Hello. I kept my Oscar Big Boy in a 125. There wasn't room for anything else.
Oscar tankmates.
- Thread starter Ammon
- Start date
I keep my Oscar with 6 large ($$) Roseline sharks and 2 large SAE's. They are all 5-6 inches, and full-bodied. With that said...if he wanted to make a snack out of them....I'm sure he could. Thankfully he hasn't yet. (Knock on wood).
With that said...mine are in a 180, and I really think a 125 is bare minimum for a full sized O. When I upgraded him to a 180 from a 125....his overall behavior changed for the better. I know you may not want to hear it, but I think a larger tank may be better suited for your goals to be successful.
With that said...mine are in a 180, and I really think a 125 is bare minimum for a full sized O. When I upgraded him to a 180 from a 125....his overall behavior changed for the better. I know you may not want to hear it, but I think a larger tank may be better suited for your goals to be successful.
I'm with
Jexnell
on this. Before you get more fish, you need more gallons.
Silver Dollars make good dithers largely because their disc-like shape makes them more difficult to swallow than slender torpedoes like Roseline Sharks. But dithers aren't a necessity in most tanks; dither fish are used to entice overly-shy and retiring fish into "coming out of their shells" by showing that there is nothing to fear. There is likely no fish in existence that needs less help in that area than an Oscar!
People get "dithers" because they just want to look at them, not because they actually perform a necessary function in most cases. A tank with just a big Oscar and big Pleco functions just fine, and IMHO looks great as well.
And don't delude yourself into believing that a well-kept Oscar is going to stop at a mere foot in length. They get considerably longer...and of course taller, wider and more massive...than that, and they do it quickly. You may think your tank is too sparsely populated when you get a small Oscar, but it won't be for long.
Look up pics of nice mature Oscars like those owned by
DawnMichele
(Big Boy) and
FINWIN
(Brick) before you decide your tank isn't full enough with just a single Oscar and Pleco.
Jexnell
on this. Before you get more fish, you need more gallons.Silver Dollars make good dithers largely because their disc-like shape makes them more difficult to swallow than slender torpedoes like Roseline Sharks. But dithers aren't a necessity in most tanks; dither fish are used to entice overly-shy and retiring fish into "coming out of their shells" by showing that there is nothing to fear. There is likely no fish in existence that needs less help in that area than an Oscar!
People get "dithers" because they just want to look at them, not because they actually perform a necessary function in most cases. A tank with just a big Oscar and big Pleco functions just fine, and IMHO looks great as well.
And don't delude yourself into believing that a well-kept Oscar is going to stop at a mere foot in length. They get considerably longer...and of course taller, wider and more massive...than that, and they do it quickly. You may think your tank is too sparsely populated when you get a small Oscar, but it won't be for long.
Look up pics of nice mature Oscars like those owned by
DawnMichele
(Big Boy) and
FINWIN
(Brick) before you decide your tank isn't full enough with just a single Oscar and Pleco.
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Thanks for the mention.I'm with
Silver Dollars make good dithers largely because their disc-like shape makes them more difficult to swallow than slender torpedoes like Roseline Sharks. But dithers aren't a necessity in most tanks; dither fish are used to entice overly-shy and retiring fish into "coming out of their shells" by showing that there is nothing to fear. There is likely no fish in existence that needs less help in that area than an Oscar!
People get "dithers" because they just want to look at them, not because they actually perform a necessary function in most cases. A tank with just a big Oscar and big Pleco functions just fine, and IMHO looks great as well.
And don't delude yourself into believing that a well-kept Oscar is going to stop at a mere foot in length. They get considerably longer...and of course taller, wider and more massive...than that, and they do it quickly. You may think your tank is too sparsely populated when you get a small Oscar, but it won't be for long.
Look up pics of nice mature Oscars like those owned by
I think you know the answer from the posts above… you could definitely do a few blood parrots with schooling fish though.
I've had that combo wth success. But keep in mind parrots are thick and can get pretty hefty, 6-10 inches. They have considerable bioload too. A 125 isn't as big when you have hunky fish that make a lot of waste. I currently have three parrots in the 8-9 inch range (one is my avatar Boss).
My Oscar Brick was pushing 4lbs and could foul a 225 in just over a week. So consider volume along with filtration, territory and space. Oscars don't like being crowded. I had an emergency situation where I housed my oscar with other fish in a spare bath tub. Brick ripped apart a full sized syno catfish, broke his back, gutted and peeled with an eye and fins missing. So beware.
