| Ph | 6-8 |
| Water temp | 75-80° |
| Size | 18 inches |
| Tank Size | 75 gallons |
| Life span | 17 years |
Essential Oscar fish facts
- Oscars grow to 18 inches
- They can live up to 17 years
- Oscar fish are carnivores, so you’ll need feeder fish as well for food
How Big Do Oscar Fish Grow?
Oscars have often been portrayed as cute little fish in pet stores but, in reality, these fish will grow to be massive eating machines. They can grow to 18 inches in adulthood. This is a problem as most beginners buy them thinking they’re just cute little thighs that can just get tossed in the toilet when they get bored of them. Or can stay in a little glass bow for the rest of their life, but to most people’s surprise, this is not the case.
How Long Do Oscar Fish Live?
The Oscar fish can live up to 17 years which makes it a great fish for someone who wants to have a pet that they don’t have to replace every couple of months and will grow with them. But for someone who wasn’t yet ready for a long-term friend, they can be a nightmare.
What Food Do Oscar Fish Eat?
The Oscar fish are a carnivorous species that will eat many different fish. This means that the fish that go into the tank must be big enough to not get eaten. Food for Oscars mostly consists of small feeder fish like minnows and silver dollars.
Author note: When buying feeder fish for the Oscars make sure to quarantine the fish and check for diseases before feeding to the Oscars, and make sure to get them from a reliable breeder.
Oscar Fish Environment Needs
- They can live alone or have tankmates but they need to be compatible
- They like mid to low temp with flowing water
- Oscars sit in the middle to the low part of the tank
Social Needs for Oscar Fish
The Oscar fish is amazing predatory fish that require a large tank. When talking about the Oscar fish the main question that comes up is can other fish be with the Oscar and should they? When looking at that it seems that they are completely fine being in a tank all alone, though they can still have other fish in the tank. When adding other fish is important to make sure that they are compatible and won’t compete for space or food, as this can cause them to fight.
Water Conditioning & Water Type
Oscar fish love mid to low-temperature water that has a still area along with a current. The water should also have a deeper and darker end for them to hide, this makes the tank feel more natural for the fish.
Tank Size
The required tank size for a single Oscar fish is 75 gallons. One question people often ask is how do I find what size is good for multiple Oscars. What I have found is that when looking at that a good ratio is 50 gallons per Oscar plus 20 for additional fish which give the Oscars plenty of space so they do not have to fight over space and adding large driftwood and rock will also help with breaking up space
Tank Zone
The Oscars like to sit towards the middle to the bottom part of the tank where it’s darker and there’s more space but also plenty of things to hide in so they can hunt and ambush their prey. This means that when making the tank make sure to have an upper zone of water that’s mostly empty followed by a lower zone where there are pieces of driftwood and plants along with a bottom with large rocks and pebbles/gravel and plants on the edge. This helps give them space to spread out between and it creates a unique landscape to look at.
How to Care for Oscar Fish
- Live Feeding will keep the fish active & healthy
- they are not hard to take care of in terms of anything special but size makes it take longer
- they can come with diseases so make sure you are buying from a reliable source
Special Requirements
When feeding the fish it would be best to give them live food to keep them active and it will keep them sharp so they don’t get lazy. When getting feeder fish make sure that they are from a reliable source and don’t have any disease and even if you think they don’t have any diseases make sure to put them in a quarantine tank so that if they did have diseases it will be easier to see and it is better to feed the feeders before giving them to the Oscars so that they are full of all the nutrients needed.
Difficulty of Care
They need monthly water changes and daily feedings which is about the same with most fish although with the size of the tank and the amount of food needed this can quickly become long and tedious prose that takes hours to complete as you also have to clean the decore and any scraps that weren’t eaten yet.
Warnings
The Oscar fish often comes with many different diseases that can affect the looks and behavior of the fish and will often kill it. This means that when looking at them make sure to ask the staff about it and then inspect the fish before purchasing. When purchasing any fish in the first place make sure that it is from a trustworthy brand that is well known for its quality.
Summing Up
The Oscar fish are amazing fish once you have had experience and are ready to dedicate more of your time, money, and space to the hobby. They come with plenty of challenges but are still wonderful fish. They may not be the ideal beginner fish for your tank or you might not even know how to set up a fish tank yet. if so check out my other article where I break down the basic steps to making a fish tankhttps://grayson.whitcombs.info/blog-post-aquarium-guide/
Credits
The large majority of the information I have gained over the past few months has been through many different people but here are some of the best ones out there