Oscar Fish (Astronotus ocellatus) Care Guide: Diet, Lifespan, Price, and Tank Mates

The oscar fish, also known as the pig fish, tail star fish, black pig fish, flower pig fish, and Astronotus ocellatus, is a fish covered in irregular markings that make it look like a map, which is how it got its name. Many people nowadays like to keep it at home, so what does the oscar fish eat to grow? How long does it live? How much does one cost on the market? What fish are good to keep it with?

What does it eat?

1. Loach: remember to cut it into segments, otherwise the loach may pierce its intestines and kill it!

2. Live fish: feed live small fry; the smaller they are, the more it eats. If your water volume is large enough, feed 3 times a day (that is: morning, noon, and evening), feeding until it is 80% full each time, and the oscar fish can grow more than 3 cm in a month.

3. Beef heart: beef heart is the best for fattening fish and can make the oscar fish grow especially fast. Although some people believe that feeding fish with beef heart can cause some problems. If beef heart is not fully eaten, it does have a certain effect on the water. But as fish food, it is hygienic, more hygienic than other live feed, and more nutritious than dry food.

Latest market price:

The price of the oscar fish depends on its size. Generally, 5-10CM ones cost 10-25 yuan, and prices also differ from place to place. Today's tropical fish market is not considered expensive, with prices ranging from a little over ten yuan to several tens of yuan. This fish is extremely hardy and easy to keep, making it a hot seller on the aquarium market.

How long does it live?

Today's oscar fish are mainly artificially bred and raised varieties, and wild oscar fish are already very rare; in an artificial rearing environment, the oscar fish can grow to about 30 cm at most. As for wild oscar fish, their size is about the same as artificially bred oscar fish, but in terms of color and body shape they are better than artificially bred varieties, with a wild nature.

How big the oscar fish can grow is sometimes also related to how it is kept. The oscar fish is an upper-layer fish and grows quickly; with good feeding, it can grow about 3 cm in a month.

1. If the oscar fish is in a natural environment, it may reach a lifespan of 10 years or even more than ten years.

2. When kept by humans, the oscar fish generally lives in an aquarium, and if kept well it lives about 5-6 years. This is also related to how the oscar fish is kept. Keeping one for 5-6 years is already considered good; oscar fish kept to 10 years are truly few. As fish keepers say: it hasn't been more than 1 year and they already like another fish. Personally, I think keeping fish is all about tinkering, and trying every species is what makes it fun. More often, no one has the patience to keep a single fish for 10 years. According to observation, most fish keepers have about half a year of patience for keeping one kind of fish.

3. The above counts as keeping it for a long time. If it is not kept well, the oscar fish will die about 1 day or a week after coming home. What is more, improper feeding or an environment that is too hot can make the oscar fish feel old and decrepit within 1-2 years.

4. When keeping the oscar fish, it is entirely possible for it to be affected by water quality and disease, or to die from improper treatment. It could be a few months, or 3-4 years; this is not certain.

Fish that can be kept with it:

Clown knifefish

The clown knifefish, also known as the humpback knifefish, seven-star flying knife fish, oriental knife fish, and flower knife fish, has a body length of 80-90 cm. Its front half is wide and thick, its tail is pointed and small, and its back is slightly arched and raised. It is distributed in India, Myanmar, and Thailand. It has a fierce temperament and likes to eat live small fish and shrimp. It is best kept in a large aquarium. It is a nocturnal fish, so it does not like to swim during the day and hunts at night.

Ruby cichlid

The ruby cichlid is an African cichlid that does not belong to the three-lake cichlid group. Its body is larger than that of the shorter cichlids. Its whole body has beautiful blue spots and a large black spot in front of the caudal peduncle. Its name comes from the brilliant red that appears during their breeding period, and in fact some individuals of this species are permanently bright red all over, but they are hard to find on the market. The ruby cichlid is carnivorous and, being piscivorous, will eat small fish. It prefers to be active in the lower layers.

Silver shark

The silver shark, also known as the black-finned bag-mouth fish, can reach 30-40 cm in body length in nature. It eats a relatively large amount, grows fast, has a sturdy build, and is easy to keep. It needs a large aquarium, and the tank should be covered to prevent it from jumping out. It has a gentle and lively temperament and likes to swim in schools. When young, it can be kept with other species; when grown, it can be kept in groups of the same species or with fish of comparable size.

Blood parrot

The blood parrot fish, commonly known as the red fortune god and fortune god fish, is bright red all over, with a chubby body shape and soft fin rays. Its color is bright red and very endearing. Adults are 15-20 cm long, with a wide, thick body that is oval in shape. In the juvenile stage the body color is grayish white; adult fish have a bloated body shape and are pink or blood red. The blood parrot is strong and sturdy and will eat almost anything, such as artificial bait, flakes, pellets, bloodworms, brine shrimp, water fleas, and so on. Because it has a wide diet and is always eating nonstop, and because it adapts extremely well to water quality, it is very easy to keep alive.

Giant gourami

The giant gourami, also known as the warship and long-finned perch, is native to Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and elsewhere. It belongs to the order Perciformes, suborder Anabantoidei, family Osphronemidae. Fish of this family are generally relatively small in size, but the giant gourami is the giant among the fish of this family. Adults are 20-69 cm long, oval in shape, with a grayish-brown body color. The pelvic fins are modified into two long filamentous fins, and the other fins are light red. The keeping water temperature is 22-26 degrees Celsius; water quality requirements are not strict. The breeding water temperature is 26-27 degrees Celsius. The male's dorsal fin tip is long and pointed. It is a bubble-nest egg-laying fish. Float a few aquatic plants on the water surface of the aquarium, put in a pair of parent fish, and the male will produce a large amount of foam on the water surface and put the fertilized eggs into the foam to hatch. The female lays 500-1000 eggs each time. It has a gentle temperament and is easy to keep.