CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

Hi all...we just purchased a gorgeous Texan....his name is Houston....ya, original, huh? He is a cool fish, however, he is not thrilled with our Oscar. It became a war of the tank...the O was there first, but he is small and the texan is much larger. We ultimately had no choice but to move the Oscar in with our community tank. We do have an Oscar in there and she is very docile, and she accepted the little guy. As for Houston, he now has to live with 2 very large Vampire Pleco's who dont care for him much. I think we are going to have to do some fish rearranging before long. Any suggestions? Just how aggressive is this new cichlid of ours? Thanks

Hi, Thorsmom. Sounds like you're keeping a nice eye on your fish! You may have mentioned it in a previous post, but what tank sizes are we talking about? Haven't kept Texans myself, but I understand they can be pretty aggressive. What size is that tank? How about the community? What other fish are in there besides the two O's?

Right now it's a 55 gallon, soon to be 150. He has been keeping to himself, and leaving the Pleco's alone. The little O is doing fine with his new tank mates, however, it's going to be a major overcrowding issue very soon. Once the 150 is set up, all should be fine. I guess we will have to leave the Texan alone, or maybe put our silver dollars with him....he is a nice looking fish, just very mean!!! I think the dollars would be ok with him...they are pretty docile and keep to themselves. Thanks....

Once you have the 150 you might try the Oscar in there as well. More space is great for relaxing some aggression. Use rocks, driftwood, or other decorations to break up the sight lines so that each can feel like it has some space of its own.

Originally posted by DanRad
Once you have the 150 you might try the Oscar in there as well. More space is great for relaxing some aggression. Use rocks, driftwood, or other decorations to break up the sight lines so that each can feel like it has some space of its own.

I've never been able to keep an Oscar with a Texas -- I tried it a couple of times in the past, the first ending in the poor Oscar being terrified and eventually killed by the Texas, and the second time me rescuing the Oscar before it "got too far". Mayhaps using DanRad's advice in a 150 might work, but in my experience it hasn't -- --Mark