Oscar tank mates

Good matches

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The safest picks for oscars are plecos, clown loaches and black ghost knives. Each match shares oscars' temperature and pH and leaves them alone.

Eats any fish that fits in its mouth and rearranges the tank.

Temperature

74–81°F

pH

6–8

Temperament

Semi-aggressive

Minimum tank

75 gal

With care

6

Avoid

74

Good tank mates

• Common pleco74–81°F
• Clown loach77–81°F
• Black ghost knife74–81°F
• Bichir74–81°F
• Elephant nose fish74–81°F
• Chinese algae eater74–80°F
• Firemouth cichlid75–81°F
• Rainbow shark74–80°F
• Kissing gourami74–81°F
• Bala shark74–81°F
• Severum74–81°F
• Dojo loach74–77°F
• Siamese algae eater75–79°F
• Tinfoil barb74–80°F
• Electric blue acara74–81°F
• Silver dollar75–81°F
• Blood parrot76–80°F
• Peacock cichlid76–81°F

Possible, with care

• Mystery snail Large oscars crack or pick at small snails. A big mystery snail has better odds than a ramshorn.
• Jack Dempsey Jack dempseys are aggressive. Oscars hold their own only in a big tank with places to hide.
• Ramshorn snail Large oscars crack or pick at small snails. A big mystery snail has better odds than a ramshorn.
• Nerite snail Large oscars crack or pick at small snails. A big mystery snail has better odds than a ramshorn.
• Assassin snail Large oscars crack or pick at small snails. A big mystery snail has better odds than a ramshorn.
• Flowerhorn They only share 80–81°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.

Avoid

• Axolotl Axolotls are coldwater animals (60–66°F); oscars need 74–81°F. No temperature suits both.
• Goldfish Goldfish are coldwater animals (60–74°F); oscars need 74–81°F. They meet only at 74°F, the edge of both ranges.
• Angelfish An adult oscar is twice the size of an angelfish and will hunt or batter a slow, long-finned fish like this.
• African cichlid An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches african cichlids do.
• Discus No shared temperature. Oscars need 74–81°F, discus need 82–88°F.
• Betta An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches bettas do.
• Pea puffer An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1 inches pea puffers do.
• Guppy An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches guppies do.
• Kuhli loach An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3.5 inches kuhli loaches do.
• Cherry shrimp Oscars hunt shrimp. Adult cherry shrimp will be eaten.
• Honey gourami An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches honey gouramis do.
• Corydoras An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches corydoras do.
• Convict cichlid An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches convict cichlids do.
• Blue gourami An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches blue gouramis do.
• Sparkling gourami An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.5 inches sparkling gouramis do.
• Yoyo loach An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches yoyo loaches do.
• Bristlenose pleco An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches bristlenose plecos do.
• Pictus catfish An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches pictus catfish do.
• Dwarf gourami An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches dwarf gouramis do.
• Ghost shrimp Oscars hunt shrimp. Adult ghost shrimp will be eaten.
• Tiger barb An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches tiger barbs do.
• Bolivian ram An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches bolivian rams do.
• African dwarf frog An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches african dwarf frogs do.
• Kribensis An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches kribensis do.
• Otocinclus An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches otocinclus do.
• Pearl gourami An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches pearl gouramis do.
• Koi Koi are coldwater animals (59–77°F); oscars need 74–81°F. They overlap only at 74–77°F, the edge of both ranges.
• Amano shrimp Oscars hunt shrimp. Adult amano shrimp will be eaten.
• Hatchetfish An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.5 inches hatchetfish do.
• Paradise fish An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3.5 inches paradise fish do.
• Upside down catfish An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches upside down catfish do.
• Red tail shark An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches red tail sharks do.
• Congo tetra An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches congo tetras do.
• Crayfish An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches crayfish do.
• Cherry barb An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches cherry barbs do.
• Clown pleco An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3.5 inches clown plecos do.
• Zebra loach An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3.5 inches zebra loaches do.
• Bamboo shrimp Oscars hunt shrimp. Adult bamboo shrimp will be eaten.
• Apistogramma An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches apistogramma do.
• Endler's livebearer An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1 inches endlers do.
• Zebra danio An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches zebra danios do.
• Silver arowana An adult silver arowana eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 12 inches oscars do.
• Molly An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches mollies do.
• Lemon tetra An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches lemon tetras do.
• Panda cory An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches panda corys do.
• Black neon tetra An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.5 inches black neon tetras do.
• Neon tetra An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.5 inches neon tetras do.
• Black skirt tetra An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches black skirt tetras do.
• Harlequin rasbora An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches harlequin rasboras do.
• GloFish tetra An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches glofish do.
• Pencilfish An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches pencilfish do.
• Glowlight tetra An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.5 inches glowlight tetras do.
• Ember tetra An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 0.8 inches ember tetras do.
• Zebra pleco An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3.5 inches zebra plecos do.
• Odessa barb An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches odessa barbs do.
• Serpae tetra An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.75 inches serpae tetras do.
• Platy An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches platies do.
• Killifish An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches killifish do.
• Rummy nose tetra An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches rummy nose tetras do.
• Chili rasbora An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 0.8 inches chili rasboras do.
• Boesemani rainbowfish An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches boesemani rainbowfish do.
• Pygmy cory An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1 inches pygmy corys do.
• Hillstream loach An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches hillstream loaches do.
• Electric yellow cichlid An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches yellow labs do.
• Celestial pearl danio An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1 inches celestial pearl danios do.
• Glass catfish An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches glass catfish do.
• Swordtail An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches swordtails do.
• German blue ram An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches rams do.
• Dwarf neon rainbowfish An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches dwarf neon rainbowfish do.
• Cardinal tetra An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches cardinal tetras do.
• Rosy barb An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches rosy barbs do.
• Fancy goldfish Fancy goldfish are coldwater animals (65–74°F); oscars need 74–81°F. They meet only at 74°F, the edge of both ranges.
• Gold barb An adult oscar eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches gold barbs do.
• White cloud minnow White cloud minnows are coldwater animals (60–72°F); oscars need 74–81°F. No temperature suits both.

Planning a mixed tank? The tank mate checker tests every pair at once. Or read the oscar care sheet.