Tankmates for an adult Oscar?

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Demi

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 17, 2011
15
0
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Australia
Hello(: Just joined up :headbang2
ATM, I have a Oscar named Aussy in a 160L tank (Waaaait - hold the screams for a second! Haha.) I saw Aussy when he was really little &his previous owner had stuck a few hooks through his lip &basically played 'fishing' in the tank he had. I thought I would be able to get a bigger tank in no time. Wow, was I wrong!

Parents said no, no, no. &now, maybe a year later :O They have given me a maybe. Why suddenly a maybe? Due to Aussy developing the start of HITH/HLLE (After incredibly daily W/C's, he is starting to look a little better!)

Dad says yes if I can find out a list of possible fish to stock to a tank - he want's to have his own fish in the tank apparently <rolls eyes>

I know it's not exacly a monster tank to what I've seen around this forum, but I am hoping on ATLEAST a 570L/150G setup. (I can't believe it though! 5ftx18"x18" (80G) =100bucks BUUUT 5ftx24"x24" (150G) =300 nearly 400bucks :O SO EXPENSIVE!)

Now, Aussy has spent a year or a bit less in a small tank by himself - is it possible he will accept tankmates?

The only way I can get this tank is to find out some fish that could go in it with him, any help would be awesome! :grinno:
 
Hi and welcome to MFK!

Good luck on getting the bigger tank! Cichlids make good tank mates for Oscars (well, since Oscars are Cichlids, that sounds a bit redundant :) ). Maybe look into Lake Malawi Cichlids. A plus is they are available in lots of colors...maybe an incentive for your parents! A Bristlenose Pleco seems to be a staple in any Cichlid tank as well.

You should be OK as far as aggression goes once you get your new tank. When you introduce them, there won't be any established territories, so you will probably be OK. Be sure to include lots of structure and hiding places. This will help establish territories down the road.

Good luck and see you around the forum :)
 
CLDarnell;4801878; said:
Hi and welcome to MFK!

Good luck on getting the bigger tank! Cichlids make good tank mates for Oscars (well, since Oscars are Cichlids, that sounds a bit redundant :) ). Maybe look into Lake Malawi Cichlids. A plus is they are available in lots of colors...maybe an incentive for your parents! A Bristlenose Pleco seems to be a staple in any Cichlid tank as well.

You should be OK as far as aggression goes once you get your new tank. When you introduce them, there won't be any established territories, so you will probably be OK. Be sure to include lots of structure and hiding places. This will help establish territories down the road.

Good luck and see you around the forum :)
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Problem is lake Malawi cichlids prefer completely different ph/kh/gh than oscars. Just because they're "cichlids" doesn't mean they'd make good tank mates. I would also consider a pleco that gets bigger than a BN for sharing a tank with big cichlids.

I would suggest some adult severums personally. You have a large amount of other choices. What interests your dad? Bottom dwellers, more cichlids, something flashy, etc...?
 
My dad is into big catfish / big ugly? like fish, basically anything bigish that looks cool or interesting. LOL.

I've never even thought about stocking / having a tank that big before (Of course, it's not definate yet, gotta' impress the dad first! lmao) I have no idea how to know when is too many fish, LOL :S
 
Demi;4801973; said:
My dad is into big catfish / big ugly? like fish, basically anything bigish that looks cool or interesting. LOL.

I've never even thought about stocking / having a tank that big before (Of course, it's not definate yet, gotta' impress the dad first! lmao) I have no idea how to know when is too many fish, LOL :S
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Try a Lima Shovelnose catfish,Tiger shovelnose catfish,4 line catfish,these are all really nice cats that get big.
 
DCOWBOYS;4802215; said:
Try a Lima Shovelnose catfish,Tiger shovelnose catfish,4 line catfish,these are all really nice cats that get big.
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But he can only get something around 150g, which won't be nearly big enough for the majority of catfish.

I'd suggest some Polypterus, quite honestly. They're very odd looking, get big, and eat like monsters. Plus they just rule.
 
basically anything that wont fit in its mouth. DO NOT PUT LAKE MALAWI CICHLIDS IN!! africans and south/central cichlids do not mix and malawi need a bit of aquarium salt which could be bad for the south/central.
I would suggest a big Jack Dempsey, green/red terror, texas cichlid, a jaguar, big bala shark(what i had a few years back with my foot long oscars), and any type of catfish/algae eater.
But remember don't get anything that will fit in his mouth because he WILL eat it!!
 
Bullhead catfish are somewhat smaller than some of the monster SA/ CA species, yet are plenty big for a 150 and adult oscars. I also agree with Bichirs seeming to do well with Oscars.
 
catfish pleco get huge but their pretty boring... never get RTC okay. and jags a bad choice it would demolish your oscar later in life a texes and jack dempsey now those are good choices ploy are good but not senegal poly get a bigger one like a ornate
 
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