Unusual tankmate for an oscar.?

Question

What's unusual for an oscar's tankmate.He's ablino and about a fooltong.(Or bigger).He's going to a 110 costomized tank this week though.What can I get.10 Point's for best answer.

forget what the other stuff says,I just want to know what I can put in a 110gal tank with a huge oscar.THe best answer gets 10 points.

forget what the other stuff says,I just want to know what I can put in a 110gal tank with a huge oscar.Things like freshwater lobsters or other inverts.The best answer gets 10 points.

Answer 1

First, Oscars are territorial, not necessarily aggressive, so Texas Cichlids are NOT a good idea... They get huge and can rip an Oscar to shreds if they so choose. Second, invertebrates like Shrimp are a natural prey for Oscars, so unless you are buying feeder Ghost Shrimp with the intent of replacing them every few days, I'd avoid shrimp... Snails could be okay for a little while, but it's likely that the Oscar would play with them by picking them up and moving them around, and possible swallowing them. Fast moving, peaceful fish like Rainbowfish are nice (12 Rainbows would be cool, and the schooling effect would deter the Oscar from attacking them). Smaller Loaches like Yo-yo Loaches (5 inches) or Angelicus Botia (5 inches would be nice in a large shoal of 7ish. They are extremely fast, and could easily escape the Oscar if they needed to. They also have personalities similar to Oscars (they recognize their owners, like to dig, and can easily be hand fed). Avoid small fish, avoid aggressive fish, and avoid shrimp, and really, you should be just fine.

Soop Nazi

EDIT: While a Betta may work with a select few Oscars, more likely than not, it will end up on the menu after the first week or two...

Answer 2

I agree with the person that said it may become territorial. I had an oscar that grew up in a tank with various other fish, severums, parrot fish, cory cats, loaches, etc. He was fine with the tank mates he had, but I could never add a new fish, he'd eat them. I agree also that any other type of cichlid you add, even a peaceful one like a severum is going to cause a problem in the tank. I think you should look into a different type of pleco, one of the more unique(and expensive) varieties, not the common ones. I'm not an expert on those guys, very rarely get to see anything other then the common ones around here. I do recall almost buying I think it was a vampire pleco? Really neat looking! Here's a link with some photos:

http://www.plecofanatics.com/

I was also thinking a couple of clown loaches might work as well. Definitely get some larger then 2 inches though, the 3-4 inch range is much easier to keep alive then the smaller ones, and they'll eventually grow to about 12 inches, though very slowly. The oscar shouldn't be threatened by them at all, they'll stay towards the bottom. A couple of pictus cats might work as well. They'll stay at the bottom, and just swim back and forth-hopefully your tank is long, they do have sharp barbs on them though so they shouldn't be netted out of the tanks, need to scoop them out. They grow to about 6 inches. Neat fish, I loved mine and my oscar or my red devil didn't mess with them. But again, may be different with yours, just depends on it's personality.

Answer 3

The only think Ive ever seen in a tank with a large oscar is a fairly large pleco, or some kind of loach. My LFS has a huge oscar in a 150gallon with an 8-10 inch pleco, 4 yoyo loaches, and a kuhli loach, but there are lots of hiding places for the loaches (actually, you can hardly ever see the kuhli, he buries himself).

From my own experience, Ive never had an oscar, but the one at the shop is awesome. His name is Bruce and if you put your hand in the tank, he rolls over because he wants belly rubs. Also, I adore yoyos. They are the funniest little fish. They dance and play and are just a delight to watch. Even if you cant put them in a tank with the oscar, Id get a smaller tank and just have some loaches in it;)

Answer 4

my oscars are about 4 -5 inches long and currently live with my smaller large mouth bass. Now the bass will need about 200-300 gallon range where the oscar is fine in a 110.

Answer 5

for something odd that won't be bothered by a oscar some kind of invertebrate of bottom feeder would be best.

plecos are an easy thing to keep with an oscar as they generally avoid other fish and get large enough to not be bothered by big fish. plecos also come in some really strange varieties! since your fish is already so large, if you want a pleco you should get one that is already pretty big. if your LFS doesn't have one try here:
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwcatfishp

you could also try some inverebrates but you couldn't get anyhting too small. a large crayfish could work. again aquabid is a good source:
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwinverts

Answer 6

if you had an excellent filter you could rehome one of the many unwanted large common plecs out there.

other fish depend on your oscar, as he's already pretty big he's not going to take that kindly to new tankmates in his new shiny territory. oscars can work with jack dempseys, convicts, tin foil barbs, silver dollars, clown loaches, pictus catfish and bala sharks.

Answer 7

Oscars tend to be territorial. My best answer would be a plecostamus, algae eater. They get pretty big. Or you can try firemouth cichlids, convict cichlid, pacus, jack dempsy, texas cichlid or large catfish. I think as long as they are about the same size it should be okay.

Answer 8

there is no such thing as a 40 lb oscar. the only cichlid that might be capable of almost reaching that weight is a tanganikan emperor cichlid. your oscar is fine in his current tank. for an oddball tankmate... perhaps clown loaches?

Answer 9

Please consider the final size of an oscar. The largest one I saw weighed 40 pounds. The tank you are getting will prpbably be too small in a few years. If you must get a tankmate, a cichlid of equal size might survive.

Answer 10

i knew some one that kept a black moore with a oscar,auratus are odd tank mates but can be kept.angel fish and even a betta have been known to be kept with oscars and survived