pleco + oscar

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S

Saskia

Feeder Fish
Sep 26, 2007
3
0
0
Australia
Hi all,
New to this site. I've had oscars for many years. Sadly, my original ones died and I've just bought 2 new ones. 2 days ago I included a pleco into the mix. I was advised that they are compatible but have also heard oscars are known to feast on them. The oscars have been circling the pleco but not lunging or being aggressive. If they haven't attacked in the last 2 days, are they likely to? They are of similar size - about 20 cm.
Thanks
saskia
 
you should of got your pleco bigger because oscars grow faster then will eat him when they get bigger..
 
If you have a decent sized pleco...it shouldnt be a problem. I have a 5" pleco in with my 8-9" oscars and its never been a problem. Also try having a place your pleco can hide out if the oscars start to beat him down...if they havent done anything it could just be curiosity as what the hell kind of thing that pleco is :p
 
I put a pleco, and 2 oscars in my tank at the same time same size, and they have been great ever since. The pleco is way to fast for the oscar to catch even if they wanted to.
 
Oscars are peacefull, but will swallow anything they think will fit in their mouth. As long as the pleco is big enough, you should have no problems.
 
I have kept Oscars with Gibbiceps in the past, The most trouble I found was as the Gibbiceps got older they became very intolerant of an Oscar having a go. A 16" Gibbicep in a foul mood can be relentless and one I owned which was in his teens had enough one day and relentlessly chased the Oscar until he was so badly injured I had to euthanise him. The other one which was younger wasnt as bad but still had a go resulting in lots of damaged fins. In the end I traded em in.
 
Thanks for the advice all. I've included a large mangrove root for the pleco to hide behind and he doesn't seem to be stressed out. Hoping for a happy tank.
Saskia
 
Provide dark caves and driftwood for the plec.

Oscars are typicaly slow swimmers. And have you seen the speed in which a 3" plec can swim? Pretty fast.
 
Zeppelin3k;1158809; said:
yes, make sure there is driftwood in the tank, it is part of a plecos diet.
Click to expand...

Not for all. Plecs such as Panaques and Zebras pretty much need the driftwood for fibre intake to assist in digestion of thier food. Many other plecs dont need have this. But driftwood IMO helps with any plec you may have.
 
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