Juvenile Oscar Fish Care – How to raise healthy baby Oscar fish
The Oscar’s in the Video are about 12 weeks old & over 1 inch in size. The information in the Video will help raise healthy Oscar fish.
Few things to know about Oscar Fish (Astronotus ocellatus) –
– These fish are native to South America
– They are among the fastest growing cichlids
– The Juvenile or baby Oscar care is quite different from other Cichlids
– Oscar Fish can grow up to 18 inches in the wild & 10 to 12 inches in home Aquarium. Below information will help you caring for them.
Oscar Fish Aquarium Care –
Tank Size – Adult Oscars grow over a foot long & this can happen quickly. Its best to start big on Tank size. Adult Oscars need a Tank size over 120 gallon(450 liters) . Juveniles can be housed in 20 to 30 gallon until they reach 1.5 inches in length after which you need a bigger tank to avoid stunting. A fully grown Oscar may need 75 gallon tank all for himself.
Juvenile Oscar Fish Grow out Tank – Start with 20 to 30 Gallon housing about 4 to 5 oscar fish. Driftwood or rocks can be used to decorate the tank. I used gravel for tank bottom to keep the bio-load from floating.
Filtration – Even though Oscar fry can be kept in a tank with sponge filter, you need to upgrade the filter to HOB /Over-head filter /power head filter. The reason is these fish eat a lot which means the waste produced is also high. The tank should also be well oxygenated.
Food for Oscar Fish – At Juvenile state feed 3 times a day. 80% diet should be quality pellets, look for whole fish has the main ingredient in the pellets, pellets should also have vitamin c which is vital for these fish. When you start feeding pellets start with mini pellets & move to next sized pellets as they grow.
Live Food for Oscars -Avoid live fish feeding as they may contain parasites, specially gold fish as the flesh of goldfish is not good for Oscars. For juvenile oscars bloodworms, smaller mealworms, daphnia, brine shrimp can be fed. This should be 20% of their diet.
Fruits & Vegetables for Oscar fish –
In their natural habitat these fish would eat fruits which follow into the water. Most are less informed about oscars eating fruits. The fruits which can be fed includes papaya, melons, oranges etc. Vegetables can be fed like cucumber, zucchini, green peas etc. Its good to start feeding vegetables & fruits to baby oscar fish & juveniles as these have vitamin c in them. Remove uneaten food immediately from the tank.
Oscar fish Tank maintenance –
Due to their nature & huge appetite water change is necessary at least once in 3 days or you can push it to a week if you have a good filtration. With good care Oscars can live for 10 years or more.
Oscar Fish water parameters –
Waters from their natural habitat is more acidic, however years of captive breeding have made them tolerant to higher pH & hardness of water. pH range – 6.5 to 8
Temperature range for Juveniles – 78° to 82°F (25.5° to 27.7°C) this helps growth
Water hardness – soft to hard
Lighting for Oscar fish babies – Light & Quality food helps baby oscars to color up.
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