Angelfish and Oscar...Can they get along?

Aug 4, 2004
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#1
Help...My boyfriend just bought me an Oscar for my fishtank, and he's in there right now and things seem to be going okay, but it's only day one. He was trying to be nice and get me a pet b/c I was bummed out that my landlord wouldn't let me get a kitten...But he really doesn't know a thing about fish. My tank right now has a pleco and two angelfish. I'm not worried about the size of the tank (125 gallon), but I am however worried about the fish getting along. I only know about my angels, but I've read a lot about how Oscars eat other fish, and while my angels are right now much bigger than he is, I'm afraid he might get hungry and try nipping at their fins or something. They seem to be getting along alright for now, but I don't want to risk my angels getting their fins all torn up. Someone please let me know what to do. I have a 10 gallon tank I could put the Oscar in temporarily if he does nip, but I know that wouldn't be a good long term solution to any problems b/c he'll grow so fast. Any info would be HUGELY appreciated! Thanks!
 

Jul 9, 2003
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#2
Ok first off, good size tank....you got room for a little error there. ;) I think you are ok for now. The Angels should have their territory marked off and there shouldn't be a problem. I would just keep an eye on it. The only time i can see it being a problem is when the oscar outgrows the angels. So you have a little time. When....and IF things go sour i wouldn't cram a fish into a 10gal....just go ahead and get some store credit for a fish and get something that works better with your setup. :)
 

Cichlidian

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Sep 23, 2003
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#5
Oscar & Angel in a single tank! Appears to be impossible but it can be possible even on a long term. I've got a 9" male tiger oscar, a 7" male texas, a 5" male green terror and a pair of full grown marbled angels in a 55 gal (4 ft long tank) for around a year with no prob at all. When i said im gonna do ths many said im insane. But i deleberately did this to study the aggresion of cichlids.
Oscars tend to kill other fish for 2 reasons. Firstly for food and next territory. It can swallow any living thing that fits into its mouth. Secondly for territory. If a fish doesnt posses a threat to its territory and is big enough not to fit into its mouth then the oscar never harmed it. Also oscars are not fin nippers.
Wht i'd suggest is hv the oscar and angels in ur tank (its big enough), hv a lot of territories, hv a close eye on ur tank and if u r lucky u can hold'em in ur tank for long. Fishes hv their own personalities especially oscars. If u've got a Mr.Nice Guy ur angel wont suffer.
But an oscar can never be dumped in a tank less than 3 ft or 30 gals.
 

Purple

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Oct 31, 2003
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#6
Originally posted by Cichlidian
When i said im gonna do ths many said im insane
Yup - quite quite mad.........lol

My Tex and the Oscar just won't have it - death match

Mind you - my Tex won't even share a tank with a moss ball, let alone another fish.

Definately down to personalities - so have that net ready :D
 

Cichlidian

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Sep 23, 2003
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#7
Purple, i think i wont need the net. Coz for more than 1 yr i had them with no prob at all. I know the general aggresion of a tex & an oscar. Anyother fish i add now would probably die. But im damn confident tht none inside the tank will ever kill each other. Coz in tht tank i tried a lot. I starved them for 3 days, i removed all the territories and kept them in a bare tank for a month & they attacked no one. But i tried to put another similar sized texas in and everyone were after it & obviously I removed it.
 

Mar 23, 2018
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#10
I think Oscars kill anything they can't eat, so I recommend trying to get a separate, decently sized tank for the Oscar. I've personally never had Oscars nor Angelfish, but I think Oscars are just a death sentence for other fish.