The Zebra Effect

[saz326]

People have been asking about schooling species to add interest to oscar tanks and the like. Bearing in mind the size of their mouths there are very few choices of fish that would do the job....

..but has anyone ever tried the whole zebra effect thing. Where a group of schooling colourful swimming fishies is large enough to make it hard for the predator to catch any one individual? (as zebras in africa can outsmart lions regularly due to their stripes and herd habit.)

Maybe a large group of pencilfish, or galaxy rasbora..... or similar could do it.


Any experience?

 

[Truck]

People have been asking about schooling species to add interest to oscar tanks and the like. Bearing in mind the size of their mouths there are very few choices of fish that would do the job....

..but has anyone ever tried the whole zebra effect thing. Where a group of schooling colourful swimming fishies is large enough to make it hard for the predator to catch any one individual? (as zebras in africa can outsmart lions regularly due to their stripes and herd habit.)

Maybe a large group of pencilfish, or galaxy rasbora..... or similar could do it.


Any experience?

no chance...a galaxy rasbora in a tank with oscars is like a basking shark and krill

 

[Davo86]

The trouble is zebras aren't confined to a field (for example) and if they were they may find it a lot harder to escape than on the open plains were they really have unlimited space to retreat to. plus a large Oscars mouth could take down (so to speak) a whole group of pencilfish in one go, whereas a lion can't catch more than one zebra at a time.

In a tank with a very big footprint, you may get away with large Giant Danios or Rainbows, but IMO with the majority of bite sized dithers, they would quickly be consumed.

 

[yvez9]

I wouldn't count on it working for more than a few minutes