Oscar compatible plants?

I was wondering if there are any plants that would be suitable for a tank with an Oscar. I know I read a post somewhere on this board where a guy said he had a few plants in with an Oscar that he didn't uproot. Right now I have a couple plastic plants in the tank.. they look somewhat real, but I still think plastic is a bit cheesy, so I'd really like to get a few real plants. One LFS sells potted plants.. would that be an option? If not, I'd like to get a few plant names that experienced people have had success with in a tank with Oscars.

 

Your oscar will terrorize any plants you put in the tank. They like to rearrange a tank to their liking. Floating plants might be an option for you, or maybe some java moss attached to some driftwood.

 

The only thing I was able to keep in the tank with my Oscars was an UNBREAKABLE heater, and rocks... Big HEAVY rocks... Other than that I had a big Plecostomus that held it's own with them...

Nasty fish they are... The 2 I had teamed up and killed the 4 Piranha I had in the tank with them... They couldn't take out the Plec though... ;D

 

Maybe try Java Fern too? I've read Java Fern has a very bad taste so no fish will eat it. But I know that it's not really about eating plants here. So, maybe stick with floating plants - they would provide a nice cover from light for your Oscar.

 

Nasty fish they are... The 2 I had teamed up and killed the 4 Piranha I had in the tank with them... They couldn't take out the Plec though... ;D

Wow! They killed 4 piranhas!!!!

 

Nasty fish they are... The 2 I had teamed up and killed the 4 Piranha I had in the tank with them... They couldn't take out the Plec though... ;D

Wow! They killed 4 piranhas!!!!

Rather not get into details about it but yeah... Those poor guys didn't stand a chance... At first I thought they were sick but one night they woke me up while they were fighting... I have only ever seen that type of aggression from fish on movies until that night... Scary I tell ya.. I'll never get Oscars and put them with anything else ever again...

 

My Oscar would not only tear any plant to shreds and rearrange rocks to his liking... but get this: I had a BIG piece of driftwood, about 15 inches tall, made from the roots of a small tree from the looks of it, and secured to he bottom by a piece of slate held down by big rocks. Oscar would swim up to it, turn sideways, clamp his mouth to it and thrash his tail as hard as he could; most of the time splashing so hard he'd splash water right thru the edge of the lid and out the tank. And I swear to god, he would SHOVE that piece of driftwood halfway across the tank. I never realized a fish could be that strong or persistant! He could also move rocks nearly as big as he was. It was always fun to watch him after I cleaned the tank. I'd arrange rocks and stuff, and then he'd rearrange everything to his liking!
The only plants he left alone were some plastic seagrass things made for baby fish to hide in. I had put them in when I first got him and he immediately ripped them up. But check it out, they floated to the top and sort of wandered around upside down. I thought they looked pretty cool so I left them in, and soon my Oscar was hanging out right under them in the shadows it created, sort of like he was hiding under a lilypad. I left them in until the day he died, and he always seemed to like them.

 

Wow, these Oscars really are so strong! Jim, your Oscar must have been lovely to watch I wish I could have some big fish like Oscars or Jack Dempseys. But I couldn't keep one in a 50 gallon tank - I'd like to get like a 200-300 gallon tank for it! These fish are huge and they need huge tanks too. So that's why I can't get this fish. And even if I had a 200-300 gallon tank ... I don't think I'd ever have the time for 50% weekly, or even twice a week, water changes in a 200-300 gallon tank - because that's the kind of maintenance these fish need. Anyway ... I love these beautiful giants

 

Wow. You guys have some really aggressive oscars. I don't know :-\ I have an oscar that's a little more than a yr old and he doesn't touch anything in the tank unless I put something in his corner where he always sleeps. I put a plant there once and all he did was move it. As for plants that are compatible.. I don't think I will have a problem with them but we'll see- I just ordered some on ebay. I do know that you should make sure you don't just buy any plant. Check on how much lighting you need for them to live and other things like the difficulty level on caring for them etc.

 

Bevis mine was great until he hit about 4 or 5... He was big and aggressive then.. Got more aggressive as he got older..

 

I read Oscars start pulling plants when they get to mating age. Something about getting rid of hiding places for predatory threats to their eggs.