Oscar tankmates

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I'd nix the Convict pair...the Oscar will end up getting bullied once the Cons breed. You could always do 2 or 3 female Cons instead of a pair. As far as bichirs go, I have an 18" Ornate and an 18" Endli in a 180 gallon with 3 9" Oscars and I've found it's pretty darn hard to make sure the Poly's get food. My O's are very greedy eaters.


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I'd nix the Convict pair...the Oscar will end up getting bullied once the Cons breed. You could always do 2 or 3 female Cons instead of a pair. As far as bichirs go, I have an 18" Ornate and an 18" Endli in a 180 gallon with 3 9" Oscars and I've found it's pretty darn hard to make sure the Poly's get food. My O's are very greedy eaters.


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I have found that in these such cases, its as easy as feeding in two separate spots. In this case, I would feed the Oscar on one end of the tank while at the same time feeding in the center of the tank. The Oscar can not be in multiple places at once, ensuring food is getting to the bottom.


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The bichir is entirely possible if you can find one that is 6+" long. And shorter and body width comes into play, making the bichir potential prey instead of company.

The single convict is a good idea and you could even get away with two females (not males as they have larger territory needs), provided you are 100% sure they are both female. Great part about convicts when it comes to their behavior is that they have inferiority complexes. They are big fish in a small, but sturdy body. Their ability to be kept with fish of much larger size and high aggression levels make them a great addition to predatory tanks.


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Severum, geophagus, t-bar?

In a 75, the severum and t-bar would require 125g tanks to be kept with an Oscar at max size. The geos require groups and even 4-6 of the smallest geo would be bio overload for a 75. Not to mention that if the Oscar has an attitude (which is uncommon, but still possible), it would bully those geos and kill them off one at a time.


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I do really want to get some geophagus but I figure I will end up with a separate tank for them. I can't source a large enough bichir around here and I would be worried about feeding. Right now a single convict seems like a good option but I am still open to more ideas. Anyone think a single salvini would work in there?


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I do really want to get some geophagus but I figure I will end up with a separate tank for them. I can't source a large enough bichir around here and I would be worried about feeding. Right now a single convict seems like a good option but I am still open to more ideas. Anyone think a single salvini would work in there?


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I would say a salvini could work. Get to about the same size as a convict. Maybe a bit bigger depending on male or female. Just make sure the tank has lots of caves/rock structures to block line of sight to reduce aggression.


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