Taking care of Oscar fish

Oscar fish is one of the hardiest freshwater aquarium fish.

The joy of keeping Oscar fish is to see them growing bigger and bigger.

You will enjoy the liveliness of the Oscar fish, especially during the feeding time. The Oscar fish eats as if you have starved it for a week.

How do you take care of the Oscar fish? You will find that taking care of Oscar fish is a very tedious job. The fact that it is a fast growing fish and messy eater add to the problem.

1. Big tank

How big is the fish tank for the Oscar fish?

That depends on how many fishes you want to keep.

If you intend to keep one single fish, the best is to have a 3 feet by 1 feet tank. You may think that is a waste of space, since the little Oscar fish is less than 2 inches when you buy it from the shop.

You will not regret the decision of getting a 3 feet tank a year later. That is the time when your little Oacar fish reaches 1 feet.

If you want to keep a community of Oscar fish, you need at least a 6 feet tank.

Even then, you should not keep more than 8 fishes in the tank. The Oscar fish is a very aggressive breed. You will find them fighting each other to death in a small tank.

2. Change water

When the fish is small, you can get away with changing water once a week.

You can change 20% of the water once a week. It does not matter how good is your filter, the fact is that Oscar fish is a messy eater.

Oscar fish will bite and chew the feeder fish, then discharge the fresh all over the tank. The same thing with worms and other live feeds.

Even if you feed pellets, you will notice the same behavior.

This messy eating habit causes pollution in the water. The filter cannot get rid of the bacteria, virus and fungus that thrive in this environment.

That is why a constant change of water is necessary to keep the Oscar fish happy.

When the Oscar fish is big, you need to change water at least twice a week. The minute you find the Oscar fish eating less, or do not display the same greediness when it comes to feeding time, you need to change water.

The water is polluted even when it looks crystal clear.

3. Add salt

Add a bit of salt whenever you change water.

Oscar fish can tolerate salt. The salt in the water helps to keep the Oscar fish healthy.

If the fishes in the community tank are constantly fighting, the salt helps to heal the wounds faster.

You have to bear in mind not to add too much salt.

The Oscar fish can tolerate very salty water for a short period.

4. Pellets

If you want less problems with Oscar fish, you can use pellets instead of live feeds.

The problem with live feeds is the quality of the food. You do not know whether the frog, worms or feeder fishes are healthy in the first place.

Since pellets are dry food, you can keep it fresh for a longer period.

Oscar fish are very greedy, and fortunately not choosy. They will eat whatever you feed them. The adult Oscar fish can even go without food for a week.

What do you think is the most important factor in caring for the fish? The first two factors are the most important of all.

Once you get a big tank, and change water diligently, the Oscar fish will live happily for a long time.