JD and Oscar problems

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brockfishhawk

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 24, 2007
201
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Kalama, Wa
Hey guys, thought I would report on a recent change that added much needed peace to my tank. I was having troubles with an Oscar and JD in my CA/SA tank. The JD would not stop harassing the oscar and the problem was the oscar never tried to get away or stand his ground (I would imagine oscars are pretty peaceful at its size of 5 inchs) which is unlike all the other cichlids that do run away from the JD when he wants to show his dominance. I tried to reduce the temperature to calm the JD (from 80 deg. to 75 deg. F), fed more hearty meals and rearranged the decoration and create as many hiding spots as possible all of which did not seize the attacks. They got worse and worse till the oscar was starting to lose scales. I removed the oscar and found him a new home and now the JD is ever so peaceful. I have a salvini, firemouth and a nicaraguan and they all school together with the 4 silver dollars and there is very little chasing except for some reminders of dominance.


A little long winded I know, but I have seen a lot of threads about the JD and Oscar combo not working or wondering if it would work so I hope this will help others out there. My advice would be to not combine the oscar and JD. Of coarse all fish have different personallities and my JD happens to be a male (which could have been making this worse). Hope this answers some questions floating around out there.
 
I don't think that its rare at all to have an Oscar and a JD together. I personally have seen it many times. It all depends on the individual fish, tank size, and other tankmates. JDs are not overly aggressive in my opinion. Compared to the other large cichlids that I have or have had in the past, I would place them pretty low on the aggression scale.
 
Gruff Master;4645279; said:
I don't think that its rare at all to have an Oscar and a JD together. I personally have seen it many times. It all depends on the individual fish, tank size, and other tankmates. JDs are not overly aggressive in my opinion. Compared to the other large cichlids that I have or have had in the past, I would place them pretty low on the aggression scale.
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I did not mention that it was rare, infact many people post a lot asking if the combo works because both are a popular fish in the hobby world and happen to be SA/CA cichlids so end up in the same tank. I was posting my experience to help others that might be trying to decide if they want to try the combo. I also mentioned that the fish temperment (per fish, not species) is very dependant. My JD is not aggressive to anything else in the tank except the oscar. I had both these fish in the same tank since they were 1". The oscar was about 1" larger than the JD. The JD absolutly hated the oscar and the oscar absolutly did not wish to stand its ground or run away, instead stayed immobile while the JD would charge, flare up and take big bites at sides/fins of the oscar. I would imagine it is an Oscar trait to not be so aggressive and that the JD does tend to be more aggressive (even though it's not as aggresive as other larger cichlids like you say). So for those going to try this combo or have issues with it try and remove one or the other to see what comes out of it. For me, it brought peace.
 
You sound offended. I never qouted you saying anything. I was just giving my opinion based on the fact that you had read other threads about people having a hard time keeping Oscars and JDs together. I'm not doubting that you read those threads. I believe you. I have just seen it work easily with the right sized tanks and balance of fish. Some people will put an Oscar and a JD in a 75 or a 100gal with 6-7 other fish. Then when the fish fight they think that it's a hard mix to accomplish. I have seen more aggressive cichlids grouped together that would normally not tolerate each other. But because of living in large tanks with the proper number of tankmates they thrive. Then there are some fish that will want 300gal to themselves, even if there is only one fish with them. I agree that sometimes it is easier to just remove one or the other. No argument there. Proper tank size, individual temperments, appropriate tankmates, and the numbers of the stock really effect everything.
 
Not offended, sorry for the wrong impression. Just making sure I didnt give the impression that I thought it was rare. (as originally posted) Which was the whole first portion of your reply to my OP. I don't disbelieve that people have success keeping them together (like ALL the other fish combos that you can house together) but that I had troubles with mine, watched their behavior, solved the problem and made sure to share the experiences for those that wish to keep them together. Might help them make a better choice.
 
I was told oscars are aggressive eaters but not aggressive fish. If placed with other cichlids they would get picked on unless they were bigger
 
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