Wilsta Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 tank is 75g? my oscar is currently 6" if anyone could give me some advice on what fish are suitable tankmates it would be greatly appreciated thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chester Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 Previous post on Oscar tankmates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OziOscar Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 Check out http://www.oscarfish.com... they have Oscar specific FAQS there. Cheers - OziOscar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
searlesy Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 Just to add something to the other thread, I have a chocolate cichlid, about 8 or 9 inches, in with a pair of oscars at about 11ish inches each, and they all get along swimmingly, so to speak. Just on the size of the tank, my oscar went from about 2 inches, to its current size of about a foot in less than 2 years, and is now housed in a 5' x 20" x 20", which I think is still a bit small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilsta Posted February 16, 2004 Author Share Posted February 16, 2004 I am thinking on putting maybe a gold severum and a blue acara in with my oscar in my 75g tank... would you think they would get along peacefully or would you suggest i go with something different. In the stores (Lams Aquarium, Parramatta) i see GT, Dempseys, in with the o's and they seem to be getting along okay.. and its the same sized tank too! what about firemouths or Silver Dollars... i just dont want one tank one oscar! any advice would be appreciated. I am not getting a pleco just yet i may get it a little later when the tank is a little more established. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OziOscar Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 If you see something in a store that is getting on well, it might continue to do so. Sevs and Acaras should be OK. I've not tried it but they're both relatively peaceful. However, cichlids being cichlids, it can change at a moment's notice and one will beat the other one up nicely. With Os, it's unpredictable. If you can have one without troubles, two will probably give problems as one will want to be Alpha-fish... and best of all is about six where there's not enough aggro to go around but there still is a pecking order. Classic example: Two young Os (about 6") in a tank at an LFS. One becomes alpha within a few hours, so the other is cowering in the corner. In the next partition, there's a 10" female. Alpha boy and are are trying to lip-lock through the glass and making a whole lot of noise doing it. Have you thought about maybe another O and some dither fish (say silver dollars)? If you can get one that's about the same size as your current one and put in an eggcrate partition while you find out if they're compatible then add the silvers after. The silvers make great dithers as they're far too fast for the Os to nail them. Still - lots of choices out there. Cheers - OziOscar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilsta Posted February 16, 2004 Author Share Posted February 16, 2004 Thanks for your reply Ozi, I started out with two o's until one of them as you said became the alpha fish and beat the crap out of the other one, luckily i removed it but unfortunately the wounds were too much and died about 3-4 weeks later... but this is my current situation i am upgrading to a 75g this week to house my o, but after letting it cycle for a few weeks i want to introduce the O with a few other fish so it cant claim the tank. would it matter what size the blue acara and severum are? my o is 6" any thing too small and it may think its food. 3" is a minimum would you say? So what do you think? I think i might just have to give it a go and see what happens.. and let you guys in on how it all went. what other dither fish could i use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OziOscar Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 NP, wilsta... happy to try to give you some info. Think of it this way - anything that goes into your O's tank that will fit in her mouth will, sooner or later. She has hit the end of her growth spurt, more or less so the 3" should be OK. Just keep an eye on them and get ready to whack a divider in just in case. The blue and the sev and the O should all be OK. They're pretty laid back and the O is just dead lazy unless it's hungry. Other dithers? How about Balas, Clown Loach, Silver Shark? Pretty much anything with either a good temperament with a mean streak that only comes out when it's really narked or something that moves like greased lightning... and in both cases it shouldn't fit into Os mouth. I don't know what is readily available in 4"+ schooling SA barbs and the like, but that's the target group. They're quick, look pretty good and if you're lucky you might get some offspring to get a little moolah back out of this project. If you're really keen and can swing it, a batch of same sex convicts should be OK. If you get a mixed batch, as soon as they get into breeding mode then the O is going to get hammered. Badly. IMO, the sev, blue acara and O should make a nice set up, even without dithers. To me, SDs aren't that attractive, but they serve a good purpose in helping keep the peace. Cheers - OziOscar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
searlesy Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Just on the dithers, I had been told that Rainbows make good dithers, but from my experience, they dont, I had some which were about 4 inches long (cant remember which type of rainbow) that I put in with my pair of nearly 12 inch oscars, and they were very much appreaciated. I have used Arulius barbs as dithers, and they do quite a good job, the ones I have are smaller than the Rainbows were, but still continue to survive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barca888 Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Putting fish in with Oscars is highly unpredictable. They seem to know stupidity and stressed fish in an instant. Since i have a lack of room i have some africans and americans living in a 6fter. I introduced my latest lab and the oscar doesnt even notice it (fits in its mouth with room to spare). I introduced a smallish 6 cm red head cichlid and my oscar tried to eat it within seconds even when the smaller electric yellow is within grasping distance. If you are gonna place anything in the tank be prepared to give it good hiding spots. I used to buy smaller fish and hope they are smart enough like the yellows to not get eaten however this is sadly not the case. Just buy a larger acara or severum and hope they get along My oscars are fully grown by the way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilsta Posted February 19, 2004 Author Share Posted February 19, 2004 This is what i am going to do... i am going to have a 6 week introductionary period after i cycle the new tank i plan to get next thursday.... which will take approximately a month or so i plan to purchase both a gold Severum and a blue acara... and maybe 3 or so silver sharks or Silver Dollars (as dithers) and put them in the new tank after about a two weeks of settling in i am planning on putting the oscar in the tank... I really have no idea what his reaction is going to be hopefully he leaves the acara and severum alone and if is interested in chasing down the silver sharks/dollars cause they are extremely quick let it be but in the case he does have a go at the acara and severum il leave the tank the oscar was in previously to put the acara or severum in, i know this is all talk but i have to ready for what may take place.... but i hope he leaves all of them alone... and when the silver do there job i may return them but if they do keep the peace in the tank i may just hold on to them any suggestions appreciated!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OziOscar Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Just make sure that the Oscar is the last one in (owing to size), and as you add each fish, re-arrange the decor so that any territories are removed / relocated. Lots of luck. Cheers - OziOscar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilsta Posted February 29, 2004 Author Share Posted February 29, 2004 hey guys, got my new oscar a tank!! i bought a dark gravel and a rocky background today, and planning on purchasing some decorations however where is a good cheap place for rocks and driftwood and why on earth are they so expensive at aquariums!!!! i havent tried hardware stores such as bunnings or nurseries any good place where to look? more so for rocks than for driftwood just on silver dollars i was looking at them today in the store they are quite aggressive arent they? do they also seem to have a pecking order? If i were to get some silver dollars (as dithers) how many would you advise me on getting? 3 - 4. next on the agenda is a canister filter and then its all in the process to get the tank to cycle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilsta Posted March 5, 2004 Author Share Posted March 5, 2004 Well i bought a cannister filter it is a Aqua one CF1200 just a quick question regarding such filters what sort of media should i use in it atm i have ceramic tubes and bio balls and active carbon the lfs suggested i move to peat later on, and remove the carbon, but carbon is good for a new aquaria. The tank is coming along slowly, i plan to let it settle for atleast a month before i move the oscar into his new home. Would you suggest me get some hardy fish to kick start the cycling process? i have a betta female in small tank here should i use her as the canary? It still looks fairly bare i could do with some rocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bungholio Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 yeh you can put your fish in there and it will be fine as the amount of waste is minimal... it will also help cycle the tank, good idea! i added mollies into my new tank 1 at a time and they were fine.. and betta's are hardier than mollies too! my old betta male got a 100% water change weekly as i didnt know that was bad, he did fine. hth adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bru55el Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 has anyone tried keeping silver scats with their oscar and if so how did that go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilsta Posted March 7, 2004 Author Share Posted March 7, 2004 i have never seen scats with oscars before... so i wouldnt know if it were possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snipes Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 i've been thinking about keeping a few albino oscars with silver dollars, some red scats, a gibbicep plec and a common plec (been living together since 2inches) in a 6x2x2 i have cycling as i type.... think that will work? Can anyone recommend any other fish that might go well in that setup?? cheers luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agro77 Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 large silver sharks + 15cm at least. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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