Algae Eater, but this isn't my tank and you can only really go off averages and likelihoods. The liklehood is it wouldn't work, but there's always a chance.

I put 20 fry in with my Oscars once and 19 of them were eaten straight away but the Alpha fish decided he wanted to befriend a particular one and chased the other guys off, and that little guy became like his shadow until the day he jumped ship while my back was turned on PWC day. The O sulked for weeks!!

So yeah it's tough to tell with cichlids, but hey that's half their charm and half the fun. I wouldn't do it but it might well work out.

[deckard_wa]

just done some quick research and apparently they can live in tropical tanks too. I've only ever seen them in goldfish tanks

[crackatinny]

I feared that was what it really was, the fish shop told me it would only grow about 4 inches, I hate it when they give incorrect info just to make a sale.

[jeffs99dime]

I feared that was what it really was, the fish shop told me it would only grow about 4 inches, I hate it when they give incorrect info just to make a sale.

happens all the time unfortunately:brow34:

[Abbeys_Mom]

I had one of those, I was told it would only get 4"'s as well. I am thinking I should give a heads up to the woman that owns it now. She's in for a nasty surprise.

[jeffs99dime]

I had one of those, I was told it would only get 4"'s as well. I am thinking I should give a heads up to the woman that owns it now. She's in for a nasty surprise.

i like to go to petsmart and listen to what the salesman is telling the consumer for awhile. then when the salesman is about to get the customer whatever it is, i then non chalantly inform the customer about the true stats, size of tank, etc in front of the salesman. this is not to get an argument going mind you. i do this because it ticks me off, and the customer, about to purchase a school of balas for a 10 gallon has a right to know the proper way to go about it all. corporations are one of this country's problems!!

[deckard_wa]

I think corporations are one of the biggest problems for every country in the world, but that's a whole new thread thumbs2: