You want to have some passive fish in there that will not get in the way of the Oscar fish. Other species you should consider their natures and see if they are appropriate as tank mates for Oscar fish. Blood parrots have similar requirements as Oscars, they prefer temperatures between 75-80 F and pH levels between 6.5-7.5. Basically, whichever fish that can fit into the mouth of your Oscar Fish you should avoid keeping it in the tank. It spends most of it its time in the territory so it will not bother you Oscar Fish. Silver Arowana 10. Why Jack Dempsey is a good tank mate for Oscar fish? You can also feed them plant-based sinking flakes. In terms of lighting, you want to provide Oscar fish with a moderate amount of it. It can grow up to 24 inches so it will not fit into the mouth of your Oscar Fish and get eaten. So for further growth, you will need to keep it in a large tank. Oscar fish can be quite messy. Your email address will not be published. The Oscar fish can be a handful to manage once you have them in your tank, but if you provide them with the right conditions and tank mates, then it can be much easier to handle them. Its pH tolerance range is between 6.5 to 7.5 and it prefers softer water. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We can say that the convict cichlids are quite similar to the Oscar fish in terms of behavior. Heres What To Do, Answered by Dr. Olivia Speight, BVSc MRCVS (Vet), Have a cat? So, in that case, you will have to do water changes more frequently. The ideal water temperatures are 75F to 82F. There are a few signs that suggest low oxygen levels like the fish coming on the surface gasping for air, rapid gills, fish moving around less. On the other hand, delicate and shy fishes like Discus need a quiet environment to flourish and will not compete for food with an Oscar. Oscar Fish can do just fine without any tank mates. There are over 150 species of pleco fish. Water change helps to reduce or increase the temperature in your tank. The latter process is very time-consuming. Therefore, you will want to add a few basic rocks and pieces of driftwood to the mix, just to make them feel at home. Convict Cichlids 3. Convict cichlids dont go grow too large so they dont require a very large tank. Oscar Fish usually dont get lonely and can live happily on their own. Native to Central and East Africa, these air-breathing creatures occupy the lower regions of the tank and do not interfere with Oscars movement in the mid-region. Oscar fish can grow pretty large, up to 20 inches. Remember to keep the water clean for these fish, as they tend to produce quite a lot of mess. The AquariumFishCity is reader-supported and we hope you love the products we recommend! Or another way is to get at least 6 to 7 juvenile Oscar Fish put them in a tank and grow them together. Also, you should regularly feed them frozen or dried bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, etc. Someone that doesn't know better, could see a cute tiny baby fish at their pet store and think it could fit into a 10 or 20-gallon tank. Due to their temperament and potentially aggressive behavior towards other fish, the Oscar fish should only be kept by the most avid and experienced fish tank keepers. Freshwater Angelfish: . As Blue Acara is an omnivorous fish, you should also feed them vegetarian flakes, boiled peas, spinach, lettuce, etc. So you can easily keep them in the same tank. Large Cichlids, like Oscars, are excellent tank mates for Senegal Bichir, which reach 14 inches. oscar tank mates 125 gallon . So you can keep Green terror with Oscar Fish if you just manage to keep the temperature within the ideal range. The last on this list is the silver dollar fish. Their diet mostly consists of plant-based foods and they will feed on the algae in your tank and help to keep your aquarium clean. I hope youll find the content on my site helpful. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Hi, Im Tom Jones. If you got larger Oscars then you will have to upgrade the tank to at least 125 gallons. Besides, the ideal water parameter range for Pleco is between 74 to 80 Fahrenheit. Jack Dempsey is a large fish so there is no way that it can fit into the mouth of your Oscar Fish and will get eaten. Many people have confusions and there are a lot of conflicting opinions on the internet about tank size for Oscar Fish. All the content on this site is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and must not be used as an alternative to seeking professional advice from a veterinarian or other certified professional. Floating plants tend to be the safest option here, as there is no chance of them being uprooted. It can get as large as 7 inches so it will not fit into the mouth of your Oscar Fish and will not get eaten. Remember to always ask a veterinarian for help regarding your pets. Firemouth Cichlids are not that demanding and are ideal for community tanks. 9 Ways to Lower Ammonia Level in Aquarium and Get Rid of it. ATiger Oscargrows up to 18 inches, whereas anAlbino Oscarwill become 14 inches long. Although they can be somewhat aggressive when they are spawning, they are generally not aggressive towards other fish. So you should keep up some ornaments like driftwood, rock, and plants in your tank to provide them hiding places. Pleco is also bottom dweller and nocturnal fish so it will spend most of its time near the bottom of the tank and will only stay active during the night so they will not bother you Oscar Fish. Native to the slow-moving freshwater rivers and creeks of South America, the Oscar fish has been in captivity since its discovery. I hope now you dont have any confusion about Oscar Fish tank size. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Jack Dempsey is one of the most popular cichlids in the aquarium hobby. The jaguar cichlid is not an aggressive fish but rather it is rather a semi-aggressive fish. So it can hold their own against Oscar Fish. If you wish to keep multiple Oscars in one tank, you should add a minimum of 20-30 gallons per fish tank size. As Firemouth cichlid belongs to cichlids family, they can hold their own against Oscar Fish. oscar tank mates 55 gallon - Oscar Fish Advice Forum: Tiger Oscar (1/1)55 Gallon Cichlid Tank Setuphere is is again next too an Aro for a bit size comparis. Ideally, you should provide a 55 gallon tank for a single Oscar Fish, plus 20 to 30 gallons for every new Oscar Fish or the space required for any other species of fish. Check out our recommended Thermometer. AquariumFishCity.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When you keep other tank mates with your Oscar Fish then you should know the tank size requirement for that particular species of fish and choose tank size accordingly to keep them together. Oscar Fish spends most of its time in the middle part of the tank so it will not bother you Oscar Fish. 12 Benefits of Live Plants in an Aquarium (Pros and Cons). Are Oscar Fish Good Pets? They would make a great choice for tanks of 55 gallons or more. Although they are predatory, their targets are usually smaller fishes. But when they grow up, they might turn aggressive to stray fish and smaller fish in the tank. If you notice high-temperature level in your Oscar Fish tank then you can try these ways to reduce the temperature in your tank. It will provide a sufficient space to form healthy colonies of beneficial bacteria that will help to keep nitrogen compounds under control and keep your tank clean and clear. Jaguar cichlid can grow as tall as 24 inches so it requires a large tank of at least 125 gallons. Mostly you should feed them fresh live food like Crabs, Shrimps, Earthworms, etc. it will stay active during the night and during the day it will spend most of its time hiding behind decorations or near driftwood. This fish comes in a wide variety of colors and they are quite inexpensive. So if your only goal is to breed Oscar Fish then you should purchase already mated and spawned pair of Oscar Fish. About 2 to 3 inches of sand as substrate should be fine. Oscar Fish rarely come near the substrate of the aquarium. In the wild, Oscars tend to live in sandy waters, and therefore this is what you should be using as substrate. So they can eat whatever you put into their tank. Option 1 - Silver dollars get much too large for a 50 gallon and I can see them easily being picked on my the oscar. They are omnivorous and eat anything you put into their tank. Jan 21, 2012. Oscar Tank Mates. That is because they can get aggressive towards other fish and they might get territorial, too. . But they should be fine if they have enough space with the Oscar fish. However, if you do feel the need to create a community fish tank, you need to get fish that are passive, so they will not challenge the Oscars, yet also large and hardy enough to defend themselves when need be. Lindsey discovered her passion for fish keeping after a junior high school field trip to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. It can grow very large and it is not recommended for beginners. That is when they can turn aggressive and it might be a good idea to keep them separate from other fish. But this is the reason you need a very large tank to keep them with your Oscar fish. These beneficial bacteria form their colonies in the substrate and in the filter of your aquarium. Silver Dollars are medium size fish and you should keep them in at least a group of five in your Oscar fish tank. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Bichirs are also nocturnal fish i.e. In the wild, it lives in the area where there are strong currents so you should try to emulate the same and use a powerhead to create a strong current in your tank. Checkout our heater recommendation. You should also feed them meaty foods such as frozen or live bloodworms, brine shrimp, etc. They can be aggressive if they are kept with other knife fish and tend to be quite shy fish. . The fact of the matter is that while Oscars are beautiful fish, they do need a lot of care and quite the specific tank setup. Josh752 Locked; Oscar attacked by larger Oscar. No, keeping Angel fish with Oscars is not a good idea. A 125-gallon aquarium is preferred to give your fish more room to swim and to keep water parameters balanced. Here are a few fish types you need to avoid while looking for an Oscar tank mate: if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'aquariumfishcity_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_5',134,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-aquariumfishcity_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');Oscars are hostile creatures that will eat any fish small enough (less than 6-inches) to fit in its mouth. But they only turn aggressive if they are running low on space or if they are threatened; also, when there are smaller fish in the tank that they can prey on. As they are omnivorous, you should regularly feed them vegetables such as boiled peas, blanched spinach, carrots, etc. The ideal pH range for Oscar Fish is between 6-8 and the ideal hardness level is between 5 to 20 KH. The tank water of Balloon Mollie's tank should be slightly alkaline with a pH of around 7.5 to 8.5. Silver Arowana is also known as Monkey fish or Dragonfish. Ideally, those fish should also be quite large so that they do not get consumed. A simple rule of thumb to follow is to get a 55 gallon tank for your first Oscar Fish and then you should add extra 20 to 30 gallons for every new Oscar Fish. They are brightly-colored fish that can be used in your tank to add some color. Why Bichir is a good tank mate for Oscar Fish? For me: Aquariums are like jello - there's always room for more! I created Aquagoodness to help beginners get started with the hobby and to share my experience. Do Oscar fish need tank mates? Moreover, their tendency to dig for food can also dislodge debris in the substrate. Also, there is an overlap between the ideal water parameters of Severum cichlids and Oscar Fish so you can keep them together in the same tank. The ideal temperature range for Pleco is between 74 to 80 Fahrenheit. They are known for their long bodies and an interesting appearance. Im keeping freshwater fish from a few years now. Firemouth cichlid can grow up to 7 inches so they will not get eaten by the Oscar Fish. Given their aggressive nature, they can stand up to Oscars, when necessary, as long as both the fishes are of similar sizes.