Oscar and eel compatability?

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Hey I'm helping my boyfriend set up his new 90 gallon and he wants an eel (such as tiretrack) and an oscar amoung some other oddballs.

I've been told by an lfs guy that the oscar will eat the eel.....

If i grow them up together will he still try to eat it?

I know oscar personalities vary but does anyone have any experience with eels and oscars?


Thanks
-Diana

 

[CHINABOY1021]

i have no personal experience, but the oscar have possibility of thinking the eel is a worm and gobble him up.

 

[1tankneverenuff]

I do . How's two Tire Track's and three Oscars living together, that's what I had until I purchased more tanks. The Oscars were about 2"-3" and the Tire Track eels were 4"-5". Never messed with each other, they all had their own caves and hiding places. When feeding time came along, they all swam around the tank together. Oscars are slow and the eels are much faster, not to mention they can dig into the ground . Hope this helps! Good luck!

 

[dethjam316]

i would make sure you're getting an eel that's at least a couple inches bigger than the oscar. oscars, IME, grow much faster than spiny eels, so they need a jumpstart. if you put a big oscar in with a small eel, the result would likely be a bigger oscar.

SO i would get a juvenile oscar...2 or 3 inches in size, and get an eel that's at least 5 or 6 inches. it may cost a few more bucks than getting a babyish eel, but it'd be worth it if it doesn't end up in the oscar's stomach. tiretracks are a good way to go, i love mine.

 

[dwf73]

When I needed to acclimate oscars to my arowana tank I set up a divider for about 2 months. The arowanas were already over 6 inches, and the oscars were at about 3 or 4. I let them grow together (with the divider), and once they were at about 8 and 6 inches, respectively, I removed the barrier. All went well, but it will probably be different with eels- What I am getting at is that if you are not able to wait for both fish, you could easily put a divider in the 90g.

 

[1tankneverenuff]

Remember though, depending on the divider...the eel can jump it or dig under it. I was at a store once where they had a Tire Track eel "jumping" from tank to tank. Took a while to catch him too, funny thing is he came home with me ...

 

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Cool thanks guys. The eels they have at our lfs are a good size.... they even have a freshwater moray eel too (which is cool looking but doesnt seem to do as much as the tiretracks).

The lfs'er also reccommended getting an arowana for the tank too. I think that would be awesome- but i dont want any fish that will outgrow the tank.

So we'll go for the eel and oscar for now.

Our final bunch is gonna be:

1 oscar
1 tiretrack eel
1 black ghost knife
a few bala sharks or tinfoil barbs
4-5 clown loaches
3-4 elephantnose
1 synodontis cat
1 pleco


Definatly an 'oddball' tank. Will be pretty cool if everything works out though...

Thanks again

 

[dwf73]

I once kept a black ghost with elephant noses and it didnt work out too well. Just food for thought. Id also scrap the bala sharks for that setup, out of concern for space and compatability. sounds cool though, good luck with it;

if you want any suggestions, with a 90g and an interest in those types of fish i would go with
1) 2 oscars
2) 1 black ghost OR 1 elephantnose
3) tiretrack eel
4) Something small
-im not positive about the ghosts and oscars though, it could be amistake

 

[1tankneverenuff]

From my experiences with the Black Ghost Knife, I have never seen them deliberately attack another fish. They seem to keep to themselves, but if they sense another fish in their path then they usually just "butt" them out of the way. Most fish learn to stay out of the way of the Black Ghost eventually. Be sure you put some type of tubing in the tank, the Black Ghost loves those tubes more than any other Knifefish I have seen. He's notcurnal so he will stay in those tubes the majority of the time, unless it's feeding time or you turn the lights out. Right now my Black Ghost Knife is in a tank with a Knight Goby, Striped Goby, Clown Knife, African Knife, and a Synodontis Featherfin Catfish and they have all been together for a good while with no problems. The Black Ghost is also the biggest fish in that tank by far. Like I said, as long as all the fish stay out of his way, you'll have no problems. There is no biting, just lots of "headbutt's" . All in all, he is a beautiful addition to a tank, especially 90 gallons!

PS - Be sure to use clear tubing, it's fun to watch them roll around inside the tube...they act like little kids sometimes.

 

[Captain Hook]

Sounds like it will be a really interesting tank! The syno, eel, and ghost knife would be the most interesting to me. If you get a nice small school of tinfoils they will look really good too. They will move quickly from end to end in the tank, don't know if you want that or not.