Young Oscar And Pleco....i'm Considering Potential Tank Mates

[y2blade]

I will be moving my Oscar and pleco into a new tank in a few weeks once cycling has finished

I have had Oscars before but never kept them with other breeds of fish (apart from pleco's)

what other species should I be looking at?

thank you all in advance

 

[Wills]

What size tank?

 

[y2blade]

48x18x18" = 255litres

 

[Wills]

So about 55 gallons. When you say you had Oscars before what happened to them?

55 Gallons is not really big enough for Oscars Im afraid... not for life anyway - same for a common plec. General rules are 75g for 1 Oscar and Common Plecs need a 5 foot tank as a minimum and preferably 2 foot wide as they spend a lot of time on their belly and grow over a foot long.

There are however loads and loads of options with smaller cichlids for a 55g.

Wills

 

[KittyKat]

+1 it needs a bigger tank in the long term. If you can't afford it now, save the money you were planning to spend on fish for the new tank. I would be wanting a 5-6*2*2 ft tank, bigger if at all possible.

 

[y2blade]

So about 55 gallons. When you say you had Oscars before what happened to them?

55 Gallons is not really big enough for Oscars Im afraid... not for life anyway - same for a common plec. General rules are 75g for 1 Oscar and Common Plecs need a 5 foot tank as a minimum and preferably 2 foot wide as they spend a lot of time on their belly and grow over a foot long.

There are however loads and loads of options with smaller cichlids for a 55g.

Wills

I had my last Oscar for about 5years before puberty and girls got in the way he was healthy and lived in the same size tank as this one before handing over to a new keeper


my pleco is not growing anymore, he is less than 8" long and has been that size for over a year now...I don't know what type he is but he's not a big one


thanks for the advice

 

[Wills]

No probs

I would suggest over the Oscar something like a male Sajica much more manageable size in that size tank. An Oscar in a 55g tank just does not seem fair for me

What does your Plec look like? Any chance of a photo?

Wills

 

[holidayinn]

Like Wills suggested, a 55g is too small for an O...if you persist, then for a 55g would recommend no tankmates, the tanks too small.

 

[acreteos]

If you don't mind upgrading in the forseeable future then your stock is fine, always keep the option open as there is a chance you will see a great offer somewhere

as for the oscar I have kept a lima shovelnose with oscars with no problems, Limas tend to only get 12" although most sources put them at larger, You could keep a bichir or two with the oscars, some silver dollars, you have a lot of options.

My uncle had a huge 6ft tank with 2 large oscars and a shoal of tinfoil barbs.

As the guys above me say, if you can't afford to upgrade then there are tons of smaller cichlids you could stock your tank with instead

 

[y2blade]

thanks guys
from listening to you guys and reading around on the internet I'm beginning to think maybe my new tank is not big enough for Oscar in the long run (from what I'd read in an old Oscar keeping book, a 4ft tank would be ideal.....obviously opinions change over time) so considering giving him to a new home and maybe go down the Cichlid community or dwarf Cichlid community route

really unsure now as don't want to keep the Oscar in a tank that is ultimately not big enough for him


I have a few weeks until my new tank will finish its fishless cycle, so have some time to weigh-up the options

 

[acreteos]

thanks guys
from listening to you guys and reading around on the internet I'm beginning to think maybe my new tank is not big enough for Oscar in the long run (from what I'd read in an old Oscar keeping book, a 4ft tank would be ideal.....obviously opinions change over time) so considering giving him to a new home and maybe go down the Cichlid community or dwarf Cichlid community route

really unsure now as don't want to keep the Oscar in a tank that is ultimately not big enough for him


I have a few weeks until my new tank will finish its fishless cycle, so have some time to weigh-up the options

May I suggest some of the other species you could keep,

There are plenty of cichlids and they all tend to have amazing personalities that make them so interesting to own and watch, There are smaller fish such as firemouths, salvini's even Jack dempseys seem to be smaller these days then they used to be, if you could have a look through the profile section on this site, or simply just google a list of cichlid species, you will find there are loads of smaller ones that are also awesome, once you have selected some then you can just update the thread or make a new one and we will help you chose the right amount of fish for your tank

Good luck!

 

[y2blade]

My otherhalf took my young Oscar to Maidenhead aquatics today

shame he went, but it was best for him


I'm going for Community with a handfull of Dwarf Cichlids