Medium sized tank mate for a Oscar/Marbled Goby?

[GobyGuru]

Hi everyone, well my new Oscar has been getting nipped a bit like the last one.. by the Goby. He stopped nipping at the last one after a day or two and he was much smaller so I am hoping that will happen. But in the event it doesn't I have been told a simple way to fix the problem is to provide a medium sized fish that will spread aggression more.. and this may sound kind of bad but that fish would also be the one to get the heat because it would most certainly be smaller.

The Goby may be lashing out because he hasn't had food in a week or two so he is definitely hungry.. yet he still refuses all frozen food attempts (shrimp, pollock, Smelt/Silversides ect) so I am going to give in and feed him live today.

(by the way, the new Oscar is fine. Scales missing and very minor tissue damage similar to the bites received by my previous Oscar, who has completely healed from those bites even thought he has fin rot or something like that... saw him at the LFS I sent him to today..)

Back to the subject at hand, what fish could I put in there to keep the Goby busy? I am buying about 30 - 40 rosy red minnows to toss in there so hopefully that will occupy him for now.

Any advice is greatly appreciated... the Oscar hasn't caused problems so I am mainly looking to resolve the Gobies issues lol

 

[Lusus_Naturae]

You had an oscar in with the goby but the goby beat it up and you got rid of the oscar, and now you put a new oscar in there and he's getting beat up a little and you are trying to figure out what other fish should go in there? I don't think I would have gone back to an oscar if this was the case, I would have looked for a different fish to go with the goby first as now you have to find one that works with the goby and the oscar. Gobies often test the fish in the tank to see if they can eat them, finding a fish a good size bigger than the goby and faster is probably the best solution.

 

[GobyGuru]

You had an oscar in with the goby but the goby beat it up and you got rid of the oscar, and now you put a new oscar in there and he's getting beat up a little and you are trying to figure out what other fish should go in there? I don't think I would have gone back to an oscar if this was the case, I would have looked for a different fish to go with the goby first as now you have to find one that works with the goby and the oscar. Gobies often test the fish in the tank to see if they can eat them, finding a fish a good size bigger than the goby and faster is probably the best solution.

The first Oscar was a mistake.. he was too small in reality and I only took him because my heart is way too big.. but in the end I did the right thing and put him into somebody else's care. Not to mention, he came into my care with more problems than he left with even after only about a week.. so I don't know what you are trying to imply here.

The Oscar I have now is 100x bigger and has only received VERY minor bites. They look more like scratches to be honest. And, even when I had the smaller Oscar his "wounds" from the Goby were so minor they healed within 2 days.

I know Gobies will test the tank mates, but beyond that they give up provided the "meal" is too big to be a meal. So, the Oscar I have right now is fine as there is no way he can be eaten. In fact.. I believe the only reason the Goby has even nipped at him is because he hasn't eaten in 2+ weeks.

As soon as I introduced live food to the tank it became obvious that was the reason the Goby was lashing out.. because he has been in hunt mode for those feeders ever since and has completely forgotten about the Oscar (lol.. he forgot about him after the last bite the day the Oscar was introduced)

So, it's fine. If anything changes I will go from there but so far so good. Don't try to tell me it's some rare and unusual/irresponsible thing to put two aggressive fish together, even if they nip at each other sometimes.. plenty of people do it. (and have done it for years.. I'm not the first)

All I was asking is if there is a medium sized fish that could spread the aggression, that's all. But if you want to think my huge Oscar is in danger because he received a few paper cuts then by all means...

PS - I like how the people who do things right for their animals like adding aquarium salt and Mela/Pima for a few minor cuts/nips get the flack, but the people who refuse to treat their fish/listen to valuable advice get all the help and support. I know, I am such a bad person for spending 30 bucks on some minor wounds that should heal with my pristine water alone.