OSCARS CICHLID FISH

The minimum tank size recommended is 33 gallons, and this is only if you plan on housing one individual alone, without any tank mates. The recommended tank size for housing Oscar fish is 100 gallons, of course the bigger the better. Oscar fish can live alone, or with a buddy. They are not schooling fish so it is up to you if you will combine them with a partner or not. Oscar fish can be compatible with other South American Cichlids but some rules of thumb must be followed. Be sure that the fish you are introducing is the same size as the current Oscar and that the maximum size is close to that of the Oscar. They are very territorial and will either eat the fish if it's too small, or get beat up and harasses by it's larger tank mate, since all South American cichlids are aggressive and territorial.

Diet Requirements

Oscars will eat anything but the recommended diet is Oscar pellets, Hikari Oscar Gold is a high quality excellent brand of fish food and will make the colors radiate and the fish happy and healthy. Oscars will also eat bloodworms and brine shrimp - chose the frozen variety because they are more fresh and have more nutritional value then freeze-dried. You can feed them also plankton and mysis shrimp as a treat.

Oscar Care Tips

Never feed them goldfish because feeder goldfish have little nutritional value, have the potential for disease because of their bad living environment from the pet store and the shipping conditions. Another big disadvantage of feeding Oscar fish feeder goldfish is that your
Oscars will only eat feeders and reject anything else, then they only want food that moves - the thrill of the hunt instinct will activate and you will have to make inconvenient stops at the pet store to pick up feeders. We strongly advise against purchasing a large amount of
feeders and putting them into the tank and letting your fish "feed at will" firstly, adding many feeders at once will cause a deadly
ammonia surge and secondly your Oscar fish will be a glutton and overeat which is very bad for the digestive system.