The oscar cichlid is one of the popular fish of cichlidae family. This family of fishes is famous for very beautiful and intelligent aquarium fishes such as angelfish, green terror cichlid, discus and many more.The breeding of oscar cichlid fish is easy and family of fishes shows their love , affection and care for their babies. The other names for oscar fish is velvet cichlid, peacock cichlid or marble cichled due to their vibrant coloration. Oscar fish are sturdy and beautiful. They can grow up to size of 15 inches or more. Due to their large size they demands fairly large aquarium space for swimming. Oscar fish have healthy life span of about 10 years if care is taken properly.
While growing oscars will form pairs. Hopefully you will get 1-2 pairs. When the pairing is done their aggressive nature increases. Now the tank mates which were tolerable up till now soon seem to be in threat. So remove every other fish except the pair. Give them protein rich food especially live food such as brine shrimps, cricket, blood worm, earth worms, bait fishes etc. Change 20 -25 % of water every week and add peat moss to encourage breeding. Raise the temperature from 78 F to 84 F. Spawning is generally aggressive ,both may seems to having lip lock and tail slapping.
Now they will find a site and start cleaning it off. You can put spawning slate or marble piece so that they can lay eggs. They may even dig a pit in substrate and lay eggs in it. Also do not disturb the oscar cichlid too much during spawning. Soon the female will give about 1000 of eggs and after some days fry will come out. Fry are sensitive to poor water condition so avoid it. You can try feeding them crushed flake food or baby brine shrimps.
Oscar fish came to surface at feeding time and may touch the hand of owner. Oscar fish sold at low size in aquarium shop so don't get confused and have well prepared long fish tank for them. Oscar is basically carnivorous fish and can have brine shrimps, beef heart, blood worms, frogs etc. However they have learnt to fed on pellets and flakes. Keep changing their diet so they never lack any specific nutrient so take care of it. Never compromise on the food quality. They reach at sexual maturity at the age of about 1 year.
Oscar cichlid fish is not a good community fish and can become predatory to other fishes and definitely kill them. Fishes of same size and nature can become good tank mates. The temperature of fish tank should be around 23 - 28 degrees Celsius. Always maintain regular water changes and maintain good water conditions. Feeding oscar cichlid other small fishes regularly may lead to deficiency in certain vitamins and may susceptible to other deadly diseases.
Care : Easy
Nature : Aggressive
Fish Tank Size : 55 gallons or more
Temperature : 23 -28 degrees
Breeding : Moderate
Lifespan : 10 years or more
Size : 15 inches or more
Food : Basically carnivorous ( pellet and flake can be fed )
Breeding
Oscar cichlid fish are very selective while choosing their partners. This can be done by letting them forming pairs themselves. Just bring about 6-8 small fishes and so that they can form pairs while growing. You can also ask aquarium dealer for proven pairs. Breeding oscar fish somewhat resembles breeding other cichlid fishes such as discus and angel.
While growing oscars will form pairs. Hopefully you will get 1-2 pairs. When the pairing is done their aggressive nature increases. Now the tank mates which were tolerable up till now soon seem to be in threat. So remove every other fish except the pair. Give them protein rich food especially live food such as brine shrimps, cricket, blood worm, earth worms, bait fishes etc. Change 20 -25 % of water every week and add peat moss to encourage breeding. Raise the temperature from 78 F to 84 F. Spawning is generally aggressive ,both may seems to having lip lock and tail slapping.
Now they will find a site and start cleaning it off. You can put spawning slate or marble piece so that they can lay eggs. They may even dig a pit in substrate and lay eggs in it. Also do not disturb the oscar cichlid too much during spawning. Soon the female will give about 1000 of eggs and after some days fry will come out. Fry are sensitive to poor water condition so avoid it. You can try feeding them crushed flake food or baby brine shrimps.