Oscar profile

Family name:cichlidae
Scientific name:astronotus ocelatus
Common namesscar,marble or velvet cichlid
Origin:amazon river basin,peru,columbia
Size:30-35cm
ph:strive for 7.2 though they are adaptable to a wide range.
Temperature:24-30 degrees celcius
Tank size:minimum 300l
Diet:basically everything that can fit in its mouth.diet should consist of high quality dried foods and live foods incl;crickets,earthworms,frozen bloodworms etc.
Level occupied in aquarium:top,middle and bottom
Aquarium decor:avoid sharp pointed rocks and driftwood which may injure your oscar.oscars are prone to moving things about,heaters and glass thermometres are best situated out of their reach.
Aggression:mildly.oscars are generally content with fish they do not consider food.do well in groups.
Difficulty to keep:not ideal for beginners though it is relatively easy to keep once its requirements are understood.
Difficulty to breed:can be bred in aquariums,females can lay up to 1000 eggs in a single spawing.
Sexingscars are monomorphic i.e males and females look exactly the same.it is only during spawning when the differentiation can be made.
Availability:available at most LPS
Preferred tank matesther large south american cichlids,plecos and larger synodontis species.
General infoscars are messy eaters and produce a lot of waste they therefore require a tank with a good filtration system and frequent waters changes of up to 50% on a weekly basis.
Blacklisted:No