How to keep oscars? Detailed guide to care methods and precautions
Oscars are about as big as our palm, with very long fins on the back and belly that sway gently in the water as they swim, like someone wearing a beautiful floral skirt, or like butterflies dancing. Their bodies are flat and covered with irregular patterns that look like a vivid map, which is how they got their name. Now let's take a look at how to keep oscars!
How do oscars breed?
1. Male and female identification: The difference between male and female oscars is not very obvious. The male has a higher and thicker head, more pointed and longer dorsal and anal fins, and more numerous and brighter spots and stripes on its body. The female has a thicker body, smaller anal fins, and a darker body color than the male. The male's genital pore is slightly narrow and pointed, while the female's genital pore is thicker and oval-shaped.
2. Selection of broodstock: Choose a pair of broodstock that have paired up on their own. When the female stays alone in a corner of the aquarium and from time to time bites or fans stones or tiles with her body, this means the female is clearing a spawning site and is about to spawn. A male will stay nearby guarding the female and keeping other males away, and sometimes it will build the spawning site together with the female. At this point, you can take this pair of broodstock out to hatch separately, or take the other fish out and leave this pair in the tank. You can also, according to your own needs, select suitable male and female fish in body color and body shape, take them out, and pair them up.
3. Breeding method: The breeding tank measures 60 cm × 45 cm × 45 cm, with some tiles or stones placed at the bottom. The water temperature should be appropriately higher, kept at 26-28°C, pH at 6.5-7.5, and dissolved oxygen no lower than 6 mg/L. The female lays eggs row by row on the surface of the tiles or stones, and the male immediately fertilizes them. This process takes about 3 hours. The female lays 800-2,000 eggs, and the eggs are relatively large.
4. Hatching method: The fertilized eggs hatch into fry in the broodstock tank in 2-3 days, and after another 6-7 days the fry can swim freely and forage everywhere. During this time, the female keeps watch beside the fry and guards them, while the male also keeps guarding near the female to prevent intrusion by enemies. To prevent the broodstock from eating the eggs and to increase the hatching rate of the fertilized eggs, the fertilized eggs can be hatched separately, that is, place the tiles and stones with the fertilized eggs attached into an aquarium with the same water quality as the broodstock tank, or take the broodstock out and put them into another aquarium. During hatching, keep the environment quiet, try not to walk around the breeding site, and it is best to cover the tank walls and tank opening to reduce outside disturbance.
5. Feeding method: Once the fry hatch and can swim around, you can start feeding them. At this time, you can feed brine shrimp or small water fleas 4 times a day. After half a month, you can feed bloodworms, and after one month, you can feed artificial compound feed. It is best to choose feed with a higher protein content.
How to keep oscars?
1. Stocking density: Oscars consume a relatively large amount of oxygen, so in general aquarium keeping, sparse stocking is advisable. In a 120x50x50 cm aquarium, when oscars are 6 cm in body length, about 40 can be stocked; when 10 cm in body length, about 20 can be stocked; when 18 cm in body length, 4-6 can be stocked; and when over 25 cm in body length, 2 can be stocked.
2. Water temperature management: The suitable water temperature for oscars is 22-28°C, with the most suitable water temperature being 24-26°C. If the water temperature is below 18°C, oscars will die, and if it is above 30°C, oscars also cannot live well and may even die.
3. Water quality management: Although oscars are not very strict about water quality, fresh water can greatly promote the fish's growth rate. Every night, change 1/2-3/4 of the water in the aquarium. After one month, an oscar 2 cm in body length can reach about 7 cm. Each time new water is added, it stimulates the fish's metabolism and enhances appetite, so the growth rate speeds up. Generally during keeping, change 1/2 of the water every day and do a thorough water change once a week. While changing the water, soak the oscars in a 0.5% baking soda solution for 10 minutes to promote metabolism, enhance appetite, and speed up growth.
4. Food selection: Oscars are omnivorous with a tendency toward animal food, and like to eat live bait such as small fish, small shrimp, and tubifex worms. For convenience in artificial keeping, compound pellet feed is often used. Oscars are very greedy and eat as much as you feed them, so feeding must be done regularly and in fixed amounts. Control the daily feeding amount at about 10% of the fish's body weight, divided into two feedings, one in the morning and one in the evening. Oscars grow relatively fast, reaching sexual maturity in 8-12 months, with body length reaching 20-30 cm. Recommended reading: What do oscars eat to grow fast? What feed is good for oscars?
5. Light control: Oscars need proper lighting every day. In a day, they must receive at least 2 hours of light. Only in this way can the normal life of oscars be ensured and their body color be more brilliant. At the same time, through lighting, the water quality is transformed, making the keeping water less prone to deterioration.
Common diseases of oscars
1. White spot disease
[Symptoms] In the early stage of the disease, the sick fish will rub its body against hard objects, hoping to remove the troublesome pathogens from its body. Many small white spots can be seen on the body surface, fins, and gills of the sick fish. The sick fish becomes thin, floats on the water surface or gathers in a corner, and rarely moves. In the later stage, the body surface looks as if covered with a white film, mucus increases, and body color becomes dull and lusterless.
[Prevention and treatment] ① You can use the method that white spot parasites cannot tolerate high temperatures, raising the water temperature to 30 degrees. This prompts the spores produced on the fish body surface to mature quickly, accelerating their growth rate so that they fall off the fish body surface. ② Treatment with red medicine. The key to this method is not to add too much; it is enough for the water to be slightly red, and less is better than more! Soak for 5-10 minutes, 1-2 times a day. I hope the above information can be helpful to everyone. If there is anything inaccurate or omitted, fellow fish keepers are also welcome to correct and supplement it.
2. Fin rot disease
[Symptoms] There is obvious damage at the caudal fin and tail. If not treated in time, it may spread to the base of the caudal fin and cause more serious symptoms.
[Prevention and treatment] ① Dissolve 1 gram of nitrofurazone or furazolidone in 10 kg of water and soak for 20 minutes, or choose a low-concentration dose for splashing, which can inhibit the spread of this disease and gradually restore the growth and development of the fins. ② Treat by splashing with a 0.01% potassium permanganate solution, which can effectively inhibit the spread of this disease.
3. Gas bubble disease
[Symptoms] Gas bubble disease is also one of the diseases that oscars are prone to, but the incidence is not high. The typical manifestation is that many small bubbles appear on the oscar's body, mainly on the pectoral fins, pelvic fins, and abdomen.
[Prevention and treatment] ① Aerate, and the water temperature should be kept stable so that supersaturated oxygen in the water body is released into the air. ② Do a thorough water change and discharge the old water.
4. Cloudy eye disease
[Symptoms] In the early stage, a white mist appears on the eye membrane, mostly in one eye. In the middle stage, the eyeball becomes cloudy. In the late stage, the eye swells and white cotton-like cone-shaped matter grows. If it cannot be properly handled at this time, there is a risk of death.
[Prevention and treatment] ① Early stage: If a white mist phenomenon is found on the fish's eye membrane in the early stage, change one third of the water immediately and add an appropriate amount of coarse salt at a concentration of 5 parts per thousand, that is, put 1 jin of coarse salt into 200 liters of water, and raise the temperature to 30-32°C. Observe for two days to see whether it improves. If there is no worsening, then strengthen water changes, changing one quarter of the water every three days and adding an appropriate amount of salt, and it can be cured. ② Middle stage: Then medication is needed for medicated bathing treatment. Use water-soluble chlortetracycline, penicillin, or special medicine for fish. If using special medicine for fish, it can be used according to the instructions; for chlortetracycline and penicillin, put 10,000-20,000 units per liter of water. During medicated bathing, the temperature must be raised by 2°C-3°C, and observation must be carried out, with medication re-added according to the duration of the medicine's efficacy, and one quarter of the water changed.
[Note] If the eyeball cloudiness is severe, recovery takes a relatively long time, about three to five months to heal. If the swelling disappears, the dosage can be reduced or stopped. After recovery, the black pupil will be smaller than before, but there is no major problem.