hi to all. this is my first time on this site,im steve.
my question is can a pangius catfish eat an ocsar ?
i ask because i have large tank two of these cats about 7 inch.2 albino tiger oscars 1 at 5 inch 1 at 4 inch, 2 kribs a plec and 6 inch red tail shark.
this morning i feed them as usall then went out for a couple hours its very rare that i see the cats eat but they growing well and healthy so assum everything is ok and the all seem to get along ok. on my return i discoverd my smaller oscar has vanished completely. i took out all the rocks but to no avail there just no sign of it. so is is possible one or both of my cats could have eaten it..?
help... Steve

welcome to oscarfishlover Steve

I certainly don't confess to be catfish expert, however I believe there are various species of pangius catfish, some of them get huge, others not so big. You would have to try and tell us what species you have got, or post a photograph. However, large catfish are formidable predators and could easily make a short meal of on Oscar. Whether you could grow a catfish big enough to eat an Oscar in your size tank is debatable. If you have a very large tank, fish will easily reach their potential size, unlike if you keep them in very small tanks

If you have the Pangasius sutchii as sold in most pet shops and is more common it can grow to 18" and yes it will eat anything you put in your tank. as it was only 7" and your oscar was 4 or 5" they most likely killed it or it died and they all ate it..was the oscar being bullied?? These cats are a bit nervous and may freak out the other fish with the fast movment they make.... This may lead to your oscar being damaged.... Have you checked around the tank just to make shore your oscar didnt leave when you had the lid open, this is also likly if you leave while the lids up?? only I would have thought some bone would be left.. Pangasius are nice looking cats even when large but you will need a fast flow (pond pump??) along side your filter to keep them happy as its a fast river fish.

no the lid was shut.plus have glass across the top.
niether of the fish have been bullied. they all seem to get along great.
i took out all the rocks and could find nothing.
i was only out about 2/3 hours.
its just doesnt make sence.the oscar was easily half the size of the cats.and they dont chase the kribs which are smaller.and would have been more acceptiable to have gone missing as live food.due to there size and slenderness.
very puzzeling.
thanks for your and others replies.
much appreaciated.
steve

What exactly did you have in the tank regarding ornaments/rock/wood? The reason I ask is because I bought a couple of 1 inch clown Loach back in 2006. One day, we couldn't find them, we actually took everything out of the tank untill only sand was left, where had they gone? absolutely no sign of them. So everything was put back in the tank, and I had this fake type wood that have a tiny little hole, the fish had only managed to get inside. You'll be amazed how fish can wriggle into little crevices and holes, just have a good look if you go anything like this

by the way, they are alive and kicking

Doubt it. If it was a sutchi, I don't think they would go for an oscar.

By the way, I hope you have a HUGE tank planned for you catfish, (at least 500 gallons), they can reach two feet or more in apt accommodations.

I really doubt that the 7 inch Pangasius would have eaten the 4 inch Oscar. These fish are not the eating machines that most cats are. The problem here is that almost all of the catfish in the Pangasius genus get HUGE, most getting up to 3 - 4 feet, but some speices are known to get even larger, (Pangasius sanitwongsei) is known to get up to around 9 feet in length.

I would look around for other culprits of the missing fish, such as OFL stated, maybe checking the decorations in the tank. If you catfish did eat the Oscar, it would be obvious because he would have a huge (oscar sized) lump in it's belly.

You really need to research the type of Pangasius that you have, there are about 9 different speices of Pangasius and only one of them stays under 3 feet in length. The one that dose stay under three feet is very rare and unless you live in Borneo or Indonesia, that is not the speices you have. Most common speices are Pangasius hypophthalmus (Iridescent Shark) they can get over 4 feet, Pangasius sanitwongsei (Paroon Shark) they can get over 9 feet, and the Pangasianodon gigas (Mekong Catfish) and they can get over 10 feet. You need to find out which type you have and make sure that you can provide the adequate size tank the fish will need.

hi,only rocks and one piece wood. gave tank a thorough search. found nothing.
i really didnt think it was the cats.yes they all in large tank and a bigger one is planned in due course,only wish i had kept my custom built tank that i had few years ago.
anyway new update.oscar is ok along with the cats and 2 kribs plus one shark,so i decided to buy another oscar.around the same size as before as they did get on really well.it didnt last the night,again no sign.watching them closely before bed seems my large oscar could be the cuprit and then maybe the cats just cleaned up after.
wont be buying anymore unless its a larger one. thanks for all the help and replies.
steve

This is what I was thinking.. A fight brakes out, small oscar gets hurt and the rest join in finsh it off. I didnt mean that the cats could just swollow him )) you may even have problems with a bigger oscar mind you as he will try to rule the tank being the largest fish. others may end up eaten,

Does your tank have a space on the top where it could have jumped out? And do you have any cats or dogs? If it jumped out, maybe one of them could have eaten it. I know I had a couple small fish disappear out of one of my aquariums. My gf and I think it was one of our cats, as we have caught her stickin her paws in the tank. She also often tries to attack the fish through the glass. She is a lil devil .