150G Stocking Help - Oscar + what?

[jumpingjack]

Hi all.

I am setting up a 150G / 560L South American tank (5ft L x 2ft D x 2ft H). I have attached two photos of the tank to give you an idea of scaping. The filtration is very mature as I have been running it for months in preparation.

Filtration:
- Sump: 30G / 120L plastic drum barrel retrofitted as fluidized K1 sump (filled with 20G / 70L of mature K1 media)
- Canister: 2x FX6
- UGF: 4ft UGF with 2 powerheads on lifts
- UV: 75W UV Sterilizer on return of sump (not filtration but thought it would be helpful to add for context)

I am very keen on stocking 1 Oscar with some tankmates. I was thinking of the below stocking and would love some advice / suggestions / thoughts from anyone as to whether this stocking would work or if you would recommend / change anything?

Planned Stocking:
- 1x Chili Red Oscar
- 1x Jack Dempsey
- 1x True Parrot
- 1x Green Terror
- 4-5x Silver Dollars
- 1x Rhino Pleco / Sailfin Pleco

Could you please let me know your thoughts on the above. Or please feel free to make any recommendations or alternatives. For the Pleco - I did not want a Common Pleco given its size and I understand that the Rhino and Sailfin grow large enough to hold their own against the other stocking.

My plan would be to purchase all fish at the same time, but the Oscar, JD, True Parrot and GT as juveniles so they mature together. The Silver Dollars I would purchase older so that they are larger than the others upon entry in tank. And the Pleco I would purchase mature so that he is already of size.

Again - any help would be greatly appreciated as I have not stocked this type of tank before. For reference, my other tanks include a 75G African Cichlid tank (peacocks and haps) and a 20G planted co2 tank (bolivian rams with cardinal tetras).

Thank you!!!!

 

[jumpingjack]

I have been doing a bit more research.

Do you think this stocking would be okay for the above tank? Or is it overstocked or are any incompatible with eachother?

1x Oscar
1x Jack Dempsey
3x severum (blue, red shoulder and gold)
1x Leopard pleco
1x Raphael catfish

Happy to take any suggestions if not severum or not that many?

 

[Jexnell]

If it was me I would skip the other cichlids altogether. The leopard gets to 20in long so another skip. The Raphael just not big enough and my look like a snack when the O is 12in plus.
Look at the Pimelodus ornatus, grow out to 12in. Are more outgoing than most catfish. I had one with my O and it was a great vacuum for all the leaving the O makes when it eats.



Sometimes it will like to hide and rest so give it a place to do so.

 

[jumpingjack]

Thank you! I will look into this catfish! He looks great. Appreciate that.

Yes I may leave the pleco - just wanted something to clean algae. My bristlenose does an incredible job in all my other tanks and I never have to touch the glass. So wanted to try find a pleco that was large enough to hold its own but not be a common. Maybe rhino pleco?

Secondly - was hoping for a few other fish to just liven up the tank a bit which was why I landed on the Severums! Would anyone recommend anything else instead of the severums?

 

[Jexnell]

Look at a flagtail prochilodus. One of the best cleaner fish ever. Will keep your tank spotless.


You may also look at the catfish in the middle. Lime shovelnose (sorubim lima) they also get to about 12in in length. They like to hang out mid column.



The flagtail can around 12in plus as well. With the cats try and get them around the six inches mark, if you are getting a new baby Oscar. They don't grow as fast.

 

[duanes]

Just a small point, and what some might consider semantics, although because I am a purist II don't mix continents
JDs are not S American, they are North American, and are from the higher pH, hard waters of Mexico, in the Yucatan.

 

[jjohnwm]

I have been doing a bit more research.

Do you think this stocking would be okay for the above tank? Or is it overstocked or are any incompatible with eachother?

1x Oscar
1x Jack Dempsey
3x severum (blue, red shoulder and gold)
1x Leopard pleco
1x Raphael catfish

Happy to take any suggestions if not severum or not that many?

I'd go with this stocking, but would omit the Jack Dempsey, the Severums, the pleco and the catfish. Seriously.

 

[jumpingjack]

I'd go with this stocking, but would omit the Jack Dempsey, the Severums, the pleco and the catfish. Seriously.

And just go with the 1 Oscar?

Is this due to tank size and water quality? Cheers!

 

[jjohnwm]

And just go with the 1 Oscar?

Is this due to tank size and water quality? Cheers!

Due to everything; tank size and water quality and fish size; they're all interrelated.

Your Oscar will grow like wildfire, the tank won't look sparse for very long at all. A 5-foot tank with a 12-inch-plus Oscar...which you will have in a year...looks plenty full. And the fish will do far better with the space and the water volume all to itself, rather than sharing with others eating and pooping in the same confined space.

 

[adrian99]

I have been doing a bit more research.

Do you think this stocking would be okay for the above tank? Or is it overstocked or are any incompatible with eachother?

1x Oscar
1x Jack Dempsey
3x severum (blue, red shoulder and gold)
1x Leopard pleco
1x Raphael catfish

Happy to take any suggestions if not severum or not that many?

Your tank can handle this load with good filtration, but it would be overstocked. Some people prefer "dynamic overstocking" as it mitigates aggression (commonly done with African cichlids) but you won't get the desired behavior out of your individual fish. If you care about that, I'd go one of two ways:
1) Keep the oscar and non-cichlids. You can probably get away with another bottom feeder if you downsize the pleco.
2) Ditch the oscar - 3 severums and a JD (especially a female) can cohabitate with smaller tankmates if you want to experiment.

Given your title, you'd probably be more interested in option 1 for the oscar, but option 2 yields more tank activity if you prefer that.