I know it's probably been hashed over, but are there any smaller, fast fish that will be able to stay with an oscar?
oscar companions
- Thread starter chickenlady
- Start date
Many people keep giant danios with oscars but mainly as dithers. Once the oscar gets large enough to eat one it will try to. It will be hard for the oscar to catch the giant danios because they are very agile and fast swimmers but eventually they will tire and the oscar may be able to pick it off.
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I have those. I also have denison barbs, black neons, guppys, rosy barbs, and platys in there. I know that it was a bad idea to let myself get talked into buying the little guy, but have wanted one for awhile, and the price was right. I have a 37 bowfront sitting empty, so I am already thinking about setting it back up. But I think one oscar in a 100 gal. tank with some BNs and a couple rope fish will look so empty, even when it grows up.
I wouldn't opt for giant danios. Could have been mine but found them to be a bit aggressive. The best fish I ever found for Oscar companions are larger plecos (Pterygoplichthys Disnjunctivus*) can get to 18" is armored and not likely to lose to an Oscar nor are they aggressive. The fastest fish is the Silver Dollar. They are very fast and high stress. You might say neurotic (like a chihuahua), skittish. They do best in groups of 6. They are predominately herbivores but mine eat any fish food I drop in. For some reason, mine seem to like catfish pellets over plants, which they will eat. Plecos and Oscars can be real klutzy and don't recommend plants with them. Mine kept uprooting plants - the Oscar to redecorate and the pleco when it foraged for food. I kept a sizable chunk of driftwood mainly for the pleco and they both took turns pushing it around the tank as some sort of territory marker.
Oscars will eat anything they can get in their mouths.
* Note: Petco and Petsmart often call them common plecos and size them incorrectly. They claim they stay small and that couldn't be more wrong. Sometimes they call them algae eater plecos. They will only eat some algae when young. The older the get the more carnivore they become. They do NOT eat detritus, ever.
Oscars will eat anything they can get in their mouths.
* Note: Petco and Petsmart often call them common plecos and size them incorrectly. They claim they stay small and that couldn't be more wrong. Sometimes they call them algae eater plecos. They will only eat some algae when young. The older the get the more carnivore they become. They do NOT eat detritus, ever.
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Thanks. I really don't like silver dollars. Ok, well, will my 3 denison barbs be ok with him till he grows a bit? And then if I have to, will they be able to live in a 37 bowfront? Of all my fish, those are my favs, and have seen them get pretty large.
The Denison Barbs aka Roseline sharks will attain a size of 6" I have 11 of them and they get a little rotund in size so they should be fine as long as they are full size when the Oscar is mature, Roselines grow fast if fed a couples times a day and should be fast enough to stay away from an Oscar..
A 37 gal is too small for just the Denison Barbs without the Oscar.
For the Oscar alone, I would have nothing smaller then a 55.
For the Oscar alone, I would have nothing smaller then a 55.
Ok, that is good news anyways. I have them in my 100 gal. ATM. Was only going to move them if they may have been on the eat list.
Oscars need a 75 at minimum. This is a fish that can get in excess of 18 inches although that is quite rare. They almost always (unless stunted)grow in excess of the 13" a 55 is. That will limit their freedom of movement. Since your tank is 100 gallons (assuming it is 72 x 18 it would be fine). Oscars grow in spurts. At least all mine did. It didn't take them long to become the top fish in the tank. I would not put 3, 6" fish in a 37. Although they may fit size-wise, it is not enough water for them and would require constant water changes to manage the water parameters. I would consider a 55 at the smallest. To be safe, I would probably go with a 75 for them also. I hope you can work out something for them. 4, 6"+ fish in a 100 is doable providing you have enough filtration. I used a homemade wet/dry capable of handling 200 gallon tank for 3 Oscars in a 125+.
Id say for a oscar community youd need at least 100 gallons. The bigger you can get the better. Oscar are huge... And so is their waste. Trust me. I agree they do grow in spouts. When i was still getting used to the hobby i had an oscar in a 40 breeder and it was quickly the biggest fish in the tank. You would need good filteration and maintain a good maintaince schedule to keep everything in check.
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