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Fish for Sale
Oscar
(Velvet Cichlid) (Marble Cichlid) (Standard Oscar) (Red Tiger Oscar) (Red Oscar) (Albino Oscar) (Peacock-eye)
Albino Tiger Oscar and a Tiger Oscar
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Scientific Name |
Astronotus ocellatus |
| Type |
Cichlids |
Family |
Cichlids, Cichlidae |
Subfamily |
Percidae |
Other Names |
Velvet Cichlid, Marble Cichlid, Standard Oscar, Red Tiger Oscar, Red Oscar, Albino Oscar, Peacock-eye |
Minimum Tank Size |
30 gallon, the bigger the better |
Tank Level |
Middle, but will swim to all levels |
Care |
They are messy with very large waste and need frequent water changes. |
Behavior |
Territorial, especially when paired up for breeding. Reputation to be aggressive, but are less aggressive than most other cichlids, and are actually pretty peaceful if paired up with other relatively robust species. Can live in small groups. Smart, messy, will up-route plants, learns to recognize their owners and learns when it's feeding time. Will sometimes swim to your hand if you put it into the tank. Have been known to let you know when it is hungry by putting on a performance, swimming to the surface of the water, opening and closing it's mouth. Needs some stimulation, or it may become board, and stressed becoming more susceptible to illness. Their tanks should not be barren. They like to play with heaters, snails, and ping pong balls. Likes to dig in the gravel. They will most enjoy being in a room where they can see you often. They like to watch their owners. Loves to eat, can be taught small tricks. |
| Compatibility |
Can be kept by itself or with other cichlids of the same size. Said to do best with other Oscars, but people do keep them with some types of barbs, catfish eels, knifefish and sharks. Also pacu, silver dollar, annostomus, large arawana, wolf fish and Polypterus of similar size. Will eat smaller fish. |
Life span |
10 years |
Size |
12 inches (30 cm) Grows up very fast |
Aquarium |
Tank must have a lid so they do not jump out. Lower light, as they like to eat fish at the surface of the tank. Will tear up live plants. |
Water chemistry |
Freshwater |
pH |
6.0 - 7.5 (neutral) |
Hardness |
dH: 5.0 - 19.0 (soft to hard) |
Temperature |
75°- 86°F (24° to 30° C) |
Feeding |
Carnivorous - Likes to eat live smaller fish. They do well on live food such as, feeder fish, worms, crickets, brine shrimp. They will accept a variety of foods such as cichlid flakes, cichlid pellets, frozen foods and krill. |
Sexing |
Hard to tell |
Breeding |
Minimum of 55 gallon tank. Breeding pair form a strong bond after numerous "trials of strength". They then become loyal to one another. Broods of around 1000 eggs are laid on a pre-cleaned site, such as a slate. Parents protect their young together. Usually good parents. |
Origin |
Amazon River basin, South America |
Extras |
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Tiger Oscar
Tiger Oscar
In the wild Oscar's eat live
food and will very much enjoy being fed live food in their tank. Be
careful where you get your feeder fish from. The common goldfish or
guppies traditionally sold at fish shops are undernourished, making
them less nutritional for the Oscar. If you are going to feed your
Oscars feeder fish, keep them in a separate tank for a while to make
sure they are disease free and feed them nutritious food so those
nutrients can get passed on to your oscar. Pellets can also be fed
to Oscars. The more common choices of live food are krill, prawn,
shrimp, small fish, crickets, all sorts of worms, and crayfish.
Tiger Oscar and an Albino Tiger Oscar
Albino Tiger Oscar
Albino Tiger Oscar
Tiger Oscar
Albino Tiger Oscar
A Tiger Oscar and an Orange Cichlid in the Wood
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