discus or angelfish with oscars?

[mvh pets]

hi! any idea if i can have around 15-20 anglelfish or discus with a oscar in a 200 gallon with a 120 gallon sump filter.

tank setup: planted  with a lot of hiding spots

thanks!

[FrozenFins]

short answer is no.

Discus need peaceful community tank mates, an Oscar isn't all that peaceful. the angelfish may get eaten, so if you were to put the angels and Oscars together make sure the Oscar is well fed, and even he is well fed he may take a snack on the angels. 

Discus with Oscars - NO

Angelfish with Oscars - Highly discouraged. 

 

[Siett88]

Never kept either, so this is anecdotal, but try severums instead of discus. They can hold their own in a 'dispute' way better than discus, and in many cases, are just as beautiful.

[Fishmonger_X]

Honestly. Neither. I'd go with some other South/Central American cichlids that won't get so big and aggressive that they try to kill your oscars. Jack Dempseys and Convicts to name just 2 options that should be fine. Maybe some pike cichlids. That's what I would personally do anyway.

[gardenman]

As is often the case, it depends. There are some Oscars who are pretty mellow and there are some who are crazed killers. If you've got a pretty mellow Oscar who's just a happy go lucky guy who loves his pellets and doesn't care about anything else in the world, you could probably get away with it as long as the other fish weren't small enough to be eaten. In my limited personal experience (I've owned three Oscars) mine have tended to mellow out as they get older. A breeding pair of Oscars could be more trouble as they'd stake out a territory in the tank and guard it but a single Oscar in a 200 gallon tank with tankmates who were too big to be eaten, could work. I'd trust an Oscar more than say a Midas Cichlid or Red Devil as the others tend to stake out a territory and try to kill anything that enters it. In my personal experience, Oscars aren't as territorial. The bigger, older guys just largely go with the flow. 

Schooling fish like discus (and angelfish somewhat) could have a pretty good shot at survival as long as a pair didn't form and try to claim part of the tank as their breeding ground. If they did that and tried to drive off the Oscar, he might view it as a challenge and you don't challenge a big Oscar unless you're bigger and meaner and neither of your options are. Now keeping a pair from forming and trying to claim part of the tank may be your biggest obstacle. Fish are going to do what fish are going to do. Even then, with the right Oscar, a very mellow guy/gal, you might be okay in a 200 gallon tank. He might just give them that part of the tank and keep the rest for himself.

Oscars aren't one of the most aggressive fish in the aquarium world by any stretch. They tend more to the mellow side than a lot of the rest of the cichlid world, especially as they get a bit older. If you have the right Oscar, you could probably get away with it. I had one that kept a pet goldfish for over a year. For whatever reason he chose not to eat that goldfish and they swam side by side for over a year. Oscars are pretty smart fish and you can't really predict what they'll do, but that's both their strength and weakness in your situation. With a lot of cichlids and other fish, you know the pairing you're looking at won't work. It might work with an Oscar, if you get the right Oscar. You just can't say for sure. I'd be more comfortable trying it with an Oscar than most other large, aggressive cichlids though.