Bottom feeder that my Oscars wont eat

[divemasterjim]

My Oscars make a big mess when they eat, but never clean up the mess on the ground. I need a bottom feeder that will get along with the Oscars. what do you recommend?

 

[WaterPond]

a few large clown loaches

plecos

I'd say those are your only options

 

[divemasterjim]

I thought plecos only ate algae

 

[Esra]

I'd go the clown loaches.
They get nice and big and are pretty quick so the oscar should leave them alone.

Also i've heard the bright colours kind of stop the oscar wanting them as much, this could be crap though.

 

[Gloomy]

And loaches are way cool and entertaining too!!

 

[divemasterjim]

Also i've heard the bright colours kind of stop the oscar wanting them as much, this could be crap though.

Total crap
They love goldfish
and they went after the tigers but havent eaten them as of yet

 

[Esra]

Ah ok thought it might be.
Looked it up and a couple of places say that certain colurs stop them as they might think they're poisonous, like in the wild.
But obviously not.

Gotta love the oscars when they hunt, only thing better to watch is an Arowana.

Anyway you should be fine with the clown loaches, they're fun to watch too.
I love the click when they're happy.

 

[divemasterjim]

One of the Oscars went after the Loach and it bearried itself in the gravel, was kinda neat

 

[Jaybird]

I have two plecos in with my oscar. I "used" to have some chinese algae eaters: although fast, proved no match for the power suction of the Oscar's mouth.

 

[Reddog80p]

my lfs has a albino mekong catfish with an oscar, the oscar messes with the cat but the cat just backs up and "jukes" the oscar, they look like they are playing tag. I imagine the cat thinking "would you just leave me be".

 

[garth7]

When I had Oscars, I always used the rule that if it could fit in the mouth of the oscar, then the oscar would eat it... Mine usually did. I had sometype of armored cat fish once. Sorry I dont remember the name of it, but it was a big guy.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

is a Black Ghost Knife compatible with an oscar???

 

[jbarr]

I think a pleco would be fine. Mine has always held it's own with my oscar. But he's a good inch or so bigger than the oscar.

 

[SeymourFRESH]

i'd say try some good sized synodontis cats, such as synodontis eupterus

otherwise yo yo loaches or clown loaches fo sure

 

[sarah5775]

My old oscar got along fine with my pleco. Oscar (original name, huh?) would tear apart just about anything (loved goldfish and crayfish) but he pretty much ignored my pleco.I got the oscar when he was really small (three inches) and the pleco was already 6. The pleco got to be fifteen inches before we brought him back to the store, and Oscar maxed out at about 13. They never had a problem with eachother, but I say if you get a pleco, make sure its at least as big as the oscar. If they grow up together, they get used to eachother. Oscar was also in with a bicher. The only problem was that the bicher never got any food because the oscar was quicker- quite an eating machine.

 

[iceywater101]

I would go with a synodontis catfish they are pretty mean and can hold there own

 

[jbarr]

Ya I have a bichir in with my oscar as well. I use sinking cichlid pellets - there's too many for the oscar to eat himself before it hits the gravel. I consider my bichir a bottom feeder, as usually only eats food that sinks to the bottom.

divemasterjim, have you ever thought of mystery/apple snails?
Depending on how big your oscar is, that may be a possibility.
My 4 in. oscar never bothered my snail.