Oscars are very popular fish. Many people are attracted to the juvie oscars at pet shops that seem so cute and beg for food like puppy dogs. Few of the buyers are aware that that the cute little oscar fish can reach a foot or more in length and quite high bodied. Part of the reasons these fish are popular is because of they're loyalty to their owners. Oscars are cichlids, and are therefore large, and aggressive fish, so many oscars are kept alone, or with an armored catfish or pleco.

Oscar set-ups should can include driftwood rocks, but not to the point the fish cannot get around easily. They should also be granted a “get-away” spot such as a cave. A good oscar set-up is shown below:

                               (c) Rafal Wasiak www.pawiookie.pl

     Oscars can be kept with a wide variety of fish such as characins, catfish, and other cichlids. Fish small enough to fit in an oscars mouth will be eaten.

    Oscars come in several varieties, including a red tiger which is quite fancy, a green wild variety, an orange, an albino, lutino, white tiger(see below) and "blueberry" varieties. It is advised that you steer clear of the blueberry variety, these oscars are often dyed by very painful injections, that will give oscars short and often “disease ridden” lives.

                                  (c) Rafal Wasiak www.pawiookie.pl

     For the most part, oscars are peaceful as far as cichlids go, however if two males are ever kept together in small confines they will regularly engage in fights and may even kill each other(see below).

                                   (c) Rafal Wasiak www.pawiookie.pl