*_Ares_*

are bamboo shimp okay with oscars
my pleco fought with my oscars so i took him out
there is also a pictus catfish in the tank but hes okay
but any advice would be okay

CPVFD325

im curious as to the response on this one. I have a pleco that wont leave my Oscar alone either.

Chief_waterchanger

I wouldn't put bamboo shrimp in with Oscars. Freshwater inverts (shrimp, crayfish, snails, etc) and 'smaller than them' fish are what both the Oscars and Pictus eat in the wild.

As far as your plecos and oscars not getting along, I would suggest one of three things:

Add more hiding places for the pleco
Add more line-of-sight breaking objects so they don't have to see one another
Seperate the two.

*_Ares_*

i think im gonna move the pleco, he chases the oscars around and actually bits them
they have marks all over

CPVFD325

I have the exact same problem. CWC, is there any other kind of scavenger/cleaner fish that will mix alright with an oscar? I mean if i go too small he will eventually be eaten, but yet I want to get away from the common pleco for their shear size and waste production as adults, I would also like to free some "tank inches"......are they even a necessary?

Chief_waterchanger

I was talking to Butterfly and she said a lack of protein in the pleco's diet may cause that pleco chasing fish thing. Plecos suck on the fish and leave marks because the slime coat is pure protein. So you could try feeding a protein rich food one day a week, the rest of the week a veggie diet would be best.

Butterfly is such a smart woman, that's why we all love her.


You could try Bristlenose Plecostomus, but make sure it is near full size or at the very least larger than the oscar when it is put in, to avoid the oscar devouring the pleco.

CPVFD325

Do you think it is "necessary" to have an algae eater? Will I encounter problems without one? I have never not had one. Also, what do you consider a high protein food? I have algae flakes (I fed them to the pacus before i wised up and returned them) but no one eats them. The pleco will race the oscar and the jack to get the cichlid pellets. Im not sure if the pleco has ever successfully eaten one. He seems to suck on them and then it floats to the top again when he loses it.....I apologize for completely hi-jacking this thread.

*_Ares_*

i've been lookinking for a bristlenose but i cant find one at the stores around me.and can you tell me how i might be able to find one.

Barbrella

Again, your tank is not big enough even for the two oscars you have, so you shouldn't get any more fish until you double the tank size.

Chief_waterchanger

2 Oscars will need a 75g tank minimal by the time they are full adult size, Barbrella is right about them needing lots of space. Gunnie, one of our Moderators, has a NICE oscar setup. I think her's is like a 100g tank with 2 oscars and a common pleco. (I may be wrong about Gunnie's pleco, but I think it is a common...)

darkwolf29a

75 gallons minimum!!! I would recommend a 90, at least though.

As for shrimp....you'll lose them. I had shrimp in with mine, he ate them. I'm glad they weren't expensive. I used ghost shrimp, but bamboo are more expensive.

The only bottom feeder I would use with an Oscar is a Common pleco, just because of the size. BNs do not get big enough. As adults they are only 4 to 5 in. An Oscar will eat anything it can fit in its mouth.

Wilhelm Joshua Tan

No, but the pictus is ok. Oscars are omnivorous and it prefers invertebrates like bamboo shrimp.