I have a large tiger oscar and am looking to get roommates to go into a 75 gal. with them the better half says they have to be "pretty" though got any ideas?
large fish with oscar
- Thread starter rweedon
- Start date
Bigger tank for starters...then you'll have more options. As for cichlids...there are several options out there for yaz that will work in the 75gal. Mind you it may be just temporary since Oscars do get large...my breeding pair in the 300gal are pushing 14" easily and they seem to still be going. Is this your tank or your better halfs? Like, who wears the pants when it comes to deciding what fish you have in there. Personally, i would put whatever YOU wanted in there...cuz its your tank. but thats my opinion...hehe. Reason i say this is cuz you can get some pretty cichlids, thing is that they aren't pretty in the beginning as much. Of course i have to suggest you try pike cichlids! 
Particularly those from the Lugubris family. And what better pike to start you out with than Crenicichla sp. xingu I. They are fairly common, not to pricey, and they actually look rather attractive as juv...being orange with a black lateral line and stripes on the head. As they get older they go through various color changes till they reach adult hood. when they get there...they should be about the same size if not larger than the oscar. Hopefully you will have gotten a female cuz they are absolutely stuning. Males aren't bad, but the females take the cake. You will only be able to keep one in your tank, since they are highly aggressive towards other pikes....and the room is limited in there so you wouldn't be able to get enough to break up the aggression. Thus just get one. Also you could try Crenicichla johanna or 'belly crawler'...these last two being more common than the xingu I's....
Particularly those from the Lugubris family. And what better pike to start you out with than Crenicichla sp. xingu I. They are fairly common, not to pricey, and they actually look rather attractive as juv...being orange with a black lateral line and stripes on the head. As they get older they go through various color changes till they reach adult hood. when they get there...they should be about the same size if not larger than the oscar. Hopefully you will have gotten a female cuz they are absolutely stuning. Males aren't bad, but the females take the cake. You will only be able to keep one in your tank, since they are highly aggressive towards other pikes....and the room is limited in there so you wouldn't be able to get enough to break up the aggression. Thus just get one. Also you could try Crenicichla johanna or 'belly crawler'...these last two being more common than the xingu I's....If the oscar has been in the tank awhile and is full grown, he may not tolerate cichlid tankmates in a 75g, but some good (and attractive) cichlid choices would be blue acara, firemouth, Geo brasiliensis or a chocolate cichlid.
I've often found that adding fish that are significantly smaller (though not small enough to be food obviously) is a good way to go in these situations. If the oscar is 10-11" and you add a 9" chocolate cichlid, you're likely to have big time trouble. But adding a few smaller sized individuals -- say 4-5" -- could work well, as they won't pose as much of a threat to the oscar, and would be more likely to be ignored. Of course, with cichlids it's always hit or miss.
Non-cichlid choices would be safer for sure - clown loaches, arulius barbs, silver dollars, etc., would all look nice and add some activity to the tank. Obviously the loaches and barbs should be big enough that the oscar won't think you're throwing feeders at him.
I've often found that adding fish that are significantly smaller (though not small enough to be food obviously) is a good way to go in these situations. If the oscar is 10-11" and you add a 9" chocolate cichlid, you're likely to have big time trouble. But adding a few smaller sized individuals -- say 4-5" -- could work well, as they won't pose as much of a threat to the oscar, and would be more likely to be ignored. Of course, with cichlids it's always hit or miss.
Non-cichlid choices would be safer for sure - clown loaches, arulius barbs, silver dollars, etc., would all look nice and add some activity to the tank. Obviously the loaches and barbs should be big enough that the oscar won't think you're throwing feeders at him.
piranha45 said:
yeah I work in a college town so I have never had much use for scientific names (yes your oscar will need a big tank, no you can not keep in a 10 gal...)
I would have to say no on Mbuna as they are an African species. They prefer a different kind of water and a different kind of food. For cichlids some pretty good ideas have already been listed. Others that may work are convicts or a small geophagus species. Non cichlids that might work are silver dollers, pictus catfish and plecostomus. I would have to say clown loaches are not a good idea because they grow really large and prefer to be in groups. You don't need 4 12" loaches with an oscar of the same size if not larger. Clown loaches take a really long time to grow though.
