#ocellatus

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Keeping the Oscar Cichlid - Astronotus Ocellatus

Oscar Cichlid

The Oscar cichlid has always been a very popular cichlid among aquarists, as it is an extremely intelligent creature that can and will interact with it’s keeper. With proper care and attention, an Oscar fish can turn into a true pet. The fish may even swim along the tank, following it’s master for a treat. Oscars can be easily trained to take food from the keepers hand.

Photo by Tomi Tapio

Oscar is the popular name for the cichlid known as Astronotus ocellatus. In addition to the name Oscar, this species is also known as the Velvet cichlid or the Marble cichlid. Current variations of this species include: tiger oscar, red oscar, red tiger oscar, marbled oscar and several new veil tailed varieties. Astronotus ocellatus is not an extremely sensitive fish, so it can be kept even by less experienced aquarists. The keeper must provide an aquarium that is large enough however. 75 to 100 gallon aquariums are considered minimum. Keep in mind, that in the wild, it is not uncommon for an Oscar fish to grow larger than 12 inches long. When Oscars are kept in home aquariums they normally won’t get quite that large.

Oscars are large carnivores and they are known to be happy eaters even in captivity. Your Oscar will do best on a varied diet consisting of fish and insects. Feeder fish, crickets, worms, adult brine shrimp and krill are all suitable food types. It is easy to train your Oscar fish into accepting prepared food, such as pellets and flakes. A high quality prepared food suitable for large cichlids is recommended. A prepared food can provide a good base, but you should not keep your Oscar fish on flakes or pellets alone. Supplementing prepared food with some of the food types described above is always advisable. Since small fish will be viewed as food, they are not suitable tank mates for your Oscar. Oscars are not very aggressive towards fish that are too large to be considered food, and you can house your Oscar with other large and non-aggressive fish species that like the same water conditions. Some species that come to mind: Tin Foil Barbs, Red Bellied Pacus, larger varieties of Cat Fish and maybe some similar sized Jack Dempsey’s. As with most large fish, and actually all large cichilds, keeping your aquarium well decorated and well planted will be next to impossible. As Oscars grow larger, they will tear things up, so you may find yourself decorating your tank with a lot of rocks and overturned clay flower pots.

Oscar cichlids are relatively hardy fish, and will tolerate most water conditions as long as you avoid the extremes. If you want your Oscars to thrive, and possibly spawn in your aquarium, you should strive to provide them with a pH between 6.5 and 7.0 and water that is soft or just barely hard. A water temperature in the 72-80 degree Fahrenheit range is recommended. The Oscar is a South American cichlid, from the Amazon River and its tributaries in Brazil and Paraguay.

Submitted by: Steven Sannan About the Author: Steven Sannan is currently a member of the http://www.tropicalfishtreasure.com staff, with 35+ years of fishkeeping experience. Experience that includes extensive freshwater, saltwater and pond keeping knowledge.

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