Tank mates????

[earhtmother]

So I'm going to try this again with a more specific direction. Have a 6" long, 4" deep Oscar who is living solo in a 55g except for a pleco spends all his time (that I see) hiding in the rocks. I am upgrading to a 100g tank & am wondering if I add a Green Terror as close in size to the Oscar if it would aleviate some of his aggression and allow the pleco a little more freedom. I have also seen that the terror requires a sand bottom & live food -,can anyone speak to this? Not a fan of sand & after many feeder parasite issues will no longer feed live

 

[ZxC]

Plec’s should be able to handle their own.... they are basically metal plated usually plec’s hide out in one spot anyway....

I can’t comment on if a terror will get along with your bully Oscar, as far as I know oscars are so personable they can vary far left and far right in terms of suitable tank makes.... try them together if you can, but keep an eye on them.

Correct me if I’m wrong but to properly distribute aggression we would have to “overstock” the tank? I’m not sully up to speed with South American cichlids so.... take it with a grain of salt

 

[Coralocean]

It does depend the individual fish. My son had a green terror and it was very aggressive more than the Oscar. You have a larger tank so there may be room for them to work out a territorial difference. We had better luck pairing an Oscar with a Jack Dempsey. Severums are pretty mellow and get quite large, but they will defend themselves. Oscars are not schooling fish and don't like a bunch of fish around them. As far as feeding, for a long time the only "meat" we gave any of the cichlids were frozen blood worms. My son then later gave feeder goldfish (yuk)! It is kind if hit and miss with any Oscar tank mate. My son's Oscar was a female and she just wanted to be alone, but loved the humans lol. Are you seeing signs of aggression towards your pleco?

 

[earhtmother]

Haven't noticed anything overtly nasty (biting/pieces missing) but he does chase him back under cover whenever he notices him out & about

 

[earhtmother]

It's not so much that I want a school of fish just something more than 1 and if he/she is going to stay solo except for the pleco I am wondering if I could move him to a 70g instead of the 100g

 

[coralbandit]

I remember having 2 albino Oscars and 2 tea cup ting rays together..Never again...
The Oscars eventually ate the stingers off the rays tail !
I found this link on tank mates for the big O.
I like the less often kept Black Banded Leporinus /Leporinus fasciatus.
Good luck.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...sh-tankmates&usg=AOvVaw1bborwxgATqDlz14fDTb_H

 

[Coralocean]

It's not so much that I want a school of fish just something more than 1 and if he/she is going to stay solo except for the pleco I am wondering if I could move him to a 70g instead of the 100g

Our Oscar grew out and was very happy in a 75 gallon, she lived 4 years (until she jumped out). It sounds like yours is not happy with the pleco at all. We were ignorant having a large pleco and a large Oscar in a 75 gallon. They were both only 2-3 inches when we got them and grew up together so we thought they were buddies lol. Someone posted that pleco's are tough & armored and that's true but like I described before she beat the heck out of a 7-8 inch pleco.

We had a cat that would lay on top of the tank and swish her tail in the water through a small hole by the filter. The Oscar seemed to like it. Maybe get a cat? j/k lol

 

[earhtmother]

Coralocean -Love the cat idea but hubby is SO anti cat it's not worth the hassle ? I am hoping with the extra room(55g to 70g) a little more decor (nothing planted, know better than that☺ just rocky, pleco hiding spots???) & maybe some additional tank mates/distractions oscar will leave pleco in peace
Coralbandit - trust you to have a useful link☺ I see some serious reading/research in my future thanks a lot ?

 

[V227]

I love Green Terrors (Rivulatus). I'm sure an Oscar could coexist with a GT in a 100 gal. Better to add a juvenile GT. The Oscar would likely kill an adult GT suddenly added to his tank. Also a good idea to add a few mid-sized cichlids as well as a school of larger tough Tetras. That will help dilute aggression. Hardscaping will also be important. Pictured is my favorite GT. He recently passed away at the ripe old age of 6 y.o.