an O turn 'nasty'?
having kept Malawis for a number of years but wanted an O i realised that they didn't get along - i 'moved on' my Malawis to accomodate an Oscar but i kept back 2 Malawis
silly question - when will my O' attack/eat my sole Malawi (ive been told thats what will happen)
my o is as big as my Malawi but they seem to get along just fine

First of all, you shouldn't really keep African and South American together because quite often the pH requirements are quite different. Where South American fish live in mostly low pH, Africans live in very high pH.

Now that is a strange question, if you don't want it, why don't you just take it to your local fish store, I'm sure someone else will be glad to have it.

The people you have been talking to obviously don't really know the Oscars, Oscars are not the vicious killers that people like to make out. Yes Oscars will eat small fish if they get the chance. However you might just find that your Oscar lives in harmony with the other cichlid

my oscars have yet to turn nasty. now mind you they do like to have things their way but dont we all. as for them eating your malawis it might or might not happen. i have, in one of my oscar tanks, a pair of short bodied convicts no longer than 2 inches and my 13 inch oscar pays no mind to them. all fish have different personalities so the only way you'll know if they are going to go after your malawis is if they do it.

cheers guys - i think OFL hit the nail on the head
thanks for both replys

some people believe that when you start something together,
there is a big chance that they will grow and get along well.
oscar tend to grab smaller tank mate if they got hungry. with
regular feedings and nurturing, that chance is eliminated.

adey wrote:


what kind of malawicichlids do you have? there's malawis how grow to be 13-14 inches.

The malawis i had were
Lemons/Blues
Bumble Bees
Assorted 'tank fillers' - please excuse the vaugue descriptions:blush:
The Bumble Bees grew to 6" plus and the Lemons 3-4"
the 'various' ones grew from 1" to 3"

many malawis are quite fast and alert so maybe they will make it (depending how big tank you have and how many hiding places).