oscar tank mates

[agreeive?fish]

Ok i have an inherited oscar in a 175g bow with a couple of common plecos

will an black ghost knife fish be ok with a 10" tiger oscar?

what about cory cats?

other tank mate suggestions because christmas and aniversery is comming up and my salty tanks are "full" and no room for another tank so the wife is cluless as to what to get me and i have so much "extra equipment" as the wife calls it she wont buy me any equipment as a gift


iam a salty guy so iam not up on the compatability of freshies

 

[Chicklette]

Corys will not work, oscars are too aggressive for them. Im not sure about the ghost knife, the oscar may pick on him but Im not positive. i do know corys are not compatable. You will be maxed out with one oscar and two plecos, they all produce a lot of waste and get huge.

 

[NCStateFisher]

Corys are too small, they'd become a quick snack - as far as the BGK goes I'm thinking as long as you have plenty of hiding places and make sure when you buy it it's too big for the oscar to eat i think you should be okay.

As far as any other suggestions go you would probably have room for another decent sized SA cichlid as long as your filtration is good enough

 

[DMD123]

Are you attached to the plecos? Do they have to stay? I would be inclined to go with a single smaller species type. Add a school of 5-7 silver dollars for lots of movement. Maybe a EBJD... or regular Jack Dempsey.

 

[knifegill]

If it was my tank I'd pawn the plecos off to the first offer I get on them and add some other semi-aggressive to peaceful SA cichlids and a decent smattering of adult raphael catfish with hideys for them.

If you love cories, track down some adult brochis multiradius, brochis splendens, brochis britskii or other brochis that exceed 4" in adult length. In a 175 with just an Oscar, you could do a small herd of these majestic brochis cats. They also mix well so if you can only find two of one brochis and four of another it's perfectly fine. The Oscar would figure out really fast that they are pokey. And as long as they are too big to try eating (bigger than 3" body length without tail) I can't see it not working unless your Oscar is a complete retard or the rare aggressive individual.

 

[Gruff Master]

If it was my tank I'd pawn the plecos off to the first offer I get on them and add some other semi-aggressive to peaceful SA cichlids and a decent smattering of adult raphael catfish with hideys for them.

If you love cories, track down some adult brochis multiradius, brochis splendens, brochis britskii or other brochis that exceed 4" in adult length. In a 175 with just an Oscar, you could do a small herd of these majestic brochis cats. They also mix well so if you can only find two of one brochis and four of another it's perfectly fine. The Oscar would figure out really fast that they are pokey. And as long as they are too big to try eating (bigger than 3" body length without tail) I can't see it not working unless your Oscar is a complete retard or the rare aggressive individual.

I like this idea.

 

[agreeive?fish]

well the plecos stay, i inherited them with the oscar and once i take on a pet i have it for life (its or mine which ever comes 1st) there is also some sort of undetermined (by me) synodontis catfish..salty stuff is so much easier, filtration is not an issue i have more than enough for the system(set up basicly like i do my salty tanks) and my oscar seems fairly laid back but then again i havent tried adding any new friends with him and his old buddies

 

[Gruff Master]

well the plecos stay, i inherited them with the oscar and once i take on a pet i have it for life (its or mine which ever comes 1st) there is also some sort of undetermined (by me) synodontis catfish..salty stuff is so much easier, filtration is not an issue i have more than enough for the system(set up basicly like i do my salty tanks) and my oscar seems fairly laid back but then again i havent tried adding any new friends with him and his old buddies

Common plecos grow very large and you have a couple in there. As they mature they basically stop eating algae and eat the food intended for the other fish. They also leave long strands of feces in the tank as they move and defecate; adding more waste to your tank. The bigger they grow, the more waste they make. You will have long strings of feces flowing around your tank. That's why they are either returned to the shop or thrown into a pond. Two or more full-sized common plecos with an adult Oscar is a lot. That's why the suggestions were made sbout getting smaller-growing, more attractive plecos instead of the common ones. Synodontis will suck on the slimecoat of slow moving fish like a ghostknife. They can do this until the ghostknife dies from infection or stress. Another Oscar would work. You would probably have to get one close to the size of yours so the big one won't kill or eat it. A group of Silver Dollars, Convicts, Severums are a few more choices.

 

[knifegill]

It's a 175, man. If you actually take care of the fish like they are supposed to be, they'll outgrow that tank in three or four years. How fair is it to you to receive a fish that will require larger quarters? Seriously, common plecos are a burden too many of us carry at the expense of far more reasonable and nifty creatures. I understand your stance on adopting creatures, but do put a little thought into how much you'll spend housing a pair of 20" or larger fish for the next thirty years and poop more than they are worth. Just saying. Just my two cents. Not saying it's right or wrong, just that it's a lot of used up water for a fish that, to me, is difficult to justify the effort for.

 

[Guapoako318]

I personally don't like SDs. If you get Convicts only get same sex or you'll have tons of little convicts in your aquarium. Why not get something more attractive looking like firemouth or severum.

I agree with what other people said. Drop the plecos if you can. Get yourself a Bristlenose or 2. It will considerably lighten the bio-load and they actually eat algae.