I gather from what I've been reading here that it is possible to introduce another oscar to the tank? We had been told by a few different people that it was best not to as they would fight and may fataly injure one and other. If we were going to try to introduce another what would be the best way to go about it?

Our oscar is about 9 or 10 months old and after eating one of his tank mates has been on his/her own for the past 6 months or so. Bruce reacts aggresively to one of our cats, but no the other 3, and to patterned clothing. (Don't know if there is such a thing as fish psychiatry but I sometimes wonder if he needs it! lol...)

Cheers Kell

hi, well i put a baby albino oscar in with my 6 inch oscar and yes my big oscar did chase the little one for a while but never actually bit or injured the albino. my oscar was very agressive and killed a small pleco so i put a 12 inch pleco in and my oscar still insisted on atacking it even though at the time oscar was only 5 inches.

i think every oscar is different so the only way to find out is by putting the new oscar in and finding out. before i put the albino in i moved the decor and added a few more fake plants so that it was a little less like home for my big oscar. i did feed him up a little aswell so that he wasnt as hungry lol. it only took 2-3 days before they were both friends and both feeding together at the same time with no problems.

obviusly my big oscar does think he owns the tank so he will chase the albino still but its playfull chasing.


good luck with it and please let us know how it goes.

You can put a new fish in but you must be perpared to remove 1 if all gose wrong. 1st try to find 1 of same or close to the size you have. if you have plently of room (125gallon for 2)they should get on. you will need to watch them incase they fight, but most ofter the new fish will back down.it may take a bit of time and I would give them a few days to see how they are doing.some miner fighting will happen and is accepted as long as they are not damaging each other. you could also use a screen(glass or clear plastic)but i would put them together and see how it gose.turning the light out may help but the most important is room. if your tank is big they can avoid each other if its small, chance is they will fight. The more I read on the site and watch my own fish, the more i notice as OFL has noticed the fish act more natural in a large tank.
PS feed your fish before you put new 1 in. good luck

Thanks for that guys. Will have to ge a bigger tank first as the one Bruce is in now holds about 70 gallons. (Wonder how hubby will react when I tell him that? lol) That may be a little way off but I will post the outcome when we do. Cheers Kell

I would go with 1 or 2 medium sized tank mates. If it is only oscars you want I suggest sexy underwear and work on a bigger tank.)))

what a great tip lmao

Adding another oscar is a bit of a hit and miss affair. All oscars are different but it sounds like you have an aggressive oscar. Before you add a new oscar make sure you have somewhere to put one if they dont get on. Or have a divider ready and if one oscar injures another more than a few minor abrasions then put the divider in. Leave for a week or until the injured fish heals then put the aggressive fish in the other side. If they get on then remove the divider after a week. If they dont get on then accept they just wont get on and separate. Rearranging the tank decor before adding the new oscar sometimes helps

Hi delboybully, I agree, I think Bruce is a rather aggressive specimin. He ate his first tank mate, a bristle nose, at about 3 or 4 months old. After he upturned almost everything in the tank to get him. And then there is the way he reacts to one of our cats, or patterned clothing. Have taken on board all the advice and I think it might pay to wait until we have got a bigger tank so we can seperate them if need be.
Thanks again guys. Joining this site has definetly been a worthwhile experience and I am learning a lot from reading not only my own threads but those of others as well. Keep up the great work. Cheers Kell