Fish Tankmates for Oscar


A question often asked what are suitable Oscar fish tankmates? A lot will depend on what size of tank you have. As Oscar fish will grow big depending on the size of Aquarium they are in. Oscars together are fine as long as you add them at the same time and are the same size.

The must be considered here are do not introducing young Oscars to a tank with larger Oscars, as they could finish up being a meal. Oscars tend to be greedy eaters and will eat just about anything that will fit into their proportionally large mouths.

My number 1 choice of fish tankmates for Oscars would be other Cichlids providing they are not the larger breeds of Cichlids which have a very aggressive nature and could cause a lot of disruption in the tank.

Some other fish you could have with Oscar fish would be, Clown Loach, some Catfish such as Black Lancer and the Synodontis again providing these are large enough and not just young fish. Silver dollars are another choice you could go for.


If you are lucky enough to be the owner of a larger oscar fish tank say 400 or 500 gallons, it is possible to add some shoals of smaller varieties of fish providing you follow certain criteria. With this amount of space you should put in plenty of plants and rocks etc. to create lots of hiding places for these smaller fish. You should monitor this situation, as you should with any new introductions of fish to your aquarium, to make sure all is well.

Obviously this situation of introducing these small fish to your tank could prove risky and instead of having Oscar fish tankmates you would have fish food for Oscars. So you should take a regular head count and be vigilant, these smaller fish can be removed if not successful. If everything works out alright you will finish up with a really beautiful display.