Would an Oscar eat a loach?

[IrishBull]

I'm setting up a new 55 gallon and for sure I am going to have loaches. Yoyo, angelicus, or clowns I am not sure yet but I'd like to have a few. I've never had an Oscar before but I do know they prey on smaller fish. Should I heavily decorate the bottom with smallish plants so they have adequate hiding or would they really bother the loaches? If I can't have an Oscar, does anyone have any ideas on what I should get?

I am cycling the tank now so I have some time to think about it. I'm also redecorating! It is actually harder than I thought, I haven't set up a tank in a while... Oh by the way it's all fake plants. I can't handle real plants in a big tank heh

 

[misterking]

Hmm, if you buy the oscar as small as possible and the loaches as big as possible you should be fine. Out of the three you've listed, clown loaches will grow the biggest so they might be your safest bet, just remember to keep them in a group of at least 3 or you'll never see them!

 

[jo3olous]

I'm setting up a new 55 gallon and for sure I am going to have loaches. Yoyo, angelicus, or clowns I am not sure yet but I'd like to have a few. I've never had an Oscar before but I do know they prey on smaller fish. Should I heavily decorate the bottom with smallish plants so they have adequate hiding or would they really bother the loaches? If I can't have an Oscar, does anyone have any ideas on what I should get?

I am cycling the tank now so I have some time to think about it. I'm also redecorating! It is actually harder than I thought, I haven't set up a tank in a while... Oh by the way it's all fake plants. I can't handle real plants in a big tank heh

A 55 gallon is enough room for 1 oscar, and thats because they grow up to 12 inches or more and are very very messy fish. Oscars will dirty your water in no time. I would think the loaches can exist with them, but clown loaches get BIG too, anywhere from 12-20 inches and are quite girthy, I only recommend them for 4 foot long tanks and at least 125G if you are looking to school them. Also I wouldn't recommend clown loaches with any large cichlid because of the bioload the cichlids produce. Clown loaches are very sensitive to water parameters and an oscar will mess that up regularly. Clowns are not easy to care for unless you have prestine water and all though your 55G tank will look empty with only a few fish, it will be enough work keeping the tank clean with just 1 oscar in it. Most people would get mad for me saying you can't do it, but the fact is you shouldn't and it will not work 75% of the time. Clown loaches arent exactly cheap either, so if this sounds like i'm limiting your options and taking away sorry, but you will be burning 10.00 at a time. good luck with the tank, and remember to keep the adult sizes in mind.

 

[Orion]

I wouldn't house any type of loach (and some catfish) with any fish large enough to almost swallow it whole. Loaches have backwards facing barbs on the pectoral fins that are designed to keep larger fish from swallowing them. If the attacking fish isn't large enough to easily swallow the loach, and just large enough to fit the loach in it's mouth there's a good chance the barbs will get lodged in the larger fish's throat/mouth/gills and ultimately cause death for both fish. It's hard to judge what would be 'safe' because the throat is often much smaller than the mouth. So as a general rule of mine I just try to avoid this type of situation and then I don't have to worry about it.

 

[Alkiazer]

Oscars tend to be gluttons and get really big, sometime too big for the tank. And they will eat or try to eat anything big enough to fit in their mouth. IMO oscars are bad choice for the community tank if thats what your looking to start.

 

[IrishBull]

Thanks for the help, guys. I won't do the Oscar since I just gotta have loaches, they are so cute to me. I'm going to do some more research and maybe find another community fish that will swim around the middle. I got some more plants to decorate the bottom of the tank today, I forgot how many plants it takes to decorate a 55 gallon. They look huge at the store but when you set them in the tank they look like little twigs!

 

[Whiskers]

just a couple suggestions, a male placidochromis or a frontosa.

 

[IrishBull]

The Frontosa is a freshwater fish? It is beautiful! I am mainly looking for a fish that doesn't want to just hide all day and enjoys swimming around in the middle of the tank. Of moderate size, nothing super small like guppies.

 

[Orion]

A frontosa isn't going to fit your bill then, not in a 55 gallon. They are a schooling fish and need to be in groups, so a tank of 125 gallons or more is minimum. When kept alone, most hide and are not hardly seen.

 

[Whiskers]

well orion, i guess that explains y mine seems a little solo. i wasn't informed that when i purchased it. thanks for the enlightenment. the placidochromis on the other hand swims all over the tank in the middle. the one i have is fair size but check em out for yourself.