I went to a pet store today and the guy there told me that i should not have my oscars in with my other fish because oscars are south american and i have african chiclids, they all get along well, but he said its because there is no way to make them both happy because they like different ph levels. Is this true or will they be fine? (oh i try to keep the ph just a little bit higher than neutral, they all seem fine with it so far)

Oscars and africans generally dont make good tankmates. Most african, like malawis, are aggressive and to keep them you need to stock a lot of them to spread the agression. If you keep 3 or 4 of them with an oscar you may find your oscar gets bullied.

A fontosa can be kept with an oscar

What africans do you keep

Oscars can live quite happily at a higher PH (around 8), the important thing it that the Ph is stable

honestly i dont know what kind they are i could try to get pictures of them. i think they are zebras? if thats right? i got them from someone else and all he said is that they are african chiclids. and they are not aggressive towards each other at all, they all seem to like each other.

For the longest time i had 2 african kalingo giraffe cichlids, and a yellow lab with my long-finned oscar, and never once had a problem with anyone getting bullied. They were all together since they were small. The kalingos are still with my long finned oscar, and im about to move all of them to a 125 with my other red oscar. The oscars are just about 9 inches, and the kalingos are right about 7 inches.

Everyone has always told me its a horrible idea to add africans with my oscars, but ive never once had a problem with any of them. They never fight over food, or territories. They all eat like pigs, and are happy, healthy, and colorful, and to me thats what matters.

But dont take my word on any of this, im still semi-amateur with fish keeping, and am just sharing my experiences with them. Every fish is different, and i might have just gotten lucky with mine.