Help. I need Oscar advice. I am fed up.

[Lynsey]

Here is my setup:
75 gallon long (5 feet long x 1.5 feet wide X 16" tall):
1 Albino Oscar (10.5" including tail)
1 Sunshine Pleco L-14 (8-9")
4 Silver Dollars
2 Fluval 404 canisters, 1 Maxi-jet 1200, weekly water changes.

I am very attached to my Oscar and Pleco. I have tried other cichids in with my Oscar with no luck. First I had a Blood parrot he grew up with and then turned on a year and a half later. I removed the BP and put a Jack dempsey in instead. The JD was too aggressive for my Oscar. So I took out the JD and tried a Severum. The Oscar beat up on the severum too much so I took it out. I thought forget it, I will just leave the tank with the Oscar, silver dollars and the pleco. Now, my Oscar seems pissed and it chasing after the silver dollars and pleco (which he never did before). No damage has been done, my pleco just hits him with his spikey fin. Will the Oscar settle down? My only other thought would be to try adding a 3-4" convict and see what happens, but do you think it would beat up on my Oscar or pleco when it gets bigger? I am not able to get a larger tank (on a second story and tank fits in a nitch in the wall of my living room), so that is not an option. I would like to keep these fish forever so I don't want to add too much so they would overcrowd when they are full grown. I am willing to remove the silver dollars if necessary, but I do not want to part with the Oscar or pleco. Please tell me what I should do. It is also very difficult to find larger cichlids other than convicts in my area.

P.S. Sorry for all of the compatibility questions. I am sure you guys are sick of it..........but I just don't know what to do. Probably the best thing for me to do is to take a valium and stop worrying so much.

[ChilDawg]

Eh, some of us like compatibility questions.

I have heard of Cons going medieval on Os, but your O might take it out prior to that happening.

I think that the Oscar might be starting feel pressed for space, so the Silver Dollars might have to go...

[caz]

yeah, sorry to say it lynsey, but with an oscar that size, it would probably be best if he were the only one in the tank :(

[Lynsey]

It seems like there is a lot of space in there since the tank is 5 feet long instead of the normal 4 foot. Do you think he will hurt the pleco? So far the pleco seems like it is standing up for itself. He is alway out now that the JD is gone and doesn't even go into his hiding spot when the Oscar pokes at him. The pleco usually hits the O in the face before the Oscar actually does anything to him. So do you think he is Ok for now? The silver dollars don't really seem to mind the Oscars little chases, and the Oscar is not actually biting them. Do you think this is just because I removed the severum today and it is his first day (in over a year and a half) being the only cichlid in the tank. Do you think he will settle down over time? I really want to keep the pleco. I just love them both.

[optix]

Leave em alone :) I've got the same problem with my oscar and pleco but its not a problem really, they just pick at each other. They will be fine and as for the dollars, they are usually target fish anyway and are fast enough to evade with no problem thus the reason they don't mind the Oscar's advances. You are good to go. The oscar wont always do that with your pleco, it goes through its spells. How long have you had the oscar and pleco together??

[ChilDawg]

I doubt that an Oscar can hurt a Pleco all that easily...those two would remain together pretty well.

[Lynsey]

The Oscar is about 10-10.5" and the pleco is about 8.5-9". They have been in the tank together for about 6-7 months now. Before that he was in the tank with some albino bristlenose plecos, but I removed them because I was worried that he might eat one since they were only about 3.5-4". The Oscar is about 1.5 years old.

Here they are.......I can't bear to get rid of one of them:
http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/2239727.jpg
http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/2239728.jpg

[optix]

Wow very nice specimens. Yeah you have nothing to worry about, I've had mine together for the same length of time (about 8 months). No damage has been done to either of mine, and I highly highly doubt anything will come of this between your two beauty's. Its innocent bickering just like you would see coming from two guppies but we notice the oscar and pleco more because they are 10 times its size and the only fish in the tank. Don't worry, they'll be fine :):)



EDIT: and im not comparing aggresion of an oscar with a Guppy lol, Im just saying the same bickering two guppies would show, is the same with the oscar and the pleco. Just aggitation and a little bit of nugding. Not a fight to the death over a certain lava rock.

[Lynsey]

After watching them for a while, I think they will be fine. The good thing is that there is no fighting after the tank lights are off. The Oscar just goes to sleep. Before the Oscar and the other cichlids would fight when the lights went off. I think I will just leave the tank alone for now and see what happens.

Thanks for all of your replies. I think I am just being a paranoid mommy. After all this is my first cichlid experience (I have had him for 1.5 years and have only been keeping fish for 2 years). I don't think I could handle having a more aggressive fish. I would just be worried all the time. I bet if someone else was watching them they would think I was crazy and had the most mellow Oscar.

[optix]

hehe no biggie, you sound like a very responsible fish keeper, your oscar should be proud :), he'll have a great life, yeah just let em be, they'll be fine. Nothing wrong with worrying, at least you aren't one of the people on here stuffing jacks and oscars into a 20 gallon or something. You're just concerend about your prize beauty. Totally normal

[Lynsey]

Thanks. I feel better. I try to be responsible. Since I got this tank about 1.5 years ago, I have never had a fish die. I had 3 congo tetras and 2 giant danios get murdered/eaten but that's it. My Oscar has only had one injury when he was 3" and a JD I had bit his fin. The JD was removed the next day. Other then that my Oscar has been in perfect condition and totally spoiled rotten. :) As you can see the pleco is in great condition too. The pleco has only had small tears in his tail, but that is from him spraying gravel all over the place and completely rearranging my tank with his tail. I even had to raise the filter intakes because he was flinging so much gravel in the filter. So his wounds are self inflicted because he is weird. :p

[optix]

Yeah personally I wouldn't worry about the silver dollars either, that 75 is enough space for what you have in there. I'd just keep it how it is, and please don't add a convict hehe, your oscar is gorgeous and a convict would give it a nice beating. You have a great setup as it is now, your fish will have plenty of years ahead of them with their current situation

[Lynsey]

Thanks. Your last post will help me sleep well tonight. :) I think they will be fine too. But I will still keep my fingers crossed............it couldn't hurt right ;)

[optix]

Any cichlid keeper has their fingers crossed;), only because like you said, it couldn't hurt to be cautious :). Good luck with your fish and enjoy

[dcallen]

Lynsey,

Those are really beautiful fish you have there. I just started a Cichlid tank about 3 weeks ago. I hope I have as much success as you have had, my last experience was not a pleasant one. I wish you continued success. By the way how are they doing together now?



-Don..

[jimbo]

I think they're only trying to establish and maintain some kind of hierarchy.
Every time you take out or add a new fish they have to re-establish their place again.
So I think there’s not much to worry about.

Jimmy

[H8Parrotfish 13]

Maybe you should toss in another Oscar? Or introduce some Chocolate Cichlids. After they become fed up with the bullying the Oscar would stop it's ground.

I had Oscars with GT's in my 75 gl and they were fine. As long as there was established territory and daily feedings.

At the LFS I used to work for they had large Oscars with Angelfish and Uaru's around the same size in a 125 gl. If anything I heard Uaru's and Oscars devolop similar traits when juvi's to adult hood.

Also it's the one fish that would leave my "Common Oscar" cruise without getting into confrontation.

What do you feed your oscar?

[goldfries]

my Oscar (9") is living fine with a Severum(green, 6") and lady Convict (2"). occasional chases but they most times they can stay next to each other like a few inches away, which most times lead to a 1sec chase.

haha. it's fine. the Severum was harrassed by the O for many days. i let them go on for a week or 2, now they're buddies.

[Lynsey]

They seem to be doing great now. I think I will just leave well enough alone. It is also less stress for me. I don't like worrying what I am going to wake up and find (possibly a dead fish). I also like the look of my tank with less fish in it (and less poop :) )

I feed him the famous beefheart mixture (beefheart, shrimp, peas, spinach, pellets, etc.) I also feed cichlid gold pellets, bloodworms, krill, and sinking pellets.

[mickey]

Sure seems like your oscar is spoiled for choice,no wonder he is in such fine condition as the pic above suggests.
Cheers.

[Lynsey]

I just held a measuring tape up to my tank, and the Oscar is at least 11" and almost pushing 12". The thing is my Oscar was totally fine with the Blood Parrot that I had in there (they even grew up together) until a few months ago. From what I have read, and gotten from others is that the adult Oscar temperment changes and often they decide that they want the tank to themselves. With this in mind I added the JD which turned out to be too aggressive for my Oscar, and I just couldn't let my Oscar get beat up. So for now he is my solo spoiled brat. :)

[ChilDawg]

Eh, it's good for their egos. I'd keep an O solo with some dithers and a Plec, too!