# Oscar Info



## emma90 (Jan 28, 2010)

i am trying to find out as much info as poss about full grown adult oscars, what would be a weeks diet for them, what can they eat? and how much does it cost on average to feed an oscar per week?


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

Ah welcome to my world (6 breeding pairs of oscars) 

first question how big is your tank ?? 

oscars will gorge themselves if you let them so i feed mine small amounts everyday (dried mealworms pinkies as a treat locusts spiders earthworms) also good quality flake food is essential 

it costs pennies to feed a oscar feel free to ask me more or pm me


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## Sam'n'Droo (May 31, 2008)

Oooh.. your Oscars are gorgeous! How big a tank would be sufficient for an Oscar? My parents had one when we were young, but I can't remember the size of tank they had him in, I know it was big but not sure of the ideal.

Sam

P.S.. I'm from Leicestershire too..


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

dragonsnake said:


> image
> 
> 
> 
> image


 lovely oscars :no1: that first one's a great shot too : victory:


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

MMmmm at least a 200 ltr tank (thats for 1 adult oscar only tho) and a good external filter (i run 2 externals on each tank i have that turn over the water at least 4 x per hour so a 200ltr tank would need a 800ltr hr filter) i also run fluval plus 4 internal in each tank to polish the water and in the last 6 mnths i have done 3 x 20% water changes i also have large plecs in with my oscars any info or help im happy to answer and dont mind visiting to help either


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

thank you it was taken with a nikon d300 my other passion is piccy's :mf_dribble:




daftlassieEmma said:


> lovely oscars :no1: that first one's a great shot too : victory:


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## storm22 (Jan 11, 2009)

nice shots there dragon and nice red hooks  the main thing to remember with oscars as said before they are greedy messy eaters but in my experience as far as cichlids go, the biggest puppy dogs about


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## Sam'n'Droo (May 31, 2008)

Do you also keep Silver Dollars and other large Cichlids with them too? 
I have a little knowledge on fish keeping. I was known as the 'fish lady' a few years ago! Not due to the fact that I pong.. just because I like fish! I admit I need to brush up a little. I have been considering a big tank of my own for some time now and I love Oscars! I don't normally visit this side of the forum as I keep snakes mostly, but your Oscar thread caught me and reeled me in! Ha.. apologies for that.. corny fish related joke.. :whistling2:


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## storm22 (Jan 11, 2009)

Sam'n'Droo said:


> Do you also keep Silver Dollars and other large Cichlids with them too?
> I have a little knowledge on fish keeping. I was known as the 'fish lady' a few years ago! Not due to the fact that I pong.. just because I like fish! I admit I need to brush up a little. I have been considering a big tank of my own for some time now and I love Oscars! I don't normally visit this side of the forum as I keep snakes mostly, but your Oscar thread caught me and reeled me in! Ha.. apologies for that.. corny fish related joke.. :whistling2:


all down to induvidual keepers, i've made many BIG mistakes with putting certain fish in with my oscars and had fatalities(lost a pair of oscars), silver dollars/red hooks always lived peacefully with my guys though


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

the red hooks have moved in with my gourami i would not recomend keeping red hooks with oscars as the red hooks/silver dollars are very skittish fish and annoy the oscars as to other cichlids i keep a couple of jack dempseys and a texas green too but the oscars like their own space


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## storm22 (Jan 11, 2009)

lol see this is where induvidualities show up lol in all fairness in the 6 years i had them together i never honestly had a problem with the red hooks, agreed though they are skittish but in my own personal experience i didnt find a problem i may have just been lucky though


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## Sam'n'Droo (May 31, 2008)

Aaaaw! Your Gourami is lovely! the Oscar we had lived happily with a couple of Firemouth and Convicts. I would love a community tank but think i'll be shopping around for a big tank for an Oscar!


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

oh not going against what you say i just found that with juwel tanks the red hooks would bang against the crossbars to escape oscar attention so i moved em to stop possible injuries : victory:


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

found this site to be invaluble too :no1:

Oscar Fish Keeping and Care - Tankmates for Oscars - Breeding & Disease Info - Oscarfishlover.com 

uk based site very helpfull if i can give one bit of advice keep the water clean and your oscars will soon be eating out of your hand (yes they will :gasp: )


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## Sam'n'Droo (May 31, 2008)

I wasn't sounding snotty there, sorry if it came across that way  I was just saying that ours lived together. I think i'd just keep the Oscar alone. I have just found a 3ft tank on classifieds, bow fronted.. no stand though. £60. I will then have to pick my preferred Oscar colour! Oooh.. Do they have different terms/names for the different colours?


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

last pic to keep you into your oscars :2thumb: (just took with my phone)


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## storm22 (Jan 11, 2009)

simply stunning! what do you do with the plecs when they spawn? as mine always got hoovered up eventually lol


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

the plecs are both believed male so no probs there and as a bonus they never fight :2thumb:




storm22 said:


> simply stunning! what do you do with the plecs when they spawn? as mine always got hoovered up eventually lol


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## emma90 (Jan 28, 2010)

*tank mates*

what do you keep with your oscar can you keep bala sharks?


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## storm22 (Jan 11, 2009)

meant the oscars spawning... with the plecs in the tank :whistling2:


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

emma90 said:


> what do you keep with your oscar can you keep bala sharks?


 
hmm i say no as when i did that when my oscars were alot smaller one saturday night i watched my albino oscar have a very tasty silver lunch basically if it fits in a oscars mouth or sometimes even bigger than their mouth they will eat it :mf_dribble:

ahh when my oscars spawn i allow nature to take its course and if your lucky you may get some to wriggler stage and then they have only a 10% chance of reaching fry stage (to be honest i could not keep em and shops are overstocked most times ) : victory:


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## emma90 (Jan 28, 2010)

no a full grown bala so like at least 20cm long bala.


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

well just make sure it wont fit in your oscars mouth and remember oscars have eyes bigger than their bellies and mouths :lol2:

tinfoil/lemonfin barbs etc work well with oscars (once again as long as they are of a safe size)

plecs can get the odd nip when "plecing" i also keep various synodontis catfish with my O'S and a lima shovel nose cat and a fire eel also in my other O tank i have a kissing gourami who gets on well with them


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

Sam'n'Droo said:


> Do you also keep Silver Dollars and other large Cichlids with them too?
> I have a little knowledge on fish keeping. I was known as the 'fish lady' a few years ago! Not due to the fact that I pong.. just because I like fish! I admit I need to brush up a little. I have been considering a big tank of my own for some time now and I love Oscars! I don't normally visit this side of the forum as I keep snakes mostly, but your Oscar thread caught me and reeled me in! Ha.. apologies for that.. corny fish related joke.. :whistling2:


 I have silver dollars in my community tank. I think you and I might be fairly local to one another so if you want to see my fish, and dogs, cats, ferrets, rats etc etc etc hehe, feel free to pop over. I have a large tank in my car at the moment which will house oscars when I get a large sideboard to put it on.


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## Luca Brasi (Feb 7, 2010)

Sam'n'Droo said:


> I wasn't sounding snotty there, sorry if it came across that way  I was just saying that ours lived together. I think i'd just keep the Oscar alone. I have just found a 3ft tank on classifieds, bow fronted.. no stand though. £60. I will then have to pick my preferred Oscar colour! Oooh.. Do they have different terms/names for the different colours?


Oscars will grow to around 16" in length and are territorial. A 3' tank is way, way, way too small to allow it to grow naturally. To keep them properly and to give them a sporting chance to develop properly you'll need a minimum of a 400 litre tank. Bigger still would be better. 

They're also very messy feeders and so good quality, high powered external cannister filters are a must. s is regular use of a gravel vac. If they pair off (Should do if you have a small group as they're one of the easiest of cichlids to breed) they'll become even more territorial and will attack other tank mates that venture anywhere near the eggs / fry so make sure the tank is aquascaped to give other inhabitants sufficient hiding places etc.

They're very susceptible to hole in the head disease also if not looked after properly. Keep an eye out for this if you're water quality dips.


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## Luca Brasi (Feb 7, 2010)

emma90 said:


> no a full grown bala so like at least 20cm long bala.


They grow to 12" (30cm) and are very active. They really want a 6' long tank and should be kept in shoals. An oscar should be OK with an adult silver shark so long as the tank has enough space to accomodate the cichlids territorial requirenments.


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Is it better to keep oscars as pairs? As opposed to keeping with other species?


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## Luca Brasi (Feb 7, 2010)

johne.ev said:


> Is it better to keep oscars as pairs? As opposed to keeping with other species?


Impossible to answer as it depends entirely on the size of the tank. And if they're a breeding pair or not. In a 6' x 2' x2' you could have a community of cichlids including oscars so long as you choose the tank mates with care. Use a small tank and they'll almost certainly fight.


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

agreed ^^^^ but i have huge tanks and part of the oscar DNA is to be aggressive to each other (especially when breeding) so no matter what most oscars will jaw-lock and hassle each other 75% of the time BUT there are also long periods of calm too 

if you have more than 1 you are more likely to get aggression towards each other and other fish as when mating starts they get VERY protective of their "patch" of the tank :whip:


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## Luca Brasi (Feb 7, 2010)

dragonsnake said:


> agreed ^^^^ but i have huge tanks and part of the oscar DNA is to be aggressive to each other (especially when breeding) so no matter what most oscars will jaw-lock and hassle each other 75% of the time BUT there are also long periods of calm too
> 
> if you have more than 1 you are more likely to get aggression towards each other and other fish as when mating starts they get VERY protective of their "patch" of the tank :whip:


They're not aggresive. They're territorial. It's not the same thing. As long as people understand cichlids territorial requirements as well as space requirements then they should be able to keep them with success.

Wild caught oscars show far stronger territorial behaviour than the man made strains you usually see in LFS. The headaches are worth it though as they're much better looking fish.


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## benjo (Oct 31, 2007)

i had a clown knife fish, a female oscar, a plec, and some other fish in a tank. all got on well. had to go to make room for my bosc encl
the bottom picture was not in but linked to it accidentally


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

Luca Brasi said:


> They're not aggresive. They're territorial. It's not the same thing. As long as people understand cichlids territorial requirements as well as space requirements then they should be able to keep them with success.
> 
> Wild caught oscars show far stronger territorial behaviour than the man made strains you usually see in LFS. The headaches are worth it though as they're much better looking fish.


"Aggression against conspecifics serves a number of purposes having to do with breeding. One of the most common of these purposes is the establishment of a dominance hierarchy. When certain types of animals are first placed in a common environment, the first thing they do is fight to assert their role in the dominance hierarchy"

so mr sleeps with the fishes i beg to differ !! as i keep 4 oscars in the same tank they have paired off through the years and this pairing has usually been done after random acts of aggression to each other has resulted in a dominant and subserviant pair and as they have stuck with each other through the years any form of "trying to come between them" at around breeding time has been met with acts of aggression which is to do with territory so ergo aggression = territory and territory = aggression 

sorry i'm just being a padantic arse this morning 

for a full reference of aggresion see here :whistling2:
Aggression - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Luca Brasi (Feb 7, 2010)

dragonsnake said:


> "Aggression against conspecifics serves a number of purposes having to do with breeding. One of the most common of these purposes is the establishment of a dominance hierarchy. When *certain* types of animals are first placed in a common environment, the first thing they do is fight to assert their role in the dominance hierarchy"
> 
> so mr sleeps with the fishes i beg to differ !! as i keep 4 oscars in the same tank they have paired off through the years and this pairing has usually been done after random acts of aggression to each other has resulted in a dominant and subserviant pair and as they have stuck with each other through the years any form of "trying to come between them" at around breeding time has been met with acts of aggression which is to do with territory so ergo aggression = territory and territory = aggression
> 
> ...


I've bred Oscars and quite a large range of other cichlids too over the years. But none of that is actually relevant. If I walk in to the street and punch someone, I'm being aggresive. If someone enters my home and doesn't leave. Refuses to leave in fact, until I beat them and throw them out I'm being territorial. My actions are socially acceptable.

In their native range they'd hold a territory the size of an average living room. When crammed into a tiny tank (Understand an 8' x 3' tank is tiny as far as their natural behavior is concerned) they don't have the space to establish suitable territories if other tank mates are present. So they act out of a territorial instinct to protect their eggs / fry. It's not aggresion.

You're not being pedantic. More confused. I highlighted a major flaw in your argument. 

Best
LB


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

but surely beating someone in your home is still aggression as there are other avenues available to you (i refer to the Tony Martin shooting of the pikey burglar in his own home case) now if that person attacked you when you asked him to leave it could be construed as self defence

if a traffic warden attempts to give me a ticket and i scream abuse at him/her and get up close without touching them am i being aggressive? or territorial ? 

but by the same token if a balliff tries to gain access to my home and castle and i do the same is that classed as being territorial as i dont want him in my home touching my stuff 

so once again territory = aggression as the oscars do not sit round and discuss it over a nice cup of tea 

told ya i'm really bored today :flrt:


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## Luca Brasi (Feb 7, 2010)

dragonsnake said:


> but surely beating someone in your home is still aggression as there are other avenues available to you (i refer to the Tony Martin shooting of the pikey burglar in his own home case) now if that person attacked you when you asked him to leave it could be construed as self defence
> 
> if a traffic warden attempts to give me a ticket and i scream abuse at him/her and get up close without touching them am i being aggressive? or territorial ?
> 
> ...


 
I'm bored with this discussion. lol You're making an argument and using examples that have nothing to do with captive oscars. Perhaps (if you're that bored) you should think why we have the two different words in the english language.

Breeding cichlids in captivity involves their keepers modifying their behaviour to an extent. You need to be mindful of that too.


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

so i win then :no1:

ok mate i'll back down :gasp: 







































oscars are aggresive :lol2: 
have a good day i'm off to ponder and i bet the answer is 42


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## Luca Brasi (Feb 7, 2010)

dragonsnake said:


> so i win then :no1:
> 
> ok mate i'll back down :gasp:
> oscars are aggresive :lol2:
> have a good day i'm off to ponder and i bet the answer is 42


My god man, you're quite clearly telepathic. I was wondering what your IQ was. :lol2:

You're still wrong. lol


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

:Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Don't stop fellas lol, i'm just getting into Oscars & i'm very interested in peoples opinions (especially experienced keepers). :notworthy:
If attempting to breed oscars is it best to stick to same species/colours ie, albino to albino, red to red etc. Are the colours different species or just different colours? Sorry if thats a daft question :blush:. I'm currently
researching & am hoping to eventually get a pair. Would you advise getting adults or young & growing them on? Thanks for any info/advice.


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## Luca Brasi (Feb 7, 2010)

johne.ev said:


> Don't stop fellas lol, i'm just getting into Oscars & i'm very interested in peoples opinions (especially experienced keepers). :notworthy:
> If attempting to breed oscars is it best to stick to same species/colours ie, albino to albino, red to red etc. Are the colours different species or just different colours? Sorry if thats a daft question :blush:. I'm currently
> researching & am hoping to eventually get a pair. Would you advise getting adults or young & growing them on? Thanks for any info/advice.


Get in touch with a specialist cichlid importer (Someone who uses Jeff Rapps etc) and buy some juvenille wild caught oscars. The man made strains look dire in comparison as they've had the shape bred out of them. Like most cichlids have these days.


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Thanks Luca.
Any info/advice to my other questions?


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## Luca Brasi (Feb 7, 2010)

johne.ev said:


> Thanks Luca.
> Any info/advice to my other questions?


Wild oscars don't have man made colour patterns. A group of youngsters will then pair off in due course if you have plans to breed them. Any more questions?


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Yes loads :whistling2:: victory:. What about the colour/species one? I.e are all Oscars under the same latin name?


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## Luca Brasi (Feb 7, 2010)

johne.ev said:


> Yes loads :whistling2:: victory:. What about the colour/species one? I.e are all Oscars under the same latin name?


They're all the same species. And same scientific name. Astronotus ocellatus. (sp?)


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Ok thanks Luca.
So it would be ok to breed say, an albino tiger oscar to a red oscar?


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## storm22 (Jan 11, 2009)

i would personally say not a problem, they are the same species just different colour variants


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Thanks storm.

P.S Sorry for sort of hijacking your thread Emma :blush:.


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## pinkspider (Feb 22, 2010)

Luca Brasi said:


> Wild caught oscars show far stronger territorial behaviour than the man made strains you usually see in LFS. The headaches are worth it though as they're much better looking fish.


I have a wild caught Red Tiger who shares his tank with a breeding pair of Snakeheads, a handful of Silver Dollars, a pair of Red Spot Severums, a really annoying 14" Plec and..err..yeah 4 guppies and I have to say he is by far the most intelligent, attractive and amusing Oscar I've ever owned.

I've had him since he was a wee 2" juvi. and he is now around 4 years old and about 13".

I also have an 9" Albino Tiger that I felt sorry for after seeing him sitting in a tiddly tank in an aquatics centre not long a go. He lives with my tiny (7") Arowana and a really grumpy Plec. He's a very nice Oscar as well, and after only having him a couple of weeks he is feeding from hand and is growing very quickly.

I feed my Oscars a mix of muscles, shrimp, live crickets, pinkies and feeder fish..although my large Red Tiger doesn't like live fish..hence the 4 guppies living quite happily in the tank!


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