Oscars and Striped Raphael Catfish

[StripedRaphCat1234$]

Hello everyone! I have a 55 gallon tank that I'm having trouble stocking. I currently have many fish in the tank but I'm thinking about downsizing the fish count to just two fish. Could a Striped Raphael Catfish (mostly full grown or completely full grown) live with an Oscar in my tank? Thank you!

P.S. I'm NOT willing (like 100%, non-debatable, set in stone etc.) to get rid of my Striped Raphael. I've had too much history with it and love it too much to simply get rid of it, so its the Oscar that can come or go.

P.S.S. If the combo can't work, can y'all give me suggestions on some other fish to stock the tank with? Thanks again!

 

[fishorama]

Welcome to AC!

I loved striped raphael cats, we had 1 of them twice I think. I haven't kept an oscar but full grown a 55 is kinda small for 1 (it's the 12 inch front to back dimension that's difficult for a 10+ inch fish. A 75 or 90g would be better, 18" vs 12").

Maybe a smaller but still "personable" cichid? We kept blue acaras & loved them. Jack Dempseys not quite a much, more aggro & less people interactive as I recall. Maybe a Texas cichlid? Not quite oscar size but big...(do you get our blue fish preference? lol! We never kept a TX either)

Another thought is a blue acara male for prettiness & a male firemouth for some red (there are a few species these days, all similar) & your raph. These 2 or the 1 TX would be my choice.

Since the catfish is pretty much nocturnal he'll need a "cave" to hide in & lights out dinner & maybe 2 more for the 2 cichlids option. We kept our lights on timers so we could have an hour or 2 of striped raph time while we were up & room lights on. Maybe your light has a dimmer or moonlight option? We don't like the very blue moon option on mine, it's "too blue". I'm surprised because we like blue fish, cobalt glassware but it's unnatural & weird to us.

 

[StripedRaphCat1234$]

Thank you F fishorama ! I have been doing extensive research on Oscars all afternoon and I'm beginning to agree, 55 gallons may be too small for an Oscar.

I haven't done much research on Texas Cichlids, I'll look into those more, they are beautiful fish! I had a Firemouth cichlid once, it didn't go very well as I brought it in with African cichlids (I know, rookie mistake! ) and my tank became a battle field. Maybe I'll try a Firemouth with my Raph again.

 

[fishorama]

I have to admit we once had, In a 55g, a pair of blue acaras & a pair of firemouths. Both bred. The acaras held 2/3 of the tank; the fire mouths, 1/3. It worked for a very short time...

Female blue acaras were smaller but still pretty & a bit feisty. Fire mouth girls were...less pretty but not total wimp. I would not recommend this combo in a 55g...it doesn't end well. Males are pretty wimpy without females to impress or fry to protect.

As for your African with CA cichlids, we tried that too Of course it didn't work...that's why there's that (cough) rule, lol, NO continent mixing! Your fish, my fish 40 years ago, it just doesn't work...well maybe with kribensis, not African Lake cichlids...riverine are much less needy & obnoxious...but still...they speak different fish languages. CA cichlids shake their heads & tails & mean "hey baby, lets breed". Africans mean "come any closer & I will kill you!" !...& they mean it!

Since you already have the catfish & love him look at some of my options or others. Just because I've tried a fish combo doesn't mean it's best for your tank. You're doing more research, that's great!

But before you buy, you might run your ideas by us here on AC. Chances are we've tried any combo you can think of...

 

[StripedRaphCat1234$]

I think I've come up with a good fish setup: 1 Green terror, 1 Blood parrot, 2 Striped Raphael Catfish, and Maybe two Blue Acaras

 

[fishorama]

Oops, too many cichlids. I'd skip the parrot, not my thing at all. We never kept green terrors, they seem very similar to blue acaras when small but get much larger I think. Maybe a second cichlid that grows larger than acaras. Severum ( there are several color varieties)? Texas? Do more researching. Like I said, I'm not sure how well a 55g will be for those 8-12 inch cichlids as they grow. They probably don't often grow to 12" but you'll want to have rocks &/or wood to break up the tank into territories. You might be ok with just 1 larger cichlid with the raphs but not an oscar...

Or smaller ciclid with a blue acara.

 

[StripedRaphCat1234$]

So, the Green Terror would fit in my tank as it maxes out at 8 inches. So does the Blood Parrot. I'm having a mental debate whether or not I should do just a Parrot tank or a mixed SA Cichlid tank. Currently I have a Platinum Parrot and I love it, I just think Parrots are so adorably derpy lol.

I've considered Severums before, but I honestly don't really care for them. And as for the Texas, it would have to be a similar set up to if I were to do an Oscar and catfish. Only the Texas and a catfish or two could go in my size of tank as they get up to 12 inches. I'll continue doing research.

 

[fishorama]

I think the "terror" part of that name needs some research. If they're like Dempseys, well, I'm not sure what fish might be compatible long term. Be careful about what sources you believe. I'm sure you can find someone that says what you'd like to hear but if 10 or 20 sites tell you 1 thing for every 1 that says different, hmm, red flags!! It may change the "tank dynamic" with different genders...it can be hard to tell with young fish.

Have a back up plan. A second (maybe larger?) tank? Rehoming the most aggressive? Since you have a parrot look for what fish are compatible, but read many sites. Is your parrot adult or still smaller? It can be hard (or impossible!) to introduce juvenile fish to an adult's tank. I'll say again, I have no experience with parrots or GTs

 

[StripedRaphCat1234$]

I go through probably hundreds of websites for info, along with many books so I'm careful with research (as a matter of fact, I just got a really cool book on fishkeeping for freshwater and saltwater). My platinum parrot I believe around 4 or so inches unlike its larger 8+ inch Blood Parrot cousins. So right now its pretty much maxed. I could easily get a couple more Platinum parrots, the only problem though is that they tend to live around the bottom of the tank and I already have a lot of bottom dwellers, so unless I get rid of most of my bottom dwellers then I need to tread lightly with getting more Platinum Parrots.

Thankfully, I have a backup plan because my local fish store takes in fish (I've already given them a lot of my failed tank experiments lol) and gives me store credit for them.

I keep changing my durn mind about what fish I want. I'm now considering a small school of Discus, or even going back to my original Oscar idea. Maybe even a puffer? Maybe an African Cichlid tank with Yellow Labs?! Gahh so many options

 

[fishorama]

Skip discus, a 55 isn't large enough for a group of 5 or 6. I don't know about those other fish.