# Planted Oscar tank



## danielb (Mar 21, 2006)

I've always liked the look of Oscars every time I've seen them in my local store. I know these fish get big and need lots of tank space (200+ Litres for one) but I'm still finding myself interested in them. Is it possible to have a planted tank with an Oscar in it or is that asking for trouble? Is it also possible to have some other large & peaceful community fish in with the oscar? What sort of fish would be good for sharing a tank with such a fish?


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## sparrow (Feb 27, 2006)

I've raised several Oscars in the past. That was long before I started a planted tank though. 

My concern with keeping Oscars in a planted tank would be their penchant for rearranging things. They are very smart fish, and get bored easily. So, they entertain themselves, sometimes through menace. Mine would push things around the tank once they got big enough. Big big rocks even. It got to the point that I had to take the smaller stuff out so that they wouldn't break the glass while pushing things around. Also, they are bullies to smaller fish. If you get them small, and raise them around other tankmates that also grow to be sizeable (think plecos) then they are genrally tolerant. Adding new fish to an established Oscar tank is asking for trouble though.

In short, I myself would not try to keep Oscars in a planted tank. It would be too much work replanting all the things that they knock over and uproot.


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## fuddmain (Sep 22, 2005)

It should be possible, but not likely to be successful with any plant that needs to be planted in the substrate since an Oscar will pull it up. You'll want to go with tough plants that attach to wood or rocks: anubias, java fern, bolbitis fern, mosses.

It is possible to have tankmates with an Oscar. Oscars, IME, aren't nearly as aggressive as most cichlids. Avoid fin nippers. In college, I had an oscar with a pike cichlid and a beautiful synodontis angelicus catfish. I didn't have any problems.

~Brian


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