160g Oscar tank stocking???

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Abeer_Sanduja

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 4, 2020
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Hey guys,

I have a 160g tank with a 30g sump. I am planning to get 2 adult Oscars for it but I also wanna keep some other fish with them. I just want suggestions that can I keep other fish with them and of yes than which ones. Any answers are much appreciated.
 
If you were getting juvenile oscars i'd say you could get some other fish, short term. But you say you are getting a pair of adult oscars, which would pretty much put you on the limit for your 160g. I'd leave it at two oscars to be honest.
 
I would have to agree with those saying the 160g will not be enough room for much else when the oscars are full sized. Main reason being the bioload- you might have no problem aggression-wise keeping some other appropriate tankmates with them, oscars are typically not that mean. However the two 12"+ O's would create a lot of waste, as they are piggy eaters. With other large fish, your water quality would likely be very difficult to keep up with. Oscars are susceptible to Hole in the head/HLLE, usually when kept in "dirty" waters with high nitrate, so the best way to keep them is in well-kept water. You might be able to do it if you wanted to do say, 2 very large water changes per week. That can become quite a hassle though, and most people wouldn't be able to keep up with it. So, the best advice is probably to leave them in there alone.
 
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I also agree with Gourami Swami, Rocksor, and Esoxlucious that a 160gallon tank is really only large enough for a couple adult Oscars, and for all the reasons stated above. While young those oscars might look tiny in the tank, but within about a year , even 1 pair will make the tank look small, and tax water quality to the point (as Gourami Swami mentioned) HLLE and other scarring diseases take their toll.
I'm running a 180 gal tank with 2 sumps, doing daily water changes, and would not consider any more than 2 or 3 oscar size fish in it.
 
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Female convicts.no bioload compared to your oscars and they are adept at survival. i have 5 in with my oscar in a 90 who chases them when they show their faces but I have given them place to shelter so they have thrived. they eat food the oscar doesn’t I never feed them.... been 2 years now and all good. Pretty much a guaranteed success story for you. a Other option Is to add a single male convict. Convicts are super common but they are really entertaining. Mine have formed a pair and a threesome and do these staged battles all the time.... until my oscar notices and breaks it up. Lol

I would steer away from another large cichlid or any other large fish. that kind of setup looks funny to me. It will look way cooler with some smaller fish in their with them then a lone GT or JD or something like that having to fend for itself and not thriving.
 
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