Oscar Fish Guide: (Care, Breeding, Food, Tank Mates, Life & More)
It has been observed that Oscars are infamous for the aggression in their behavior as they are known to swim very gracefully that you can’t even imagine. It requires a very brave person to keep them. And people do get attracted to their appearance and colors but soon they start appreciating their intelligence and social behaviors in the environment. They need to look after an experienced fish keeper.
It’s very easy to feed them because they are omnivores but you cannot appropriate tank mates for them easily. Their complex behaviors have the capability to captivate you for a couple of hours, so they are worthy of a place in your home. In this article, we will discover how to take proper care of them and this will also include ideal tank setups, tank makes and breeding practices. You will need a proper setup before adding Oscar fishes to your aquarium. Feed them properly and take proper care of them and you will see good results in no time. And soon, Oscar fishes will become your favorite type of fish.
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Contents
Oscar Fish: An Overview
Oscars are known to belong to the family of Cichlidae as they are the species of cichlid. Oscars are found native to Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, etc. you can also find them near one of the most biodiverse environments called the Amazon River. These fishes are known to be very popular for home aquariums but you have to think properly before buying them. It becomes difficult sometimes to handle them because of their very aggressive and territorial behavior. This species is known to be full of personality. They can live up to 20 years provided proper care is taken.
Typical Behavior
It is risky to add them to your aquarium because of their territorial behavior. If a fish encroaches on their territory, then they will attack that fish without any fear. They swim most of their time. And you can control their aggression if the tank has been set up correctly and right tank mates are there inside the aquarium.
Types of Oscar Fish
Their growth is very fast. They grow approximately 1 inch in a month until they reach their fully-grown stage. Their maximum size is 12 inches. Their body is long and oval in shape. They are monomorphic due to which you will find the mating of this species difficult. Their colors have the tendency to change with time. There is an assortment of irregular black and orange splotches on these cichlids. You create a wide variety by using the process of selective breeding. Red and lemon color Oscar fishes generally have completely solid red and yellow color bodies.
Perfect Oscar Fish Tank
These fishes have mainly evolved to live in their natural regions. So, you will have to set up an aquarium, which will have similar conditions to these. Make sure that the water flow is strong and the sunlight is also sufficient. There should be a scattered soft substrate with rocks, debris, and vegetation at the bottom of the river in the tank. These conditions are not that difficult to recreate.
Tank Conditions
A soft layer of the substrate should be there at the base of the aquarium tank. They should be fine-grained. Oscars mainly like to dig. You can place bogwood and rocks around the tank in order to create a natural look. You can even choose the decorations of your choice. For hiding purposes, a couple of caves should be there in the tank for the Oscar fishes.
But you have to fix these decorations firmly. These fishes can easily dig around the objects present in the tank whenever they are looking for the food. Generally, live plants do not get eaten up but still, they are not considered to be so safe.
Quick Read: Things You Should Know Before Buying An Aquarium
Hardy plants are more recommended for surviving the trauma. Hornwort is known to be a very good option. You will just require a filter to clean the water (How to Clean Fish Tanks)and an efficient heater to maintain a stable temperature for the species present in the aquarium tank. You can also add some aquarium lights in order to make the aquarium look well lit. the lid should always be there on the tank so that no fish tries to jump out of the aquarium. And make sure that the filter outlet is creating a proper current in the water.
Size of the aquariums required by the Oscars
You generally need a large-sized aquarium for the fishes like Oscars because if you try to keep them in a small tank then they may become ill or even more aggressive than before. So an aquarium of capacity 55 gallons will be sufficient.
How many Oscars can be Kept in One Gallon
Each Oscar fish needs a lot of space for the first gallons, you can go for 55 gallons and then you can increase the capacity side by side by adding 20-30 gallons more forever additional fish.
Tankmates for Oscar Fish
It has been observed that these species do not make friends easily because of their aggressive nature. Every other species is just scared of them. They belong to the most diverse areas of the world because of which they have a habit of living with a number of other aquatic species.
If you want a community in your tank then you will require a large tank with large fishes that are capable of defending themselves.
Some of the examples of these types of fishes are Bichirs, Jaguar Cichlids, Sailfin Plecos, Severum Cichlids and Silver Dollars.
Small fishes or small invertebrates should not be added into the tank because they have high chances of getting disappeared from the tank.
How to keep Oscar Fish together?
You just have to follow all the guidelines that have been mentioned above in order to keep the Oscars together. And make sure that enough of space is there in the tank so that their chances of attacking other tank mates get reduced.
Food for Oscar Fishes
It has been observed that selecting the right tank mates for Oscars is more difficult than feeding them with the right or healthy food. As they are omnivores so they have the capability to eat anything.
They can eat small fishes, larvae and even small pieces of plant debris. A major part of their diet consists of small insects and crustaceans. You can use flakes or pellet foods in an aquarium. They contain all the necessary nutrition for your fishes. Some of the other available options are live or frozen foods like bloodworms, daphnia and brine shrimp. Some spare vegetables from the kitchen can also be used in feeding them. Or try using homemade fish foods. You have to provide them a diet full of nutrients in order to keep them healthy. And try to feed them a number of times in a day so that they are happy.
Caring of Oscar Fish
As compared to the other species available in the market, Oscars require more care and you have to keep this in mind while keeping them in your tank. They produce a lot of mess in the tank as they are large in size and their appetite is also more. So make sure that the tank gets cleaned at regular intervals.
Change the water at least once a week. Ideally, you have to change the water twice in a week. These fishes do not get sick so often but may fall ill like other species. One of the common diseases they are known to have is the “hole in the head” disease. In order to prevent them from having diseases like these, you have to make sure that they are given the right food that is full of nutrients.
Breeding Guide for Oscar Fish
You will find that these fishes are one of the hardest to breed in captivity. You will discover that putting any old male and female together in the tank for the purpose of breeding will not result in the juveniles easily. So you can think about going for an already established breeding pair of Oscars. Or you can also try buying a group of juveniles because when they grow together their chances of mating becomes high.
But there is a disadvantage associated with this option, as this process will require at least a time of 1 to 2 years. These are fishes generally breed in the rainy season and you can create this type of environment in your aquarium tank by just lowering the temperature in your tank or you can also sprinkle some water on the surface of the tank.
A female can produce around 3,000 opaque white eggs and they will clean the surface before laying any eggs. Both males and females will guard the egg until the egg gets hatched and they will take proper care of them. In order to change the chances of survival of juveniles, you can move them to a new and separate tank. And you will feed them for around 2-4 times a day.
Conclusion
You will need a proper setup before adding Oscar fishes to your aquarium. Feed them properly and take proper care of them and you will see good results in no time. And soon, Oscar fishes will become your favorite type of fish.
It has been observed that Oscars are infamous for the aggression in their behavior as they are known to swim very gracefully that you can’t even imagine. It requires a very brave person to keep them. And people do get attracted to their appearance and colors but soon they start appreciating their intelligence and social behaviors in the environment.
They need to look after an experienced fish keeper. It’s very easy to feed them because they are omnivores but you cannot appropriate tank mates for them easily. Oscars are known to belong to the family of Cichlidae as they are the species of cichlid.
Oscars are found native to Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, etc. you can also find them near one of the most biodiverse environments called the Amazon River. These fishes are known to be very popular for home aquariums but you have to think properly before buying them.
It becomes difficult sometimes to handle them because of their very aggressive and territorial behavior. This species is known to be full of personality.
They can live up to 20 years provided proper care is taken. Their complex behaviors have the capability to captivate you for a couple of hours, so they are worth a place in your home. In this article, we will discover how to take proper care of them and this will also include ideal tank setups, tank makes and breeding practices.
They need a moderate level of care. You will find that these fishes are one of the hardest to breed in captivity. You will discover that putting any old male and female together in the tank for the purpose of breeding will not result in the juveniles easily.
So you can think about going for an already established breeding pair of Oscars. They are generally known to be aggressive. There are various colors. They generally have a life of around 20 years. Their size is around 12 inches.
They are known to be omnivorous. They belong to the family of Cichlidae and this needs to keep into consideration. The minimum tank size required for them is around 55 gallons. For the set-up of a Tank, you will require freshwater, rocks, and caves.