Oscar – Astronotus ocellatus
Species name: Astronotus ocellatus
Common names: oscar, tiger oscar, velvet cichlid, or marble cichlid
Family: Cichlidae
Order: Perciformes
Class: Actinopterygii
Maximum length: 11.8 – 15.7 in ( 30.0 – 40.0 cm)
Minimum tank size: Provide at least 30 gallons of space per Oscar.
Aggressiveness: aggressive. The less aggressive are the Pink Tiger Oscars.
Hardiness: Easy
Distribution: South America: Peru, Colombia, Brazil, and French Guiana and occurs in the Amazon river basin, along the Amazonas, Içá, Negro, Solimões, and Ucayali river systems, and also in the Approuague and Oyapock drainages.
Diet: Feeds on small fish, crayfish, worms and insect larvae. Variety is very important. Will accept flake foods, pellet foods, live foods, blood worms, earth worms, vegetables such as romaine lettuce, cucumbers and zucchini. Most experts agree that oscars should not be fed feeder fish. They are not particularly nutritious and carry a huge risk of disease transmission. You only need to feed your Oscar once a day.
Additional information:
A. ocellatus, also known as Oscar, is a cichlid native to South America where it can be found in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, French Guiana and in the Amazon river basin. It its natural environment, the Oscar preferably inhabits quiet and shallow slow moving white-water where it takes shelter under submerged branches.
The oscar are renowned for their personality and are regarded as one of the most intelligent tropical fish. They are aware of the world outside of their aquarium and will learn to recognize their owner and accept fish food directly from the hand.
A. ocellatus have been reported to grow to approximately 15 in (34 cm) and can weight up to 1.6 kg (2.6 lbs). The body is oval shaped. Juvenile are stripped with white and orange wavy bands and have a spotted head while adult have bright orange opercle margins on a chocolate brown background. There is often a black rounded blotch with orange margin at the base of the caudal fin. It has been suggested that these ocelli function to limit fin-nipping by piranha (Serrasalmus spp.) which co-occur with A. ocellatus in its natural environment. Oscars have the ability to rapidly alter their coloration.
From the original dark and orange form (the tiger oscar), many color forms have been developed through selective breeding : red, blue and albino oscar are some of them.
The oscar is one of the fastest growing fish in the aquarium trade. A healthy specimen can easily gain 1 inch a month for the first 7-8 month of their life.
To keep an Oscar healthy, the water should be kept clean. Unfortunately, the oscars are known for being one of the more messy tropical fish to keep so be prepared to perform frequent water changes. Because its size and messy eating habits, a single oscar fish should be kept in at least 55 gallon. An additional 30 gallon should be provided for each additional oscar kept in the tank. Ideally, Oscars should be kept in groups of 6 or more. Additionally, the aquarium should have a strong filtration system. When selecting a filter, it is a good idea to chose one that provide filtration in excess of your total aquarium volume.
Water’s temperature should be between 74°F and 81°F. Keeping an Oscar in warmer temperature for an extended period of time can result in oxygen deprivation, which can seriously hamper the immune system and cause nerve damage. Keeping an oscar in colder temperature can also hamper its immune system which makes the fish more susceptible to diseases.
In order to feel comfortable, they need to have lots of hiding places. They will be more active and will come out more often if you can provide plenty of hiding places. Providing sufficient cover reduces stress and therefore improves their immune system, reducing chance of disease. Oscars are known to rearrange their tank so if you don’t want them to move everything, the best is to decorate the tank with heavy pieces of wood. Avoid using rough or sharp decorations that the fish may get hurt on. They are very good jumpers, so a heavy hood is a must.
Because they move everything all the time, Oscars are not good candidates for the planted aquarium.
Choosing the tankmates carefully is very important. The Oscar will eat small species so make sure to chose large tankmate. Some of the ideal tankmate for Oscars are the Texas Cichlids, Jack Dempseys, large Plecosomus.
Finally, remember that Oscars are primarily carnivorous. In the wild, Oscars eat small fish, insects, invertebrates, insect larvae and will also consuming plant matter. Variety is very important! They will accept flake foods, pellet foods, live foods, blood worms, earth worms, vegetables such as romaine lettuce, cucumbers and zucchini. Most experts agree that oscars should not be fed feeder fish. They are not particularly nutritous and carry a huge risk of disease transmission.
Do you have experience with Oscars? Share with us using the comment box bellow.
Article written by www.aquariumslife.com
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This artful species hunt for other aquarium fish because of it’s ardour. You can forgot about other aquarium pets
I agree with you on that. I would personally not try to keep other fish with oscars but I have seen many who do it without problems.