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Oscar

Tiger Oscar ~ Velvet Cichlid ~ Marble Cichlid Family: Cichlidae Oscar Cichlid Astronotus ocellatus Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough
Latest Reader Comment - See More
I just bought one of these today. I'm glad that I looked at this site because I almost fed him goldfish flakes. He's about 2 inches right now, but I have him in a 35... (more)  drew  2008-07-15

   The Oscar is a popular fish that has been in demand for many years and is held in high esteem!

   A fish with great personality, the Oscar demonstrates unusually intelligence. They can be taught to roll over for food and can even learn to enjoy being petted. Sometimes they act prideful and sensitive or spoiled, moody, and demanding... behaving just like part of the family!

What's in the name?
Astronotus
means
"ray-backed, star-marked"
ocellatus
means
"spotted, eye spot"

   Oscar cichlids are handsome fish. They quickly grow quite large, reaching up to a foot, and definitely command attention. Though not usually described as beautiful they are quite personable and attentive, giving them an almost puppy dog appeal.

Picture of a Speckled Red Oscar
Speckled Red Oscar
Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   Their coloration along with very small scales gives them a velvety look. In earlier times they were actually referred to as the 'Velvet Cichlid'. Wild caught oscars are still popular and widely available but because oscars are readily bred, there are many varied color forms available. The most attractive of these is the Red Oscar, which has a red body and fewer blotchings than the wild caught.

   The Speckled Red Oscar with black fins is a more recent variety. Other popular tank bred varieties include the Tiger Oscar which is very similar to the wild form but with more red coloring, and the Red Tiger Oscar with marbled patches of red pigmentation. The Albino Tiger Oscar and the Albino Red Oscar are also more recent varieties. Then there are lutinos and long finned varieties. Some Oscars have even been artificially colored or 'painted' to increase their appeal.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

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Geographic Distribution
Astronotus ocellatus
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Actiniform
  • Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
  • Order: Perciformes
  • Family: Cichlidae
Data provided by FishBase.org

Distribution:
   The Oscar was described by Agassiz in 1831. They are found in South America; the Amazon River Basin, the Parana, the Rio Paraguay, and the Rio Negro. They inhabit slow moving waters of rivers, canals and ponds with muddy or sandy bottoms, feeding on small fish, crayfish, worms and insect larvae.
   They have been introduced into natural waterways in China, Australia, and Florida USA as a by-product of the aquarium trade. Expansion into many non-native areas is somewhat restricted as they are intolerant of cooler water temperatures. They are a highly valued as a food fish in South America.

Status:
   This species is not listed on the IUCN Red List.

Description:
   The Oscar Cichlid has a rather oval shaped body and large thick lips. The wild caught species are typically dark colored with some orange around the gill area and on the sides towards the back, and an orange-ringed black spot at the base of the caudal fin. They can change colors rapidly when becoming territorial or combative. Juveniles have white and orange wavy bands or stripes and have spots on their heads. There are many varied color forms of captive bred Oscars. They can be marbled, mottled, blotched, red and black, all red, and all black.

Size - Weight:
   These fish get up to inches 12" (33 cm) in the wild, though usually a bit smaller in the aquarium. They grow very rapidly and will quickly outgrow a small aquarium.

Care and feeding:
   Since they are carnivorous Oscars prefer a variety of meaty foods. They will eat all types of live, dry, and frozen foods. They get quite large so they should be fed a high quality pelleted food and large chunk foods such as cut up beef heart and earthworms. They particularly enjoy fish and worms and are hearty eaters. Live guppies and then goldfish will also suffice when they get bigger.
   Though you can start younger oscars in a smaller aquarium, they grow quickly and will soon need a large home. A 30 gallon aquarium with very good maintenance and filtration is okay for juveniles, but a 100 gallon aquarium or larger is better for adults. They will need frequent water changes. Oscars do splash water in their enthusiasm for eating, so it is good to have the aquarium covered.
   These are curious fish that love to play, they will have definite ideas about the interior arrangement and will move things around. Rocks securely placed on the bottom work well while plants will be uprooted. Some suggestions are to put plants in pots with the roots covered with rocks, use plastic plants and securely anchor them on the bottom with silicone cement, or floating plants can work well. Because they like to explore, you can occasionally offer them a 'toy' such as a plastic ornament. Get several and rotate a new one in every so often.
   The only disease they are particularly vulnerable to is Head and Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE), which use to be called "hole-in-the-head" disease. This looks like cavities or pits on the head and face. It is believed this may be a nutritional deficiency of one or more of: Vitamin C, Vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus. It is thought to be caused by a poor diet or lack of variety, lack of partial water changes, or over filtration with chemical media such as activated carbon.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Hardness: 10° dGH
   Ph: 6.5 - 7.2
   Temp: 72 -77° F (22-25° C)

Social Behaviors:
   They are not a community fish. Though they are not belligerent to tank mates, they are predatory. If you start your aquarium with an assortment of fish, eventually you will have only one type of fish left, the Oscar. They will generally burrow and they will dig up plants.

Sexual Differences:
   They are difficult to sex. The easiest method is to obtain six to eight juveniles and let them pair off on their own as they reach sexual maturity.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Oscars are egg layers and open spawners. They forms pairs and will attach their eggs to rocks or the glass. They are excellent parents and both will tend the young, even chewing up food for the fry to eat.
   See the description of how these fish breed in Breeding Freshwater Fish for monogamist cichlids.

Availability:
   The Oscar is readily available, either as a wild caught fish or in tank bred color varieties. The are usually not very expensive, with juveniles ranging from about $5.00 - $20.00 USD depending on the variety. Adults range from about $20.00 - $40.00 USD.

 

Author: Clarice Brough, CFS




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Latest Comments
I just bought one of these today. I'm glad that I looked at this site because I almost fed him goldfish flakes. He's about 2 inches right now, but I have him in a 35 gallon tank with one zigzag eel and an african dwarf frog. I'm upgrading next year.
drew
2008-07-15
ya i have a albino oscar with a lot of diffrent fish like a leporinus and a few plecos i also have a lab and a D.comp and a fiermouth in a 55 gallon tank i love my fish but im moving i have to get rido some of them but im keepin my oscar and my leporinus can some one tell me how to move with fish on a 2 day drive help some one
FRED
2008-07-05
We have an ocsar that is about a year old now, got him when he was a baby. He has gone through a few tank mates. My husband likes to get him feeder fish but since his pleco friend died a few weeks, ago he will not eat anymore. He just swims around shaking his tail. Not sure why he is doing that, I hope to find out soon though. I really like him. I pet him when I do the water changes and like to switch the things I put in the tank for him to play with. He is fun to watch and will let me know when he wants my attention. I keep my tank next to the couch, so he just taps on the side when you are sitting by him until you watch what he is doing. His new toy he seems to like quite a bit is a cup, before that it was a ball. He likes to tease the cat too!
Jessie
2008-06-03
We absolutely love our Oscars! My boyfriend and I have an 80 gallon tank right now and we currently own five Oscars, a Convict, 2 plecos and 3 different catfish and a guami as well as a shovel nose shark. All my oscars are extremely social to one another. They all swim in groups and hunt the live feeders together. It is as if they are working together especially since one of my oscars is a albino tiger oscar with only one eye. They all seem to help him get the live fish to eat, and they will catch a fish and even bring it to him sometimes. The same goes for my shark and the catfish, they all help each other out which is strange because everyone tells me they are all aggressive fish and cannot co-exist.
Nichole
2008-03-22
I healed my oscar from hole-in-the head and he is very happy. I only have a 30 gallon at the moment (he is fairly small about 17cm) but I am going to upgrade to a 55 gal. It is an extremely easy fish to feed as it will eat just about anything you put in the tank. The only fish I have been able to keep with him successfully is a jewel cichlid. My oscar chases on occasion usually to get my attention. Best fish I've ever had.
Callum
2008-03-10
Some of the coolest comments:
We recently bought 2 oscars, one red and the other one is albino. They are a hoot! The albino will let me pet him but the other shys away. They are always playing and yes tearing up the plants and the pieces that have torn away and are floating on the top of the water they like to push around. Mine are around 10" long and we have a plecosomus (algae eater) that they like to push on and make him move. They even try to nibble on his tail. They don't get too far because he is as big as they are. I love to press my nose against the tank and the albino oscar will come up to me and start to shake his head at me and then he takes off swimming. My husband keeps trying to find ways to keep the tank thermometer straight but they keep on pushing it around until they get it lengthwise with the tank. The one kind of rock that they don't move is the small rocks you get at the beach near the ocean. That is what we started with and has worked very well for all of our fish in the last 10 years. We just take them out and clean them every now and then. The rocks are about 1" to 3" in diameter.
Dale Craig
2006-01-31
First let me say they are fast growing, aggressive, need lots of water changes, alot of filteration, and are messy. My 9'' oscar has waste the size of deer poop. It's crazy. They love to eat. They can and will jump out of the water to get food. That includes your hand if its above the water line. I've owned probably a little over a dozen oscars total. I have 4 right now. I feed mine earth worms, pellets, frozen brine shimp, freeze dried blood worms, algae wafers, shrimp pellets,beef heart, guppies, and freeze dried tubifex worms. I'd like to srart my own culture of either blood worms, white worms, or brine shrimp someday. I think all my fish will benefit from that. That being said I never feed feeders from local or chain fish stores because of the disease feeders have that can be passed onto my fish. It's not worth loosing an 12in oscar to watch him eat feeders. I do breed my own guppies and feed those sometimes. When you breed your own it ensures you have the control over the quality of feeder you are providing. I mean, look at the feeder tanks in the stores. They are always overcrowded, nasty, and have dead fish floating around at the top. Do you really want to expose a 12'' oscar to that that you've took the one year or so to raise? Seems like a waste.
Carry
2005-12-10

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