# Pirahna in same tank as Oscar



## BigJag (Sep 26, 2011)

Can someone, anyone please post how bad of an idea this would be??!!! My brother in law has an Oscar about 3-4 in. in a 55 gal tank and told me he wants to get 2 Pirahna to put with it. I tried to tell him not to, but he won't listen to me. Them Pirhana will kill the Oscar yet he dont think thetr will b problems.


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## DempseyDude (Apr 4, 2005)

READ THIS:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... highlight=


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

It's been done numerous times by myself and others. My fish were Never fed live food thouugh. It can be done but it needs to be done very carefully. It's best to raise them for a few months separately training them off live food. I kept 8 piranha with a pair of oscars in a 185 for four years with not a single nipped fin. The piranha were in the tank for a year feeding On doromin before the pair of oscars were added.


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## BigJag (Sep 26, 2011)

I know him though, he doesn't know a whole lot about raising fish. The main reason he got an Oscar was because he thought it was cool to watch it eat the feeders. He actually wants them to fight, to add ''action'' to the tank. I dont think he realizes that something will end up dead.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I think what you need to do is offer to take care of his fish while he's away. Then take them and tell him they all died.


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## Cartem2 (Oct 4, 2011)

TheFishGuy said:


> I think what you need to do is offer to take care of his fish while he's away. Then take them and tell him they all died.


+1


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## BigJag (Sep 26, 2011)

TheFishGuy said:


> I think what you need to do is offer to take care of his fish while he's away. Then take them and tell him they all died.


 I just wish I could get him to learn the right way of doing things. Years back he saw I had a Dempsey with a Pirahana, but didn't realize the precautions u take to makeit work. He is in the aqurium hobby for the wrong reason.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Some people just could give two poo poo's about fish. They're disposable pets. Sad...


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## Catfish Dan (Apr 12, 2011)

> He actually wants them to fight, to add ''action'' to the tank.


This makes me so sad.


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## DempseyDude (Apr 4, 2005)

TheFishGuy said:


> It's been done numerous times by myself and others. My fish were Never fed live food thouugh. It can be done but it needs to be done very carefully. It's best to raise them for a few months separately training them off live food. I kept 8 piranha with a pair of oscars in a 185 for four years with not a single nipped fin. The piranha were in the tank for a year feeding On doromin before the pair of oscars were added.


You guys must be joking, Have you ever heard of " Lip Locking" that Oscars do and other Cichlids do while they are defending their spot in the tank? LOL Fishguy, you as a mod should never say is ok, and that u have done before, and can be done with caution, bla bla bla, this is ridiculous, i have seen many Fish Tank noobs ending up with Oscars with no lips because of this... and we are talking about a fish that lives up to 15 years... You should try housing a aligator and some Oscars in a huge fish tank and maybe with caution you will succeed.. LOL

Aquarism is more than mixing up lots of colorfull fish in a tank, and this is not just based on my opinion, is recreating the natural habitat of the fish in your home to enjoy the fish at itÃ‚Â´s best.

It is clear that people that have the idea of housing Piranhas with Oscars have no money, time or enough room to raise both species and they come with the idea of having one fish tank that you can just do experiments with your fish..

If you feel compulsive to keep buying fish this shouldnt be your hobby, fish should be taken care like something it will survive for years, many years, is your pet, not a experiment.

Go make some research, buy the correct plants, try to recreate a enviroment where your fish will live happy all his life!

*this is the best advice*


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

A few things dempsey dude;

1.) I give advice purely on experience not hearsay, opinion, others experiences or what I've read on the internet.

2.)


> Aquarism is more than mixing up lots of colorfull fish in a tank, and this is not just based on my opinion, is recreating the natural habitat of the fish in your home to enjoy the fish at itÃ‚Â´s best.


You're statement of recreating the fishes envoronment to the best of your abilities is nothing _but_ opinion. No matter what you do they're still in jail, they're still in a glass box, no matter how big it is it's still too small, no matter what they will reach the end and have to turn around. That's natural? Oh wait, I'll throw some rocks and a stick in... they'll love it. :lol: They could care less, all they want is clean water and food, they could care less if the gravel is pink or natural. They could care less if you have a "No Fishing" sign in the tank or if it's an expensive piece of bog wood. They could simply care less. You are wrong shoving this kind of advice down peoples throats. You'd hate my fish room, it's full of nothing but bare tanks and rare cichlids swimming around sponge filters.

3.) Cichlids in general will not attempt to "lip lock defending their territory" They will give chase, lip locking takes place if the fish being chased has no where to go. Hence the tank is too small. I see very little if any lip locking going on in my display tanks unless there's spawning activity, and the lip locking takes place amungst the pair, never with other tank mates "defending their territory". Last time I checked I haven't seen a hybrid pirahna/oscar.

4.)


> LOL Fishguy, you as a mod should never say is ok, and that u have done before, and can be done with caution, bla bla bla, this is ridiculous, i have seen many Fish Tank noobs ending up with Oscars with no lips because of this... and we are talking about a fish that lives up to 15 years...


See #1.

5.)


> You should try housing a aligator and some Oscars in a huge fish tank and maybe with caution you will succeed.. LOL


I have. Have you? I was successfull. How was your experience? The gator was 40" in a 10'x6' enclosure with a 200 gallon pond in the middle with the same pair of oscars that I housed with the pirahna. They spawned in that pond. The gator could care less about them. It only liked hamsters. Incidently his name was Mojo. 

6.)


> It is clear that people that have the idea of housing Piranhas with Oscars have no money, time or enough room to raise both species and they come with the idea of having one fish tank that you can just do experiments with your fish..


Not sure how this is "clear" ? I wasn't aware that income had anything to do with it...

7.)


> * this is the best advice *


-Again, opinion.

Dempsey dude, do me a favor, before you post in any of my folders do not confuse _your_ opinions as _fact_.

Here is my* opinion *on posting. If you're going to post and give advice, give advice from your personal experiences. Cichlids are a species of fish that are so diverse even amungst them selves they are different. I've owned hundreds of oscars, some for long term, some as rescues, some as breeders, some for only a few days. I can tell you from my personal experience that each one was as different from the other as you and I. This is true for all of the species of cichlids where I've kept more than one specimin. They all have their own personalities and we all have our own experiences which is why it is so difficult to give advice when it comes to cichlids. There's no such thing as "the best advice", there's only your experiences and opinions. In my experience and opinion I'd definately keep an oscar in a bare 55 for life. Most on here disagree with me. That's fine, I know what works for me just as you know what works for you.


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