Oscar tank-mates?

[thepandafactor]

What fish can I keep with Oscars in a 100 gallon tank? Currently there are no plants but if they could help me keep some smaller fishes, that would be useful also. And has anyone had success with keeping a large amount of a feeder fish like Guppies with Oscars, and just hope they can reproduce faster than the Oscars will eat them?

[jaxmom293]

I don't know about the tankmates but I suggest you keep the feeder fish in a 10 gallon tank. You have a better chance of them surviving and reproducing in that then in with the oscars.

[RazzleFish]

Silver dollars and plecos make good tankmates for oscars.

[ianab]

Trying to keep feeders like guppies will only work for a couple of months, till the Oscar gets big enough to eat the adults. Then they will all be toast. My guy is about 7" and would eat an adult guppy.

Tankmates that will survivie?

Things that wont fit in it's mouth. In that size tank, a pleco or some other big catfish. Some BIG silver dollars. Another big SA cichlid like a Jack Dempsey. Maybe slightly smaller but tough cichlids like a Convict.

My Oscar lives with a big Sailfin Pleco, and they get along OK, but the pleco is the boss.

Ian

[colleen0309]

my oscars were 10". i dropped 100 feeder goldfish in the tank and within an hour all I had left were 3 very fat oscars

[67chevelle]

Don't give your oscars feeders. They are prone to cause disease in the fish that eat them.Hole in the head,(HITH) is quite common in oscars,and feeders may contribute to that. If you really feel the need to feed your fish live food,crickets and worms are a much better choice.

As far as tankmates. Silver dollars would probably be your best choice. Adding another large cichlid could lead to fighting. Not worth it IMO. You would need a bigger tank to have more cichlids.

[excuzzzeme]

Don't give your oscars feeders. They are prone to cause disease in the fish that eat them.Hole in the head,(HITH) is quite common in oscars,and feeders may contribute to that. If you really feel the need to feed your fish live food,crickets and worms are a much better choice.

As far as tankmates. Silver dollars would probably be your best choice. Adding another large cichlid could lead to fighting. Not worth it IMO. You would need a bigger tank to have more cichlids.

I agree. I keep Silver Dollars, convicts (both pink and zebras), large plecos (sailfin and common)and some borleyi with my Oscars which range in size from 6" to 14".

I also breed guppies with culls going to the O's. Feeding O's live food is NOT recommended.

[msjinkzd]

I like polypterus with my oscar. A delhezi works well and is a really interesting fish.

[jasonG75]

As far as plants go, fake plants are the only ones that will work. Oscars LOVE redecorating a tank. So give him things to play with.

[GoldLenny]

What fish can I keep with Oscars in a 100 gallon tank? Currently there are no plants but if they could help me keep some smaller fishes, that would be useful also. And has anyone had success with keeping a large amount of a feeder fish like Guppies with Oscars, and just hope they can reproduce faster than the Oscars will eat them?

How many Oscars do you have? I know lots of folks say you can keep an Oscar in a 55G tank but that really isn't big enough. For long term... and especially if you want to keep some other fish in the 100G, I would only keep ONE Oscar. If you already have two, then I would not add any other fish.

Keep up with your tank maintenance on at least a weekly basis and the Oscars will have a better chance of growing to full size (not be stunted) and not have all of the common health issues that happen to Oscars kept in undersized tanks or in overstocked conditions.

[nickel.nine]

i have successfully kept oscars with jaguars and jack dempseys

[ianab]

i have successfully kept oscars with jaguars and jack dempseys

In a big enough tank :)

In a 55gal, not so good

Ian

[nickel.nine]

In a big enough tank :)

In a 55gal, not so good

Ian

very true!