Oscars And Tank Mates

[shelaghfishface]

i think the real reason why you've received such a mixed response as to what can and can't be done is because Oscars a typical cichlids in that they are all individuals. Some of them will very happily coexist with other fish, some will be right little brute's that terrorise everything in sight and can't be left with any tankmates at all.

Unfortunatley there's no real way of saying what you're Oscar will be like, it's generally around 1yr/18months old that they mature and as this happens the most docile fish can suddenly turn aggresive and hunt down everything in the tank.

I think really what you need to do is give some very careful thought to fish selection and be prepared with a back up plan should all go wrong.

generally though plecs are a good move, oscar may try to eat them but cos of the armour they won't go back and try it again!! It's also a good idea to go for a shoal of dither fish instead of just a couple of companions. This spreads out the aggression so no 1 fish ends up picked on.

yeah i agree,mine are still young and i have just put 2 clown loaches in with them, and they have convicts in there and its all perfect harmony,but the bada$$ oscar, maybe wouldnt tolerate it,so yes its defo all down to the individual oscar, you will need to be on hand witha net should it take a turn for the worse
good luck tho
shelagh xxxx


sheilaf... he looks like an angel lol

 

[untitled]

Hi. My boyfriend bought 2 oscars on an impulse buy 'because they looked nice', the bloke in the shop had been helpful until then, he only told us oscars got big not that they like to eat all other tankmates!

However, after some extenive research we decided to commit to them head on. They seem pretty docile so far - yes they are still you, only about 3" so far. After a lot of reading up and advice from various fish shop (all conflicting, ofcourse) we finally found a shop housing large oscars and with employees who own them too.

So....now we have 2 oscars, Cyril the Severum (my lil fish!) a rainbow shark (another 'pretty' buy) and an ever growing pleco! We have recently gained 6 Clown loaches with a new tank and may think about adding them when we have saved up for our extra massive tank we would like!!!

Everyone seems to get on so far, Cyril gets chased out of the oscars area at times and other times he's allowed to habg round with them. Sharkey does as he likes, which is usually to hide. And big pleccy chaces the oscars off if they get too close to his territory!!

All good fun at the end of the day and we keep a close eye on things to make sure everyone is happy.
Hope this might be of some use and I look forward to those of you who will pass on the 'constructive critisism'.

 

[ox5477]

Yes ReMz, turnover is how many times the tank water is "turned-over." ie.. if the filter processes 400gph.. and you have a 100G tank, then the turnover is 4x

Glad to hear all things are going well with your o's and the clowns shelagh and that we didn't give you advice that ended up hurting one of your babies

so "untitled"... haha interesting name, I was gonna to say while I was reading off your tankmates, damn... you better have a big tank, but I'm glad to hear you guys are saving up for a big tank, your gonna need it with some fo the monsters you've got going there. 2 x o's ~10-12" a piece, 1 x sev ~ 10", 6 x clowns ~ 10-12" a piece, and 1 x pleco, no doubt a common so upwards of 14 to 18" atleast. I don't know how big the shark will get but I have heard stories of them beig aggressive little bastards so the more room you give em the better. What size tank are they in right now? You stated the o's are only 3" right now, how big is everybody else?

 

[shelaghfishface]

Yes ReMz, turnover is how many times the tank water is "turned-over." ie.. if the filter processes 400gph.. and you have a 100G tank, then the turnover is 4x

Glad to hear all things are going well with your o's and the clowns shelagh and that we didn't give you advice that ended up hurting one of your babies

so "untitled"... haha interesting name, I was gonna to say while I was reading off your tankmates, damn... you better have a big tank, but I'm glad to hear you guys are saving up for a big tank, your gonna need it with some fo the monsters you've got going there. 2 x o's ~10-12" a piece, 1 x sev ~ 10", 6 x clowns ~ 10-12" a piece, and 1 x pleco, no doubt a common so upwards of 14 to 18" atleast. I don't know how big the shark will get but I have heard stories of them beig aggressive little bastards so the more room you give em the better. What size tank are they in right now? You stated the o's are only 3" right now, how big is everybody else?

yes, its all great, i have written a thankyou in my oscar thread, was brill advice you gave me, and im thrilled with the outcome

shelagh xxx

 

[untitled]

Yes ReMz, turnover is how many times the tank water is "turned-over." ie.. if the filter processes 400gph.. and you have a 100G tank, then the turnover is 4x

Glad to hear all things are going well with your o's and the clowns shelagh and that we didn't give you advice that ended up hurting one of your babies

so "untitled"... haha interesting name, I was gonna to say while I was reading off your tankmates, damn... you better have a big tank, but I'm glad to hear you guys are saving up for a big tank, your gonna need it with some fo the monsters you've got going there. 2 x o's ~10-12" a piece, 1 x sev ~ 10", 6 x clowns ~ 10-12" a piece, and 1 x pleco, no doubt a common so upwards of 14 to 18" atleast. I don't know how big the shark will get but I have heard stories of them beig aggressive little bastards so the more room you give em the better. What size tank are they in right now? You stated the o's are only 3" right now, how big is everybody else?

They are in a 4ft tank at the mo. the severum is about the same size as the oscars, plec is growing well too, aleady about 4-5 ins. The clown loaches are still in quarantine at the mo and are only 1.5 ins each so far. We're undecided where they are going to go but are currently setting up a 3ft tank and they will more than likely go in there. The shark in about 4ins at the mo abd i belive will get to around 7". They have pelnty of swim space in their current tank along with plenty of hidin places for everyone to have their own space. Everything is going well so far, we have read up about everyone in there and at the end of the day its a bit trial and error with every fish having a different personality. We keep a close eye on them (the tank is in the living room) and have spare tanks if problems do arise.

 

[Sheilaf]

I've been a little preoccupied with my discus but managed to get a few pics of my jack dempsey (I think it is female but could be worng)

 

[rossyt99]

Nice, how old/ big is she (he)??

 

[Sheilaf]

If anyone know for sure if this is a he or she, let me know.

I don't know how old she is, I got her a few months ago. She is about 5" right now and seems to be getting along really well with the oscar.

 

[shroob]

If anyone know for sure if this is a he or she, let me know.

I don't know how old she is, I got her a few months ago. She is about 5" right now and seems to be getting along really well with the oscar.

Looks like a female to me, has gill spangling all the way to the bottom of the jaw and hasn't got as many dots along the flanks. Though I'm not really a JD person but thats just what I've read from the net.

 

[ox5477]

100% def female... due to what shroob mentioned. If you can get a better pic of the fins too then you can tell from the anal and dorsal fin tips. On a male, they are very pointy and long while a female as shorter tips

Very nice fish as well. Always love to see pics of other JD's. My fav cichlid

5" is prob about 10 to 14 months old, depending on how much and the quality of food that is being fed. A female should only get to about 6 or 7 inches with the male maxing at ~8. Since they do most of their growing in the first year, year and a half, thats why I say right around the year old mark

 

[Sheilaf]

Thanks guys, I thought it was a female too. She does not have long pointy fins. I've only had her since she was about 3.5-4" so I don't know how she was taken care of prior to that. I thought she was pretty nice looking in the store, that's why I got her!