Oscars & JD's...and possible tankmates?

[bjsocialist]

Hi there,

I currently have an Oscar, a Jack Dempsey and a Pleco. They are all co-existing very well right now, except my Oscar ate my old Pleco last week(He swears it was only by accident :D ), so I got another, bigger one.

I'll be upgrading to a 55 gallon tank in a few weeks, and I was thinking of getting a fourth fish. Either a Chocolate Cichlid or another Oscar.

Can I do so comfortably, with the three fish I have already?

If not, could I get another fish type that has the longevity of a JD and an Oscar(12-15 years)? If so, could you suggest one?

[Gunnie]

From all that I have read, the bare minimum for an oscar alone is a 55 gal. tank. I currently have 2 oscars and 2 JD's plus a large pleco in a 100 gal. tank. They seem to be okay, but some people say my tank is overstocked, and I wonder if I'm going to have to give up one of my oscars because they spar a lot. The problem with most of the 55 gal. tanks and oscars is that full grown oscars can grow so big that they can't turn around in the 12 in. wide tank without rubbing against the sides. You may want to consider at least a 75 gal. tank for the fish you already have if you can swing it. You won't be disappointed! :p

[NickH]

Agree with everything said above. A standard 75 gallon tank should be your minimum consideration. If you aren't prepared for that, think about giving the Oscar back to the store. Even with a 75, you won't be able to put much else in there. Maybe some target fish, etc. With your interest in fish, you are wasting your time and money purchasing a 55, IMO.

[bjsocialist]

Well, I've decided to go with a 77 gallon tank, and in it I will have:

1 Oscar
1 Jack Dempsey
1 Green Terror
1 Pictus Catfish
and 1 Sailfin Pleco

[Gunnie]

You may want to do a little more research on the pictis cat before you get one. I think they get a little big, and I think they like to school. Not sure though.

[bjsocialist]

I've done my research on all of the ones I've mentioned.

Pictus Catfish tend to get to between 5-9 inches in an aquarium, but in the wild they've been seen as large as 24 inches.

And, yes, they do tend to prefer that there's at least one another Pictus Catfish in the tank besides themselves, but they will school with other fish in the tank too. I've actually noticed that my Pictus is following my Jack Dempsey around right now.

So, I'll probably end up getting one more Pictus Catfish, also because I really think they're quite beautiful fish.

[Gunnie]

Sounds like a great tank. I know I love mine! :)

[bjsocialist]

I'm really quite excited to get the bigger tank! I already have all the fish in my 33 gallon, and I'm amazed at how beautiful the Pictus Catfish is. It's long barbels are just awesome!

The Green Terror and Oscar were puffing out and chasing each other a bit yesterday, but that's probably just because of the tank size. They both seem to have worked out their differences now, because they are currently side by side, eating breakfast together.

It's quite funny, actually, that the Jack Dempsey seems to be the most shy fish in the tank. The Pictus has been attempting to school with it, I think, and the Jack Dempsey doesn't know what to do.

I'm still deciding whether to get another Pictus, or maybe another catfish of similar size. I'm just trying to avoid any breedings right now.

[SayersWeb]

I wouldn't add any until the new tank. You will be very happy you went for the bigger tank!!

[bjsocialist]

I certainly hope so. And I hope the fish will be happy too!