Oscar Fish - The Complete Care Guide

Oscar cichlids are a common aquarium fish often found in pet stores because of their beautiful colors and unique personality, but they can grow up to 1 foot (30 cm) or more and require larger tank sizes. Learn all about their care requirements, the different color varieties, and how to breed them.
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At Aquarium Co-Op, we focus on your aquariums. We specialize in freshwater tropical fish, aquatic plants, and the overall betterment of the freshwater fish keeping hobby. Our goal is to help you with your first pet fish and graduate you to an advanced aquarium hobbyist. If you'd like to take it to the next level, subscribe to us and check out our weekly videos.
Cory McElroy is employed by Aquarium Co-Op LLC. He also owns Aquarium Co-Op LLC. Therefore, all content is sponsored by Aquarium Co-Op.
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[@Handygrrl]

Wow! Wasn't going to watch ...because of negative former impressions about Oscars....but I learned so much and changed my opinion! Zenzo is so knowledgeable and informative! Definitely worth watching even if Oscars are not in your future. Just the type of video i love to watch from Aquarium Coop, informative and not 2 hours long....Thank you!

[@AJsOscars]

Hello. My name is AJ. I enjoyed watching. My dad and I started a new Oscar channel recently . We are watching videos and learning. Keep the good vids coming ! Thank you AJ

[@jigokutsuushin]

My first Oscar lasted almost 10 years with me but it died when my filter broke and I didn't notice until it was too late 😭 I got a second Oscar and it's now around 4 years old. I think it and my dog are friends! The Oscar's tank is on the lower level of a double bunk stand and my dog would sometimes hang around the tank, and he and the Oscar would stare at each other. My dog also sleeps beside the tank sometimes.

[@cannaboy.420]

Awwww feel sorry for u, it's very easy to get attached to the wonderful fish, I have 2 Albino red Oscars and I would go into depression if something ever happened to them, so totally understand how u feel

[@_invertico_]

Great video Zeno!

[@trevorgregori9667]

Love the insight my Albino Oscar is one of my favorite wet pets that I own other than my puffers.

[@amazingaquaticsandexotics3030]

Awesome video zenzo

[@k0olmini11]

Great video. Zenzo looking like a badass with the beard

[@dramdan1]

Here is another plus. When they eat you can hear them chew.

[@Constantine_Cvl8]

Indeed! I've heard mine crunching on pellets, it's like they're eating cereal, lol

[@DanishnSonic]

Thats why i love them!

[@dillonkaraduinis]

@@Constantine_Cvl8 hahahshssh

[@beccagabaldon6429]

That's because there teeth is in there gills not there mouths

[@sextingwithdolphins]

@@Constantine_Cvl8a rare laugh out loud for me

[@Susbaguetteman]

Like every living thing. Under the proper care and right parameters they are undeniably awesome fish to have

[@quki3]

I want one! They always seem to look at me when i visit my aquarium store. They look so intelligent. I wish I could pet one. 🤗

[@NiX_aKi]

My ultimate favorite 💕 Have you tried feeding them with fresh market shrimps on a regular basis? It usually gets rid of the HITH.

[@want.to.b3.gamer670]

I have 3 Oscars. They're adorable. Keep a lid depending on how they learn to eat. My oscar jump out before. I was fortunate to leave a water change bucket filled with water. After a few weeks he's okay now. They tend to bonk their head on the lid. Let the water level low.

[@noerdienchanel]

nice to meet you sir. I love Oscar fish too

[@noerdienchanel]

I love this video... 👍👍

[@TheGrimm1300]

I have three Oscars and they are my favorite fish I have they all have their own personalities

[@Mdc869]

Great video you are very talented

[@TazawaTanks]

Thank you!

[@kylegawron5358]

my friend had an oscar who would greet you at the front of the tank and then the oscar would look up at the surface and then look back at me as if the cutie wanted to be fed :3 and i instantly fell in love with these fish.

[@michaellindsey1543]

Hopefully with the internet this doesn't happen anymore but back in the day so many people bought oscars and dumped them into their community tanks with very negative results. For that reason I hated oscars. What I actually hated were unscrupulous pet store owners and uninformed aquarium owners. . .

[@Wutlatte.]

Just a little extra info: Bumblebees are NOT a variant of A.ocellatus but a seperate species called Astronotus crassipinnis. From my exprience they are more aggressive towards their own kind.

[@naegwut]

They're pretty!

[@kennethocasio2399]

Love oscars ❤

[@taterzsalad9252]

just got one in a 55 gallon by himself when i put my hand in he grabs onto it and head shakes lol hes awesome

[@shellymiller255]

Could u talk about the filters you recommend for a 75 g with Oskars

[@yunge9482]

Getting a bumblebee Oscar next week!!

[@brianmarshall1762]

Oscars are great fish. If I had the space and an aquarium suitable, I’d get one. 👍🏻

[@dawnt6791]

Same here! I'd love to have them again, but I don't have room for the size tank they truly need.

[@achillesbuchanan2095]

What a great introduction and overview. Well done! And thank you! 😊

[@justindabulskis1291]

I have an important question that I hope you can answer! I have two tiger Oscars, about 6 months old. I bought them together a few months ago. They are currently in a 55 gallon, and I am getting a bigger tank soon. One of my Oscars is slightly bigger and seems to be getting aggressive torwards the other oscar. The other Oscar will lay on its side and shake its fins. Sometimes they will shake their fins at the same time as well. What does this mean?

[@blowintoblitz]

I’ve a large Oscar had it since it was a pup but lately i have spotted it has bubble in its eye and tried some treatments from my local pet store so you have any idea how to get rid off this. Thanks

[@LittleLargeMouth]

Zenzo, Cory, come oscar fishing with me in the Florida Everglades

[@Symplectics]

Hello I have a question. Can I put 2 Jack Dempsey’s in with my 2 Oscars?

[@larryhenry719]

Wet Pets is a name of one of my local fish stores.

[@SwatejK]

Oscars are powerful 🔥

[@aarongibson9039]

I have an Oscar that was doing good for a while. Now he’s like not wanting to eat. Can you tell me what you think it might be thank

[@yullegrahardjazh]

Planning keep them someday or just discus if I have what it takes to buy and keep them Oscar omnivorous fish. So I say keep them with catfish feed for their growth and let green water will do. Addition of mollies will be nice. Or wild mosquito fishes. Will do.

[@kennethmarrow3131]

I have 3 adult size Oscars in a 75 gal tank. I bought them together when they were the size of a quarter. They seem to tolerate each other pretty well. They kinda drift back and forth lackadaisical until feeding time then they bob up and down bumping into each other jockeying for position. I recently added 5 large convicts to the tank. I also provided heavy stones as safe haven for the much smaller convicts. The Oscars don't seem to mind them that much. Every day the Convicts become more bold and even swim out in plain view. It doesn't appear to me that the fish are cramped for space?!

[@iamanarcissist8586]

have any of your convict cichlids fin nipped your Oscars yet? I heard that convict cichlids are too aggressive to be with Oscars

[@theangleraquarist]

I’d be more concerned about the bioload

[@PROMOERECTUS]

Best hard scape movers ever!!!🤪

[@themastershifter453]

Can you have angle fish with oscors.

[@oviliatam7540]

謝謝~❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@anjocanindo212]

Here in Philippines the oscar juv size cost 1 to 4 dollars common tiger to expensive...

[@williamarthur4801]

I got my first pair in 1977 England, and they were not a common fish, I loved them, my tank much too small to allow for growth, , 24 X 10 X 10, was soon replaced at my next birthday, I'm sure I did not keep them as best I could but info was short, yes I did feed them earth worms by hand. Still my favorite fish.

[@MRFLIP]

Can placo be kept with oscars

[@mraquaticnews5676]

Cool

[@turnipdabeet9620]

If I got a 75 could I put anything with the Oscar like maybe a small group of silver dollars. Or maybe a plexiglass of some kind. Or would a 75 just be too small

[@dawnt6791]

How heavy would you say rocks should be to prevent an oscar from moving them around and possibly breaking glass? I love the way your tank is set up, Zenzo, but I wondered how heavy those rocks are and whether the oscars ever move them around?

[@TazawaTanks]

The are not able to lift the rocks in my tank. They can push them around a bit, but they are smooth rocks, so there is low risk for damage. In the corner where the rocks are piled, I have lighting diffuser underneath to dissipate the weighted pressure of the rocks.

[@dawnt6791]

@@TazawaTanks Cool. Thanks! :)

[@warriorstar927]

I use river rocks in my Oscar tank and thankfully they leave them alone.

[@dillonkaraduinis]

@Dawn T I've dropped like a 3 lb rock in my 75 gallon tank from like the top and it never did anything , multiple times

[@dillonkaraduinis]

@@warriorstar927 same most decorations are plastic and cause algee bloom

[@jimberence]

Hello sir, could I keep just 1 Oscar forever in a tank? Tq in advance 😊

[@taryndeclyn1474]

30 years in saltwater . Switching to FW Monster tank (650). If I were to put 6 Oscars in there what would be some other good tank mates ( bichir, black ghost knife, green terror, severums, jack dempsy????) any suggestions are welcome. Want this to be my dream tank!

[@Constantine_Cvl8]

Most of those are typically pretty good oscar tank mates, just make sure to keep an eye on the green terror and jack dempsey, they can cause aggression problems but that's usually because of insufficient tank space or because they're in breeding mode. The knife fish I haven't seen before but I'm sure if it's big enough it'll work, though I have seen angelfish mistaking a small knife fish for food due to the way it swims and dragging it along the tank attempting to eat it.

[@iamanarcissist8586]

I have 2 Oscars living with gkf, blood parrots, severums, angels and chocolate cichlids. they don't fight at all. I have green terrors too but they are too aggressive so I put them in another tank.

[@anthonybell2985]

Would 90 gallons be okay for 2 ?? And could only those two be together??

[@casmako]

Is that a Synodontis Granulosus in the back?

[@cG-es8mb]

What do you do if you don’t want to breed them and yiu get 2. If one is a male and other female how you keep them from breeding?

[@p3pable]

Idk how I got here but fish keeping looks interesting as hell

[@caroleinwv]

Zenzo, can you recommend a good online source for Oscars?

[@SteenfottAquatics]

You misspelled rainbowfish.....

[@TazawaTanks]

@@SteenfottAquatics Hahahahahaaha

[@caroleinwv]

@@SteenfottAquatics Darn - I was going to surprise you for your birthday. 😆 I have a 90G with Rainbowfish - most from Dans Fish!

[@jimberence]

The Oscars were best kept alone or in pair, in their own tank, so, that's mean a single Oscar or two Oscars in a tank, that's how the 1st generation keepers do. 😊 I also keeps single copper Oscar in its own tank & in the future, I plan to pair it. 😊

[@dramdan1]

Wonder what would work out better to have in the same tank. A pair of male female or all female like 2 or 3 fish.

[@TazawaTanks]

I think the hard part with that would be trying to determine their sexes. You would most likely have to vent them. You wouldn't be able to do that in a store.

[@dramdan1]

Or I could buy a little group and get rid of the ones I dont like.

[@TazawaTanks]

@@dramdan1 Yes, you could do that and re-home the ones you don’t need. However, it’s pretty difficult to get rid of large cichlids sometimes…and you’d want to make sure they went to the right home. Maybe check with the store to see if they would accept back the ones that you won’t be keeping.

[@rickypen]

Growing up, around 9 or 10 ish, my mom dated a guy (and he moved in) with his one Oscar in a 3ft tall octagon tank. I was taught that he'll bite me if I don't keep my hand out, and they raised rats to drop in, to feed him. I hated it, and had to rescue one that was top hairy and the Oscar didn't Like it. Is that bad to feed them live rat pups? It was pre internet for the most part, so couldn't really look much up outside of my encyclopedia set lol

[@brooklynbaczynski6196]

so we got 2 Oscar new fish that have been together sense birth and the one always jumped out of the tank before we could buy a lid so he jumped out one day and we didn't know he sadly died and the other fish was vary sad just sulking and the bottom of the tank so we bought him a 90 gallon and put 2 of his other brothers in the tank to be with him and know he's vary happy playing swimming around eating good now so i was wondering why the guy at the store told us not to put them together when all of our oscars seem to love have others in the tank? ( the 2 new fish we got used to be in the same tank as them at the store we just diced to go back and get the other 2)

[@brooklynbaczynski6196]

we have 3 baby oscars now in a 90 gallon and we reeled then live food such as small fish blood worms we cut the worms up vary small

[@smknblnts]

My old oscar fish would eat out my hand and at one point would even jump out and get the worm mid air like nuts ! sadly he one day jumped out when i wasnt home probably saw something that wasnt there thought it was food ):! my new one is training to eat out my hand its done it twice already and i have a full glass cover now 😳

[@DrenMacDaddy]

My Is at in a more than 3 gallon tank. All my fish that grow big stay less than 5 inches in a 15 gallon

[@FlamingGoose911]

Hey just wanna ask if a 3inch oscar could live in a 4ftx12inchx11inch tank?

[@AquariumCoop2]

In my opinion, no. That would be too narrow and short for an Oscar after it's about 3-4 months old. ~ Zenzo

[@Ray-cr1kx]

👍

[@AgxntOrange]

If I just wanted 2 Oscar’s by themselves in a tank is a 90 gallon enough?

[@nathanjones5653]

Am I wrong for saying there looks kind of remind me of a grouper?

[@CritterStyle]

Don’t feed your Oscar live fish? For decades, they have literally topped the list of aquarium fish that eat live fish. That’s why we have Oscars. What an internet thing to say.

[@zeusplayz2091]

Ikr

[@dinudavis4230]

Can I keep a single Oscar fish alone? Will it get bored? My tank is not suitable for two Oscars, which is why I want to keep it alone.

[@liammac6467]

Can I keep an Oscar in a 3x3 cube

[@beccagabaldon6429]

Grate video 👍 i am a bad mom i been feeding my baby Rosey minos and he's a Beautiful tiger i have him in with my turtle and blood parrot in a 80 gallon i also have a baby i can't interduse them yet because i dont want roll my Oscar to eat him

[@thatoneguy_0218]

Wild type oscars look far better than the standard aquarium oscars.

[@beardedboon]

I need a little more exclusive content for me to stay joined

[@TazawaTanks]

This content is free for anyone to watch, and is not tied to memberships on the main channel.

[@phantomlakdude]

55 gallon is really pushing it but i guess it could work

[@cannaboy.420]

I'm from India and here the regular temperature is around 28 to 30°C, so just wanted to know if it would be fine if I turn on the air conditioner as my Oscar tank is in my room

[@kevingath9801]

That is okay

[@cannaboy.420]

@@kevingath9801 thanks for the reply

[@817bkne]

I've had my Oscar for 4 days he's not going up on the tank or eating

[@beccagabaldon6429]

Its called vil fin Oscars they have rhe lemon Oscar orange Oscar black Oscars and they also don't have teeth because there teeth are in there gills they are not aggressive fish they are just hungry all the time and will eat anything that can fit in there mouths including mice

[@amazingaquaticsandexotics3030]

I wish I had the space for an oscar right now my biggest tank is a 72 gallon with 3 cichlids ( a convict cichlid, a jewel cichlid and a docile Jack Dempsey) as well as a bunch of catfish ( a 7 inch gold synodontis nigrita, a synodontis nigriventris, an unknown Brown synodontis, an Asian bumblebee catfish, a bristlenose pleco, a spotted raphael catfish and a hoplo catfish and I intend to introduce a few more beautiful catfish but sadly it isn't nearly big enough for one of these personable fish

[@RaptorTwoFour]

One thing to keep in mind with Oscars is that as they grow older, their colors will change and fade.

[@Zachary360Games]

Same with my red devil. She started out super orange and over time has become a dull peach color lol

[@Keldrath]

10 dollars? dang mine cost me 60. he is an albino chili red tho

[@Bluexd21112]

The problem is…. They outgrow tanks They call it monsters fish because they are tank Buster

[@blakemcclurkin4842]

I would not put 1 oscar in a 55 gallon it’s just too small for them, I recommend a 75

[@ScionofBraggie]

Oscars are the staffys of the fish world

[@anonymouspatriotnetwork2740]

They are cousins to piranhas they eat meat and they can be quite vicious

[@jadecortez9819]

Listen to me ! DO ALL ABOUT LARGEMOUTH BASS

[@deathcaster3006]

Training fish from your hands isn't at all difficult, my severums angelfishes and danios eat from my hand...... Only fish don't eat from my hand in my aquarium is yoyo loaches

[@bdsaqua]

Hi bro, check my oscars, i have posted recently which are fully grown

[@JuniorCrute-ht7ss]

So be afraid you hybrid fish haters your fish will soon no longer bully these secret and beautiful fish

[@everythingpiscis7259]

But still big name pet stores sell poor goldfish as “feeder fish” to morons to feed to their Oscars. I have 6 “feeder fish” goldfish for over two years now I bought as pets, both comets and commons and they are beautiful fish, so selling these as live food is disgusting and needs to stop. The irony is they ask you why you’re buying them and if you say as pets they can refuse to sell them because goldfish need bigger tanks, but yet will sell them happily as food.

[@awilderireland]

It's an American thing. They don't sell feeders in most countries.

[@markaguilar5469]

ᴘʀᴏᴍᴏsᴍ 😡

[@davedave2882]

How many genders of Oscar are😂😂😂

[@ronniemoore7461]

I like that( wet pet)

[@JuniorCrute-ht7ss]

I don't like aquarium co-op they donkt like hybrid fish thats why soon im getting with some people that will train certain fish to use self-defense against bully cichlids like the Oscar, tx, blackbelt cichlid,red devil, midas and convict cichlids. When these secret fish need to so HAAAA