Dithers for Oscars

[cichlidfish]

I have silver dollars w/ my o. Good combo.

 

[Ang]

I have 2 six inch Red Albino Oscars in my 90 gallon tank.I am hopeing for a mated pair.One is always chasing the other around,there is some agressive moves but no fin damage on the one who gets chased.I know they could be 2 males.but I hope for a male and female.What I'm wondering is would a few silver dollars help deflect some of the agression thats going on in my tank?

i was in the same situation a while back. Only with a 125g. Two Oscars, and I had 3 tinfoil barbs..

The big O ended up killing the smaller O eventually. And they were about 10" at the time. I still have the big one to this day, but I can tell you. If they are out for blood, they will do it no matter what else is in the tank.

Or you could be better off than me and its just harmless disputes. In which case silver dollars could help.

Its worth a try

 

[dpk2313]

Even if they are male and female, that does not mean they are going to breed.

very true Ive had a pair for a year or so they laid eggs once and then promptly ate them I dont know why

 

[mr limpet]

I'll just feel bad if my Os kill the silver dollars.But I guess I have to remember what dithers are for(deflecting some of the agression).I did see some that were about 2 and a half inches long at my lfs.

 

[CTU2fan]

If they can't eat the dollars there's about a 99% chance they will be fine. Oscar aggression is usually aimed at either fish they can eat or other oscars/other cichlids. That said in cases where I had 2 oscars and one was bullying the other, dithers of any kind didn't help. Where some cichlids will target any fish in their territory, oscars in my experience do a good job of focusing on the fish they want to kill. Hopefully with yours it's just a little sparring and doesn't escalate.

 

[mr limpet]

I guess you're saying leave them alone and see what happens?And seperate them if the aggression does get out of hand.I did notice at feeding time there is no aggression whatsoever.Also when the lights are out in the tank and the pleco is roaming around there is not so much aggression either.

 

[DMD123]

I'll just feel bad if my Os kill the silver dollars.But I guess I have to remember what dithers are for(deflecting some of the agression).I did see some that were about 2 and a half inches long at my lfs.

I have a Midas and SD's. For many this would not be an ideal combo because the Midas is very aggressive in nature esp. compared to an Oscar. My little guy is only 5" so maybe he really has not reached his angry, mean phase yet.

And I too would hate it if my fish decided to kill my SD's because I got the Red hooks and they were a lot more $ than standard SD's. You just need to see how your fish reacts, each has their own personality.

 

[steelshade]

You could put more giant danios in there than silver dollars but they'd probably get eaten eventually.

 

[mr limpet]

Ok,just picked up 4 two and a half inch Red Hooks(are these guys called silver dollars too or just red hooks or red hook silver dollar ?)Hope everyone gets along with each other.

 

[Sarah88]

dont red hooks get alot bigger than silver dollars?