zpecialt

Anyone with oscars have any suggestions or experiences with keeping bottom dwellers and oscars?

We currently have 2 oscars in a 75 gallon and are looking for bottom dwellers to diversify the tank. I know plecos are supposed to be good companions, but has anyone ever had any other catfish, etc. with an oscar?

Gozer_1

Mine lives with a Spotted Raphael Catfish and a Chinese Algae eater. He doesn't seem to be too interested in the floor of the tank. He watches the surface quite a bit more. Usually when food hits the ground he forgets all about. Not that food makes it to the bottom with the Oscar around which means you have to make sure to get some food down to your bottom feeders. The Raphael Cats are Nocturnal so sometimes it's easier to get food past the Oscar and the Cat is more likely to find it before anyone else in the dark. Basically any fish that won't fit in their mouth is probably OK. Depends on your Oscars' personalities too. Mine is a big Sweetheart but some may be more aggressive.

Callum The Cat

theres really not any big enough bottom dwellers for oscars

Rock On Callum!

Gozer_1

Maybe not if you have a particularly large Oscar I suppose, but as I said mine never notices the CAE or the Raph. I have never had a fully grown Oscar though. Mine is about a year old and about 7 to 9 inches long. Raph Cats have a wide body so I think the Oscar, even at full size, would have trouble getting one in it's mouth. They're kind of pokey too. Anyway I suppose if you an 16in Oscar with a 3in wide Maw, you might have some trouble. Me personally I've only ever seen one Oscar that big. Most I've seen are 10 or 12 and couldn't eat a Raph if they tried, but I never know their age so I may have just always seen youngins. I don't know if the CAE is just too fast for the Oscar but it could easily fit in the Oscars mouth. A slower moving fish of similar size and habit might have different luck, I don't know, like I said, mine couldn't care less about the floor of the tank.

zpecialt

Thanks, Gozer. I appreciate the info... not sure what we'll do. I would really love to have a few bottom dwelling inhabitants but I guess that may not happen.