Scientific name: Astronotus ocellatus

Common name: Oscar cichlid, red oscar, tiger oscar, velvet cichlid

Region: South & Central America - Rio Ucayali drainage & upper Amazon river of Peru and Brazil

Size: 12-15 inches

Color: Ocellatus is Latin for spotted, referring to the spotted pattern of the Oscar's body. Oscar can vary from olive-green to gray to chocolate brown in base color, but most often a dark brown or black. Black spots surrounded by an orange or red ring on the base of the upper caudal peduncle are characteristic of the Oscar.

Water Chemistry: pH: 7, soft water

Temperature: 72-80 (24-28)

Aggression: Aggressive (which is sadly the reason this is one of the most commonly purchased tropical fish.

Compatibility: Other large South American cichlids

Diet: Carnivorous

How to breed: It is very difficult to sex Oscars from external characteristics, so you'll have to keep a colony, and hope that a pair develops. A breeding pair of Oscars will prepare a breeding area, such as a flat stone or slate. A single spawning may consist of around 2000 eggs, and will usually hatch within 3 to 4 days.

General: The oscar is one of the most commonly kept cichlids (or tropical fish for that matter) in the aquarium. Their reputation is strong, so much so that people who've never heard of cichlids still know what an Oscar is! I remember fondly the day I heard a PetSmart employee telling a group of kids how the 'Oscar is closely related to a Piranha'. Just make sure that if you're keeping Oscar cichlids in your fish tank, that you're prepared to buy lots of fish food, and do plenty of water changes!

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PJ (Unregistered) 2007-06-05 14:50:26 How long do Oscars live? Reply 1   0

Oscars Justin (Unregistered) 2007-06-05 15:06:43 As long as you treat them well :). My friend has one that's over 7 years old! Reply 0   3

Oscar age gccesgd (Unregistered) 2008-02-25 22:18:25 They can live 16+ years. Reply 0   0

Oscar charateristic J Rosell (Unregistered) 2007-07-20 12:16:05 My oscar is just swimming at the top as if he is lifeless. I know he is not dead because he would periodically move his fins. It looks as if he is unhappy or something. It all started when I changed the water. I also put a lot of gulpies in there for him and he is not eating normailly like he usually does. He hasn't stop eating completely it's just that he is taker longer to eat the gulpies than normal. I also just recently added a convict to his tank. Help Me out! Reply 0   0

oscar floating Justin (Unregistered) 2007-07-20 12:33:14 Out of curiosity, did you remove the chlorine from the water? How much of the water did you change? Was is a very different temperature? Has it been raining a lot where you are? Reply 0   0

Anonymous (Unregistered) 2008-02-25 22:12:04 ddcdfg Reply 0   0

Oscar age gccesgd (Unregistered) 2008-02-25 22:13:01 They live up to 17 years Reply 0   0

Anonymous (Unregistered) 2007-07-24 01:11:28 they are not related to the piranha Reply 0   1

just a question, chino (Unregistered) 2007-08-19 12:31:45 i have a red tiger oscar wich looks really nice, but he seems kinda slow to catch some feeder fishes that i put there with him.. well, is that norml? he just swims around but he cant catch any food.. when i gave him pellets, he just ignored it... and another question, can i keep him with my red eared slider turtle? Reply 4   0

slow oscar justin (Author) 2007-08-20 07:27:00 He's most likely fed too much, and therefore can afford to eat the feeders at his own leisure. How often do you feed him? How many feeders do you put in at once? And no, I wouldn't put the turtle in with him Reply 0   0

crazy oscar nicci (Unregistered) 2007-11-10 16:17:53 My oscar constantly attacks the side of my tank and the plecasamus. If any one goes nears the tank she opens her mouth and tries to attack. Yet she always thinks its feeding time when I go near the tank. Is this normal behavior? Reply 0   0

Nitrite & Nitrate vanessa (Unregistered) 2007-11-18 19:12:19 WHEN TESTING MY WATER I'VE NOTICED THAT THE NITRITE IS 80PPM & NITRATE 10.0PPM. I TREATED IT WITH THE ACE AND I'VE TRIED AMQUEL PLUS WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO REMOVE NITRATE, NITRITE, AMMONIA ETC. I DONT KNOW IF ITS SUPPOSED TO BE THIS HIGH SINCE MY OSCAR TAKES BIG POOPS. WHAT CAN I DO TO BRING THESE LEVELS DOWN. Reply 0   0

re: Nitrite & Nitrate Drew (Unregistered) 2007-11-19 18:35:54 Was your tank cycled before you got the oscar? The only thing you can do now is heavy water changes (50%) everyday until your nitrite level goes down. Adding Amquel or other products is just a temporaty solution. you need to let the proper bacteria develop in your tank/gravel/filter that breaks down nitrite into nitrate. Until then, you will be having this high nitrite problem, which will kill your fish. One you have control of your nitrites, just do moderate water changes to keep nitrate levels under 20ppm. Good luck! Reply 0   0

Awesome Jacob (Unregistered) 2008-01-04 13:07:49 We bought a tiger oscar for a our school and it's very cool to watch them eat gold fish. The gold fish has absolutly no idea what is going on. It's very cool. I suggest that YOU get one today!!! Reply 2   0

mixing oscars with other cichl Brandon (Unregistered) 2008-01-08 23:12:29 I have a freshwater tank with many African Cichlids and in the future i would love to have a large enough tank to house an Oscar. Is it possible to introduce an oscar to african cichlids although some african species grow to 4 or 5 in.? Reply 2   0

Mixing oscars with Africans Dave (Unregistered) 2008-04-20 16:15:29 It is not usually a good idea to mix any Africans with American Cichlids because of PH differences and aggression levels as well. If you are lookig to mix Africans with your Oscar, try the Tilapia (Joka). The PH is about the same for them. A Jewel could be a good tank mate as well as long as the Oscar is bigger the him. Oscars are not as aggressive as many believe they are. If you are just looking for a good tank mate for you Oscar, I would suggest a Sverum or a Red Snook. I have all 3 of these housed in a 200 gallon tank and they get along wonderfully. All 3 are very messy and aggressive eaters. Over filtration is a must for these fish have large amounts of waste as well. Reply 0   0

Wow! Zilch (Unregistered) 2008-01-21 14:06:27 It really worries me that some very stupid people are trying to keep these great fish! Reply 1   1

Rob (Unregistered) 2008-02-13 00:27:35 The oscar i got is doing great in my 55gal I have 1 oscar, 1 jack 1 green terrow (i think he will be oscar food) 2 severns, The only thing i am worried about is that i heard jacks are the true bad eggs in chiclid family should i move him in my other 55 gal? that tank have 1 texas 1 jack 1 firemouth? Reply 0   0

Tank size Dave (Unregistered) 2008-04-20 16:25:33 First of all both of your 55 gallon tanks are to small to be housing the fish you have together for very long.Jack Dempseys, Green Terror and your Texas are pretty pugnacious fish as well as beligerent of other fish, not just Cichlids. Those fish in my opinion should be together in a 150 gallon tank and your Firemouth, Oscar, Severums should be together in at least 150 as well. Although I have kept all these fish at different times together without much trouble. Reply 0   0

teacher micki (Unregistered) 2008-03-21 21:11:39 What kind of school feeds goldfish to oscars and has children cheering themon?? Reply 0   0

What kind of school? Donna (Unregistered) 2008-04-20 02:51:54 A good one. The food chain is not a bad thing to learn about. Geesh! Reply 0   0

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