Catfish with oscar

go55 · 01-27-2005, 04:23 PM

Hi- What type of catfish can i get (not a pleco) that will be cleaning the tank and being active during the day and night that won't get to big and won't get eaten by an oscar?

flynngriff · 01-27-2005, 04:31 PM

Most catfish are generally safe with oscars, as long as they're not very small. I've had a couple of corydoras catfish with 4 eight inch Oscars, and they never even looked at the corys. My oscars always tended to go after the mid-level and surface swimmers, not the bottom dwellers. Really, the size of your tank and how much cover the catfish would have are the most important things to think about, though.

How big is your tank, and how big is your oscar? If you're worried about how big the catfish will get, and you already have an oscar in the tank, you might have a tank that's too small for your oscar.

go55 · 01-27-2005, 04:38 PM

I have a 75 gallon tank. I just got the oscar last monday, so he is only 1 inch. Would I be able to get a group of cory cats with this setup? I really love cory cats

shev · 01-27-2005, 04:44 PM

I advise against corys, they will probably get eaten when the oscar is big enough, and their horns will stick into the oscars throat suffocating the cory and soon killing the oscar. Thye should be fine with a 1 inch oscar, but the ocar will grow really fast, and can eat quite large fish for its size. a pictus will clean up but will also graze at the top when feeding the oscar, and it'd have to be pretty large.

go55 · 01-27-2005, 05:12 PM

pictus are not really my favorite type of catfish. Any other suggestions?

flynngriff · 01-27-2005, 06:07 PM

You might try some Synodontis Eupterus... You can get small ones for around $10, and while they won't grow as fast as the Oscar, they should get large enough to prevent him eating them. I had two that grew to 6 inches in my 125 within about 1.5 years. The Oscars grew to about 8-9 inches in that time, and there was never a chance of the Oscars being able to swallow them. However, Synodontis catfish are usually pretty reclusive, so you probably would see them a lot.

You could also try a Hoplo Catfish... There are lots of varieties, but most will get to around 6-8 inches, and they are not reclusive fish in my experience. They're a little bit harder to find, however. They aren't the best scavangers, though... I usually see them hovering in the middle of the tank, and they swim up to the surface for feeding.

I do think the corys would probably be fine, especially if the Oscar grew up with them, but there is a chance the Oscar would try to eat them. I don't think it's likely, but as with all fish, it depends a lot on the fish in question. Your call...

-Flynn

joe kool · 01-27-2005, 06:21 PM

www.planetcatfish.com will have TONS of catfish pics and descriptions. most of the cats' I'd reccomend get anywhere from 7" to 20" to put with an oscar. The smallest would be a pictus masculatus: http://64.191.28.50/species/db.cgi?d...picture_view=1

or some of the larger synodontis cats: synodontis Decorus; ocellifer; eupterus would be some of the "cheaper" syno's to find IF your LFS has them The website above also has many other catfish pics to peruse to make your choices. Shipping is getting cheaper lately depending on who you buy from so mail order isn't totally out of the question so don't feel trapped by just what the LFS has in stock .. they "MAY" also special order for customers "for a fee" so check that option out too.

shev · 01-27-2005, 06:43 PM

Most catfish wont be very good cleaner uppers because they eat it all before it hits the ground. what kind of stuff to clean up? i would suggest channel cats but they get too big, shovel nosed catfish are cool and should eat stuff off the bottom. Synodontis are a good idea. maybe Iridescent Sharks