by DanRad on Sat Apr 14, 2007 10:15 am
Hi, Samanthia! Bluegill, as you probably know, are a sunfish, and are these days ubiquitous throughout most of the country due to intoduction. They do not grow as quickly as Oscars, and generally prefer their water a little cooler -- they'll live just fine in Oscar-friendly temps, but probably will not spawn. They have similar food preferences, and can attain roughly similar size. They, like Oscars, can be territorially aggressive once sexually mature. I have kept other sunfish with Oscars, though not bluegills. I do know of someone who had a large bluegill that destroyed everything he put in the tank with it until, as a last resort, he put in an Oscar of similar size. Amazingly enough, they acted like long-lost buddies, and turned out to be great tankmates.
A word of warning, however. Experienced keepers of Oscars (and other fish) will testify that a lot depends on the individual fish. One anecdote like the above can be quickly and violently contradicted by your own actual experience, so if you plan to try this, have a Plan B ready in case it doesn't work out. Also be sure to put any new fish in a quarantine tank for a few weeks to guard against introducing disease or parasites.
Last edited by
DanRad on Sat Apr 14, 2007 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.