Oscar tankmates

Q&A about South American Cichlids

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buffy1270
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:05 pm

Oscar tankmates

Post by buffy1270 »

Hi Pam. I have another 125 gallon tank. I have one juvenile oscar in it right now. I had two but one was beating up the other. I traded the aggressor in to the LFS. Do you have any ideas on what would be the best tankmate, if any, for my oscar in this size tank? I was thinking of a Chocolate cichlid, a severum or maybe some firemouth cichlids (how many could I put in if I got the firemouths by the way?). I just don't want the oscar or the other type of fish I put in to be beaten up or killed. So two questions: Which would be the best tankmate or should I leave the oscar along? AND If firemouths are recommended, how many of them could I have in this tank with the oscar? Thanks.

Karen
Pam Chin
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Re: Oscar tankmates

Post by Pam Chin »

Hi Buffy,

Oscars are from South America, so you would want to try and add fish from that area. Firemouths are Central American and have different requirements, so they are not a good mix.

Oscars are brutal, to each other and to other fish. Not to mention, they are dirty and sloppy, lots of tank maintenance work required to keep them. So are you sure you really want to keep them?? It is not uncommon to add fish and the oscar(s) will eventually eat and terrorize them. Oscars are really common, and there are so many other cool cichlids out there, so just think about that, and make sure you really want to work with them.

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