Oscar a.k.a Velvet Cichlid
astronotus ocellatus

It belongs to the family Cichlidae

Click here to learn what a cichlid is.

Cost: $5-15, with the adults being more expensive.

Origin
Amazon, Parana, Rio Paraguay, and Rio Negro

Description:
Elongated oval shape, somewhat of a wider head (about 1-1.5”)

Color:
Is effected by age, sex, size, and above all mood. The most common look is a black or olive green body, with red, irregular vertical stripes. On the caudal fin there is usually a round eye-like patch.

Sexual distinction:
You can’t just look at the Oscar and see, you must do what is called venting.

Tank conditions:
The temperature should be between 68-77 degrees Fahrenheit. (20-25 Celsius.)
For the ph and hardness not to important. But you should due water changes and use a dechlorinated water as a replacement.

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The water changes should be done regularly but no too suddenly. The tank should be large, with stones and drift wood, but don’t add plants because they will be ripped out of the substrate. Since I’m talking about the substrate I should also mention that it should be deep.

Food:
Omnivorous, I feed mine the guppies that I would breed myself. This way I knew that the feeder fish were disease free.

Behavior:
Peaceful to other fish that can stand their ground. Don’t have tank mates that are small enough to fit into its mouth. They will eat anything that they can, I even say one eat a hamster once. So other then small fish the Oscar is a good tank mate.

Maturity:
The Oscar will reach a sexually active state once they are about 4 ½ long. The eggs are whitish at first then after I would say about 24 hours they become transparent. If you are luck enough to have a breeding pair they will most likely form a strong bond and stay together for life.

Warning!
Oscar are very messy eaters and produce a lot of waste and so they need really good filtration. A good filter is essential when keeping Oscar as from my personal experience I have seen my Oscars produce waste that could compete against a cat, gross I know but it’s the truth.