Oscar tankmates

[Drumachine09]

Well, my 55 is set up in my room, and i added ammonia this moring,and i checked an hour later, so i guess it doesnt need to cycle again.

I am looking to get an albino tiger oscar. I am running 5 filters, 1 aquaclear 60, 1 marineland penguin biowhell 100, two aqua clear 15s, and one sponge filter, so filtration will not be a problem. I am looking for possile tankmates for my oscar. I plan on getting one that is 3-4 inches long, and i know everyone says oscars will eat anything and everything, but is there anything i can house him with?

I was thinking about getting 1 common pleco, a couple (5-6) cories probobly more, and maybe a needle nose

[Rue]

...Oscars eat anything that will fit in their mouths...

...I've watched them...

There isn't too much you can house them with...

Plecos are fine...but they're also such big waste producers that most Oscar guys don't recommend it...

The main fish I've seen recommended repeatedly are:

Silver Dollars (school of 3-5)
Severum
Jack Dempsey
Green Terror

Best to have them 'grow up' together...the Oscars are less likely (notice I said 'less') to eat them if they think they're family...but no guarantees...

[Drumachine09]

Well, i only have 55 gallons to work with her, so i dont know if i can get a school of silver dollars.

[Abbeys_Mom]

IMO 55g is too small for a permanent Oscar tank, let alone an Oscar and a tank mate.

[Drumachine09]

Ive heard more people say an oscar is good in a 55, then people that say they arent, so i think i am going with the majority.

Im not looking for something huge, just something to keep him company.

[Abbeys_Mom]

I just going on experience. My Oscar got over a foot and was unhappy in a 55g, even with 2 filters and weekly water changes.

[Rue]

...Silver Dollars aren't big waste producers...

...but yes, if you want to be technical...as Abbey's Mom stated, a 55g is the very min. recommended for one Oscar...with NO tankmates...

...and even for that, they do recommend 2 water changes weekly with serious overfiltration...

[Drumachine09]

i have 5 different filters on the sucker. I was thinking some corys or something. If i got an oscar small, and got some corys, would he see them as food?

Also, i can afford to do weekly or even bi weekly waterchanges, because i can just siphon the water out my window into the yard, and then hook the hose up to the sink in the bathroom and dechlorinate was the water comes in.

[Drumachine09]

Is there any other "larger" fish (not quite as big as oscars) That i could maybe get a pair of?

Maybe 2-4 needle noses. Ive heard (i think it was on badmans tropical fish) that alot of people keep them in 30 gallon hex tanks. Would having needle noses be too much of a hassle with the live food id have to purcahse?

[gm72]

I think this should be less of a question as to whether you have adequate filtration. Should be more of a question of how happy will your fish really be in that size of a tank. There is an overwhelming amount of information here and on other websites that indicates that more than a single oscar in a 55 and you are asking for unhappy fish.

Think of it this way--imagine living, PERMANENTLY, mind you, in a room that was maybe 4 times as large as you were. No opportunity to move anywhere else. I promise you that happiness would not be in your vocabulary.

If I were you I'd listen to the advice you are getting and read more, but hey--your fish, your life, and all is good.

[Drumachine09]

I never said i am going to get an oscar that is 12 inches. When he hits the 10-11" mark, i was going to donate him back to the store, for credit, and get another oscar. Is there another fish that gets 6-8 Inches that i could keep maybe 3 of instead of an oscar?

[Fishguy2727]

Rethink your filtration. A bunch of little HOBs do not equal one big canister. I would cut what a filter claims down to about a third for oscars. So if it claims to handle 90 gallons, assume 30-40. If you get rid of it at the 8-10" size don't expect any credit for it. There are already too many oscars who have outgrown 55s out there to expect to get anything for it. Needlenose are actually brackish I believe, so they are not an option.

[Drumachine09]

Well, any other ideas?

[kimmers318]

Drummachine that baby oscar will grow so fast it will amaze you, and will you really be able to give him up after having him for a year or so? Our oscars were around 2" when I purchased them for hubby Feb 06 and are about 8" now, they are quick growers and will get to the 10-11" mark fairly quickly. As for cory with them, I wouldn't recommend it, most cory top out at around 3" which could easily become food for an oscar.
Larger plecos work well with oscars, but there again, you have a fish that has the potential to get HUGE and will be very messy and need loads of maintenance on the tank. The pleco we took out of a friends 55 gal was around 11", less than a year later he is 15"! In a 90 gal with 2 O's hubby saw a nitrate spike 2 days after a 50% water change......but that is another topic.

[Abbeys_Mom]

Our Oscar went from an inch to 12 inches in 2 years. If you can find them a pair of Spilotum are great in a 55g. I had a pair, but had to take down my larger tanks :(

[Drumachine09]

Our Oscar went from an inch to 12 inches in 2 years. If you can find them a pair of Spilotum are great in a 55g. I had a pair, but had to take down my larger tanks :(


Are spilotum easy to care for?

[Drumachine09]

Or what about severums?

[Rue]

Severums...by all accounts...are lovely fish...

Do you really want to keep getting baby Oscars and taking them back? No one wants the big Oscars! Anyone who wants the big Oscars wants to raise them up themselves from babies!

There's a serious glut of big Oscars on the market because so many are bought as 'cute' babies without thought as to their long-term welfare and are swiftly given up...

To me that's exactly the same as getting a puppy or a kitten...then giving it up when it's an adult, just so you can get another cute puppy or kitten...

I'm a firm believer that if you get a pet...it's your responsibility to look after it for it's entire life...if you're not prepared to do that, you shouldn't get that particular pet...

[Drumachine09]

Im not saying i would give it up to get a "cute" one. I dont really think fish are "cute". I would only be giving him up because i do not have the resources to properly care for him. I have already talked to several places that said they would be glad to take a large oscar off of my hands.

So would severums be the way to go?

[sanddigger]

Or what about severums?

I have two turquoise-blue severums and really enjoy them. I have them housed in a 55g along with corycats, gobies, and bristlenosed plecs. They all do fine together. Plus I think you have better options when it comes to decorating your tank having severums. They don't tear up the tank like oscars can. Severums grow quick (at least mine did) and are a cleaner fish.

[Drumachine09]

How big do they get? Im thinking id rather have two medium-large fish with tankmates then house one giant fish sans tankmates.

[sanddigger]

Most severums get around 8 inches. Mine are about 6 1/2 to 7.

[Drumachine09]

Do you have a m/f pair?

Do they get along with eachother? How about with their tankmates?

[sanddigger]

I'm not sure what they are, lol. I have read that the males will have more squiggles in their face. The bigger one "Heckle" sometimes nudges the smaller one "Jeckle". Nothing major. They both get along with the others and each other. In fact, it was so cool when I put the bristlenosed plecs in the tank. They just hovered them and stared at them real close up for a couple a minutes. I guess trying to figure out what they were.

[Drumachine09]

Hmm, well the severums are starting to sound like a good idea. Are they comfortable in your 55?

[sanddigger]

Yes. Everything I had researched says two will be happy in a 55. My two sure are.

[Drumachine09]

So what are their tankmates?

[sanddigger]

2 bristlenose plecs, 2 gobies(forgot the kind,they stay under 3-4 inches), 2 green cories.

[Drumachine09]

Alright,cool. Thanks for the help!

[sanddigger]

Your welcome!:ezpi_wink1:

[TracyUK]

Would Severums go with oscars?

[Lady Hobbs]

No. Severums are too mild.

I found this on the net, tho.

The best tankmates for Oscars are Large Plecostomus and other large Neotropical Cichlids such as Texas Cichlids, Jack Dempseys (http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?what=fish&cur_lang=2&id=57), Salvini, and other cichlids from South America which are the same size or bigger. From the Oscar species the less aggressive are Pink Tiger Oscars. That is the reason why Red Oscars and Tiger Red Oscars can make Pink Tiger Oscars miserable. You should ensure that the Pink ones get their food too.

[TracyUK]

No. Severums are too mild.




I've been told that my big spotty chap may be a severum! He's in with three oscars but is much larger than them. He tends to stay out of the way most the time, living in the cave with the synodontis catfish. Every now and again he comes out for a regal parade round the tank!