Barramundi with oscars and other predatory fish

[Snoke FIsh]

I just bought a barramundi and released it into my 2000 gallon pond with currently just an oscar. I kinda impulse bought the barramundi because i thought it would be funny to put a food fish in my pond. But then i realized they get big and eat everything.

I'm seeking advice on whether if most predatory fish (especially my oscar) will get eaten by a barramundi if i allow to get big, and whether I should just eat my barramundi.

 

[jjohnwm]

Oscar: reaches around 12- 14 inches typically, possibly a bit more, might weigh 4 pounds.

Barramundi: commonly hits 3 feet in length, and can get much bigger; easily weighs close to 100 pounds, and can exceed that significantly. Large-mouthed predatory fish. It's apparently a farmed species, which pretty much guarantees that with proper feeding growth is rapid.

Hmmm...I'm sure you'll be fine...

 

[wilburclark]

This is probably similar to when I kept a turtle in my aquarium. I bought the turtle thinking it was gentle and cute. But on the very first day, it ate a fish that was one and a half times its size. Overall, it was a rather horrifying experience for me. Lol

 

[Gourami Swami]

A fully grown barramundi could definitely eat an oscar, if it were to get to full size in captivity, which I doubt. It would take years to get that large. You could probably keep them together for quite a while, but even your massive 2k gallon tank will eventually be a bit small for a barramundi.

 

[taroStreamx]

I’d be more concerned about the feeding response than just size. Barramundi hit fast and hard, and once it starts associating movement with food it can go after tankmates even if they’re not really food sized yet.

You might be fine for a while, but all it takes is one bad strike, especially at feeding time or at night when visibility is lower. Oscars aren’t exactly slow, but they’re not built to avoid that kind of hit either.

If you do keep it, I’d at least keep them very well fed and watch how it behaves during feeding. That usually tells you when things are about to go wrong.