Are Oscars and parrot fish safe with my community tank fish?

Thanks for reaching out. Oscars are fairly aggressive and will try to eat each other, depending on their size. Be prepared to separate if needed and monitor interactions. Keep them well fed and provide plenty of hiding locations. Good luck.

Probably not, for a few reasons. The first is tank size. Unless you have a large tank, upwards of 150+ gallons, 2 Oscars can overwhelm a smaller tank and filter with their bio load (wastes). Ideally, you want at least 55 gallons per Oscar. Another reason against it would be that if you end up with 2 males, it is likely they will be fighting constantly until one is injured or worse. Lastly, the long fins on the fan tail will invite nipping which will cause injury and may lead to infection.

A 55 gallon tank is truly not large enough for an Oscar. Usually they are housed singly or in a mated pair. A single adult Oscar should have around a 75 gallon tank MINIMUM and a pair needs 100G or larger. Here's a bit more info on Oscars https://www.petcoach.co/article/oscar/

All these fish can grow quite large. The loach would be the "smallest" at about 6 to 8 inches when full grown. The Oscars can reach lengths of 18 inches and the Texas cichlid and sharks can reach a foot in length. All these fish will require much larger tanks than the ones you have now. The three Oscars alone would do best in a 125 gallon aquarium MINIMUM. The others may thrive in 55 to 75 gallon tanks. To leave them in small tanks will cause stress, aggression and likely infection.

Thanks for using PetCoach. There really is no solution other than a bigger tank. 50 gallons is likely too small for 6 parrot fish once they reach full size. If you cannot get a larger tank asap, I would recommend setting up several smaller tanks, or returning or rehoming the fish until you have the correct set up, A good rule of thumb is 30 gallon for one and 10 more gallons for each additional Blood Parrot. As with any fish, the bigger the tank the better. Overcrowded they are going to fight and become stressed which can lead to disease and possible death. Here's a bit more info. http://www.parrotcichlids.com/parrot-cichlid-tank-setup.asp Good luck.

That would depend on the size of your tank and the size of the oscars. Arowanas need a lot of space usually. I have seen them successfully being kept with arowanas before, but the oscars must be at least the same size of their mouth, not smaller. Unfortunately there are not fixed ruled and the only way would be to try them out together. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hello and thank you for your questions. Here is a helpful link about Blood Red Parrot Cichlids: https://www.petsmart.com/fish/live-fish/goldfish-betta-and-more/blood-red-parrot-cichlid-4034863.html Here's another link about cichlids in general: http://www.tetra-fish.com/fish-type-landing/cichlid.aspx These fish can grow to be large so you will want to start with a 30 gallon tank minimum. I recommend to start with 3-4 fish. These can be housed with other fish but they need to be within the same 'community'. Decorations are important because they give fish a place to hide. Provide a few large rocks, arches and covered areas where fish can hide. Then you can place the plants around the structures. Live plants can aide in providing healthy water. Tetra is a good fish food brand. They have been around a long time and have many varieties to chose from to meet your fish's needs. Make sure to supplement with fish as described in the article as well. Lastly, the frequency of water changes depends upon your tank including water hardness, number of fish, size of tank, filtration system and if live plants are present. A good rule of thumb is a 25% water change every 2 weeks. Cichlids may not be the best choice for a first time fish owner without doing some prior research. I recommend to read up on general aquarium care, cichlid care and to stop by your local aquarium store to discuss any issues specific to your location (such as water hardness, mineralizations within the local water or low/high pH levels). Local stores that specialize in fish and aquariums are often dialed into the local water and can provide a lot of helpful information. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.