Oscar fish are large, intelligent South American cichlids often described as the "dogs of the aquarium world" for their remarkable ability to recognise their owners and interact with them directly. They require a minimum 55-gallon tank for a single specimen and produce a significant amount of waste, demanding excellent filtration. In return they offer a level of personality and engagement that few other fish can match.
Oscars will destroy any aquascape you create. Rocks get moved, plants get uprooted, decorations get rearranged. I eventually went bare-bottom with some large, heavy stones and he has been happy ever since. They are magnificent fish but you need to accept that they — not you — decide what the tank lo…
Read full review →This sounds strange but my Oscar genuinely seems to pick up on my mood. On difficult days he is calmer and will sit near the glass while I talk to him. On good days he splashes around and shows off. Eleven years with this fish and he is still as vibrant and engaged as ever. No other fish has ever gi…
Read full review →I have kept marine fish, discus, and all manner of cichlids over twenty years. My Oscar is the best fish I have ever kept. He greets me every morning with a vigorous splash, eats pellets from my fingers, and responds to his name. He is twelve years old and still going strong. The maintenance is real…
Read full review →I am not exaggerating when I say my Oscar has more personality than my dog. He splashes at me when he wants food, rearranges the decorations in his tank whenever he feels like a change, and pouts visibly when I go on holiday. He is eight years old, the size of a dinner plate, and the single most ent…
Read full review →Everyone warned me Oscars were aggressive and messy. They were not wrong about the mess — I run two massive canister filters on my 75-gallon and still do big weekly water changes. But the aggression has been overstated in my experience. My tiger Oscar ignores my jack dempsey completely. And the pers…
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