Tankmates

[neonblack]

Hi all ,, i have read through all the topics on oscars but have a question that i cant seem to find a answer to .

I have had my new oscars maybe 1 month now,, i have a good size tank with plenty of room etc,, i clean the tank of crap from bottom etc with a suction pump but i want to get a bottom feeder to clean up the bottom like in my other tropical tank .

i went to my local shop and they told me corys but they are smaller then my oscars and i know thats a bad idea , they recommended this catfish ,, i cant remember its name it was about the same size as my oscars and looked like it could hold its own in trouble,, but i wanted to research more into it before i buy,, so just to ask here if any one can recommend a good bottom feeder to go with the oscars

my oscars are about 3 and half inches long at mo.

Thanks for any advice anyone can give me

Steve

 

[jonnyf84]

Depends on tank size, a large common plec wouldn't be phased by your oscars, especially at that size, if your tank isn't big enough you could try apple/zebra snails - i'm not sure if oscars would try to eat them or not. If you have trouble finding a answer the PM 'shelaghfishface', she's the forums resident oscar fanatic.

 

[Duck1976]

They might be the same size as your Oscars at the moment, but they soon won't be. Your Oscars are going to grow a hell of a lot faster than the catfish and the chances are your gonna have to do some home surgery cutting the spines from the catfish so you can get it out of your Oscar's mouth.

Have a look at the Oscar Club under new world chichlids - post it in there.

 

[holidayinn]

Whatever you do, don't get cories with the Oscars. They'll be a small snack and have heard they can get stuck down O's throats. Oscars will eat anything they can fit in their mouths, they grow quick and grow big. I had a common plec with my O, they got on well, most of the time.

 

[Ren&Stumpy]

Rreally need to know tank dimensions/gallons

 

[jonnyf84]

by the way mate I wasn't suggesting you go out and by a bristlenose or something like that but most LFS' have common plecs over 15 inches, one might set you back about 20 quid

 

[shelaghfishface]

hi, its really impossible to recommend anything without knowing exactly what the size of the tank is, i mean at 3 inches the oscars would in theory have "plenty of room" in a 90L but of course thats highly unrecommended.

also we would need to know what sort of filtertion you have on the tank, as boy do these fish get messy! if you were to add a common plec or similar to the tank ( tho these wont eat fish poo, only forgotten food) it would also add a massive load to your filter, so before we worry about adding anything else, lets worry about if what you have already is suitable

tank dims
width........?
depth..........?
height........?

filter ( brand and model or LPH)

tho its often thought that oscars are "tough fish" can put up with just about anything in terms of abuse and neglect.... they are infact just as secepible as any other fish to poor care and under filteration, and with them being big and messy it becomes apparent in the form of water test results much faster and at a deadlier rate than it would do with 2 much smaller fish in the tank

let us know the answers to the above and we can take it from there, but i agree with everyone who has said, stay away from anything that will fit into the oscars mouths, cos if it does they will eat it!!

shelagh xxx