tankmates for an Oscar fish??

L

luvmyfish

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Jun 27, 2005
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I am getting ready to upgrade my Oscar(he's roughly 31/2") to his 35 gallon tank(don't worry I know they get huge, and have a 55 gallon he'll move into at a later time...and eventually he'll go in a hundred gallon) anyway, Once i get the upgrade set up I want to get some tank mates. I really like the Jack Dempsey...is this a good combination? My biggest concern I guess is that Oscars fair well in softer waters while the Jack in slightly hard water...any advice?
any suggestions for other tankmates?
any advice would be appreciated :idea:
how about a pair of peacock eels?
 
Once hes in a 100gallon tank you could try another oscar, or there are a variety of other species. Chocolate cichlids, severums, sp. green terrors, are some of the common fish that do well with oscars. Alot of species are found in the same waters as oscars so you can do alot with them once in the larger tank. For now I would just keep the single oscar you have. Grow him out solo and add him to the big tank when you get it.
 
I would agree with waiting until the upgrade, it will only be a month or two before he outrgrows a 55g anyhow. I have had good luck with JD's and Oscars together, but you still may have issues. Most american cichlids are even tempered in good conditions and big enough tanks, but they are big powerful fish that can be ferocious when they get an attitude. Each individual may or may not be compatable.

More importantly, I firmly believe that the reputation for aggressiveness is caused more by crowded condidtions than anything. when you give these fish space and some decor, they tend to get along better IMO.
So with that said, My suggestion would be skip the 55g stage, and get the 100g or bigger ASAP. Put in a dempsey and let him get used to the surroundings then add the presumably bigger Oscar. You should be fine.
Dave
 
yah id be carefull about the green terror and oscar......and make sure the oscar is larger...cause i put a oscar in my 125 with my green terror and the gt tore the lil oscar up......and this wasent a baby oscar....like 3 inch oscar
 
Thanks for the replies guys! :dance2:
The only problem with the 100 gallon is my turts. get it first, then when I get their pond built, my oscar will get the 100 gallon...in the meantime I gotta get him outta that 10 and into the 35(once I get the turts. situated in their upgrade I'll upgrade him to the 55, about a month or so)
once I get the 55 set up, would that be large enough to add a JD and a Severum? You don't think the 35 would sustain a 3 1/2" oscar, a 2" JD and a 2 1/2 severum for a month or two? How about the oscar and just a severum?
My concern with waiting to get the JD and Severum until I get the 100 set up is that won't be for at least another 6 mos. or more and I heard(don't know if it's true or not) that if you wait too long to add tank mates they sorta get too used to living alone and become even more territorial??
Sorry about the long reply....thanks for taking the time to read :)
 
lumyfish said:
too long to add tank mates they sorta get too used to living alone and become even more territorial??
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I haven't heard of this, but I understand your concern. There is quite a delicate juggling act you need to perform in order for this group to work.

Dave and psychadelicrea gave you very good advice. Wait on the tanks mates. You hands will be full keeping the water quality good in a 35g tank, with a decent sized juvenile oscar.

If it's going to be around 6 months until you can put your oscar in the 100g, he'll be a fairly large oscar by then; around 8-10" (they grow around 1"+ each month in their first year of life). You're going to need all the room you can get for him in the meantime.

So, I suggest you get him in the 55g asap, and when the 100g is ready for him, find the largest severum and or JD you can find, but make sure the JD is smaller than the oscar and the severum.

You need to make sure the severum and the JD are large enough to not get eaten, but you also need to make sure the JD isn't large enough to bully the oscar or the severum. So you really want to find a severum that's close to the oscars size, and a JD that's a few inches smaller.

Good luck,
Serg
 
my LFS keeps oscars with rainbows. he says as long as they are roughly the same size and they are in a school, theyll be fine
 
Thank you so much for the info. guys! ;)
I had no idea my Oscar would grow so fast!
So...now I'm thinking...I also have a 30 gallon i'm going to be setting up...I haven't decided yet what I'm going to have in there...maybe...I can get my severum, and JD and raise them in the 30 while I'm waiting on the 100 gallon?
Would a say 31/2" Severum, and a 2" JD do all right in a 30 together? This way they can do some growing before putting them with the oscar(I prefer to buy my fish as babies)
What do you guys think? I'll have driftwood, lots plants and a cave.
YOUR guys' input is sooooooooo appreciated!
thanks again!
 
I have some huge GT males and they dont get along whith oscars.....My experince of oscar are:Its a big fish.but weak...no C/a no Gt and red terrors....just cool fish like severums,chocolate.
 
luvmyfish said:
maybe...I can get my severum, and JD and raise them in the 30 while I'm waiting on the 100 gallon?
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I had thought about this during my last reply, because I like buying young fish and raisingthem as well.

But I figured you would have your hands full taking care of the oscar and rearranging everything else.

I'm not 100% on the growth rate of the severum and the JD, but I imagine it's not as fast as an oscars, but they will still grow a reasonable ammount in 6 months with proper care.

I would say go for it, just try to get them in the biggest tank possible, as soon as possible. Also, you'll need to be wary of aggression from the JD towards the young severum.

HTH,
Serg
 
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