Oscar tank mates

[Vvixen]

In the process of cycling a 135g tank. What's the best way to stock this? I'm thinking 1 or 2 Oscar's, tinfoil barb OR flagtail, clown loach, green terror, blood red parrot, pictus catfish, starry night., Jack Dempsey.
I assume I can't get them all, so which ones work best together? It is a lightly planted tank. Whichever I choose, can I put them all in the tank at the same sizes?

 

[Jexnell]

Tip one skip the Pictus and get his bigger cousin instead. Pimelodus ornatus, they get double the size of Pictus so less chances of the O trying to eat them.



They can be kept as singles or in groups like all Pimelodus like.

 

[Jexnell]

I wouldn't get clown loaches as they would turn into bad snacks when the O outgrows and then trys to eat one.

Blood, JD, Starry all come from higher ph hard water so a no go from the get-go

The GT while from the same continent, lives in different waters. It's from the Pacific ocean side, the waters on this side is more inline with CA waters higher PH and harder than what the Amazonian drainage provides.

The problem with the Flagtail is its final adult size is about the same as an O so in your tank I would go an O and a FT or two Oscar's.
Mostly tho are you ready for two 75% water changes per week? That's what it's going to take to keep these fish healthy as adults. Yes now as tiny 1 in fry they won't but when that baby O turns into a dinner plate swimming around your tank dropping turds as big around as a pencil and half as long.

 

[duanes]

I agree with the above.
A 135 gal is really only big enough for 2 oscars, and maybe one other fish as 15" adults.
The more fish you pack in, as they grow and mature, the more water you will need to change.
And even a 75% water change per week, might be less than adequate to keep nitrates at a healthy limit.
I consider any nitrate level above 5 ppm is unhealthy.
Exposure to Nitrate Increases Susceptibility to Hypoxia in ...The University of Chicago Press: Journalshttps://www.journals.uchicago.edu › doi

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

In the process of cycling a 135g tank. What's the best way to stock this? I'm thinking 1 or 2 Oscar's, tinfoil barb OR flagtail, clown loach, green terror, blood red parrot, pictus catfish, starry night., Jack Dempsey.
I assume I can't get them all, so which ones work best together? It is a lightly planted tank. Whichever I choose, can I put them all in the tank at the same sizes?

As others have said, 2 Oscars and a catfish would be max. If you want the Flagtail, switch out an Oscar with the flagtail and keep the catfish. It's up to you, but with the fish you are thinking about, note that only three larger fish will fit in there. If you want something more active, you could do a shoal of silver dollars or something like that.