Only been in the hobby about 9 months or so, I got an Oscar about 6-7 months ago and he's definitely become my buddy. I decided, with a risk of being wrong, to grab a second Oscar in hopes of getting a female. They are my babies. I think I may have chosen correctly. I'm about 90% sure she's a female. Still slightly early to tell for sure, but I'm fairly certain. I knew my buddy was a male within the first few months.
Oscars are amazing pets, super friendly and do remind me of a pet dog, so much characteristics and personality!!! I agree that everyone should have an oscar once in their lives☺️
I think it's funny that the expected life span of this fish is about 10 years. My grandparents got one as a teeny baby when my mother was 17 and the thing lived until I was 13. I was born when my mother turned 20, so he was about 16 years old when he finally died. He ended up with HITH 6 times in my own memory. He really was a family member, and he would get depressed when my grandparents would go out of town, refusing to eat and sinking to the bottom of the tank. Super cool that you have one and that you love him so much!
You can tell he loves you, he does the old "Wagy Pants" thing when he knows you are paying attention to him. I never fed my 'kids' feeder-fish. The best live food for New World cichlids has to be earthworms, or maybe crickets...properly purged, and obtained from a known source. I had a 14' tiger oscar named 'Newton' who rang his dinner bell constantly till I disconnected it. He lived in a 125 all by hiss-bad self, would rub up and down my arms when I did water changes/ gravel cleanings, and was just the best all around fish I ever had!! He lived in my care for 13 years, and it tore my heart out to see him begin to suffer from old age, I talked to a Vet when he started 'listing' in the tank, and we both agreed that it was better for him to go down...Tore my tank down, sold it, and have not kept any indoor fish since. Just my pond, some lillies, and a few goldfish...
Sorry you lost s good friend partner. I thought it was gonna lose 3-4 month old Oscar and I started to tear up instantly..... Until the little witch decided to stop pump faking me and dated up for a feeding lol My first loss was the worst so far, it wasn't old age and I still don't know what happened. I felt like a complete failure. These fish do have the greatest personalities!
I know this is an older video but it seemed the appropriate venue to ask about this particular breed. My uncle had an oscar, that I loved, while I was growing up. I got to feed him on the weekends when I went to visit my cousins. Yeah, it was the late 80's and I think the average hobbyist did less research then or rather information was not as readily available(or maybe I was--am naive), so his tank was vastly overstocked! A 55 with a pair of convicts, a pair of firemouths, 5 SDs and the oscar! Regardless, the fish left an impression on me all these years later and seeing your videos about captain made me seek them out over the past months with each visit to the pet store. Now, even my wife sorts through them at the pet store trying to find the one that will follow her finger--lol. We seem to like reds. Anyway, I was wondering if you could go more in-depth about how you, personally, would setup an oscar tank if you were to buy one as a baby today. (A single oscar with no tank mates.) Or, rather what you might suggest others do. I mean, we always hear talk of "the minimum" but not often about ideal. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the ideal habitat for an oscar, or as close are reasonably possible, in a home aquarium! The thing is, we have been reading forums and there is just so much conflicting information out there. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.
well captain looks perfect to me.. I got 1 oscar too I named him yoongie after from my favourite kpop BTS member.. my yoongie is savage at the same time so sweet. 😊
I'm glad to get a closer look at Capt. Crankypants. By the way, Captain is not a gender specific rank. There have been women holding the rank since WWII, especially in the medical corps, but now in combat roles as well.
I think oscars hate men because when I was raising my oscars my father could feed them and the would just let it float to the ground and if me my mom and sister would they would immediately basically begging to get the food from us and when my dad would get home at night sometimes they would fight but as soon as he entered the room they would look like there sleeping lol
awesome video, awesome fish! I have a pair of males thst are nearing 13 years old... two totally different personalities! I know how you feel about yours, I feel the same. And nevermind "perfect", my Oscars have been through broken heaters, tank jumpouts, and yup, murderous battles with others.. scars are part of life for big fishes, and adds to their character. Have a peek at my channel for a few videos of my beasts... like yours, one spends life alone in his own tank.. the other is so docile he's part of my 300g community tank. :)
Hi new to your youtube channel saw you on The king of DIY love your video I working on my new web site and I will include your youtube channel keep up the good work
Yes, more monster uploads please! Whatever Capt. Cranypants is lacking, I'll bet he makes up for with sheer personality. He must be a real comfort when you have severely busy days cranking out multiple shipments.
Got my first Oscar 7 months ago. He's currently about 8-9", a red tiger, and his name is Arnold (after Schwarzenegger). I always wanted one that was virtually jet black with vibrant orange stripes. Lol little did I know, they change colors as they matured. When he's happiest, he's nearly jet black with the orange stripes, absolutely gorgeous in my opinion. About 3 months ago I grabbed another lutina Oscar. She's absolutely stunning as she's keeping her golden white color and very vibrant orange markings. She's only about 4-5" but definitely a little beast. I was hoping to find a mate for Arnold. Her name is Baby, as we didn't know what to name her and she used to be the tiniest one in the community tank. Yes guys, I said community tank. It consists of 2 pleco, 1 ornate bichir, ghost knife, 3 Cory's. Eventually my yo-yo loaches will go in when they're big enough. The bichir likes trying to eat them in their current small status.
Hi Rachel, have you seen this guys videos on YT/ Dr. Richmond Loh aka the Fish Doctor. Certified Aquatic Veterinarian Doctor. Herre is a linkto one of his vids on HITH disease. Aquatic
I have a friend who has a giant 2.5m tank with a whole community of wild type oscars and other big cichlids and loaches and they live peacefully. pretty amazing
i have an oscar i rescued and addded to my oscar tank, his injuries healed well but we call him nibbles cause you can tell something was eating the poor guy alive before i got him. He's quite happy now! They all ganged up on my plecos and killed one that was armoured. A GIANT sailfin got mauled by my five big mean oscars. I find they get very aggressive if they dont get some sort of live food, mine like live food and hunting it. They're more like piranha than anything lol and yes THEY ARE EXTREMELY MESSY PEOPLE, alot of waste in the bottom. The sailfin is quite messy too, he is good for algae but the waste in the bottom of my tank is gross, even with a canister filter thats too big for the tank actually. and all mine have their own personality. And they can get 18" or bigger if properly cared for
man I miss my Oscars grom when I was younger sadly I was a stupid kid and we had 3 in a 50 gal. if I had a bigger tank now I'd definately get one but I'll stick to guppies in my 36gal. Maybe when i get my 100gallon for my map turtle I'll get an Oscar
My Oscar (name Oscar by my dauther loll) hes 12 years old and about 16 inch long by 5 inch hight in a 100 gallon with other ciclids and they cohabits fine !!
Oscar really has an attitude. If it senses danger it pretends to be dead. Mine does that specially when I am cleaning its tank. But what I really love about Oscar Fish is it acknowledges my presence. I stopped feeding mine with peletes because it seems to be not too healthy for them, mine developed some holes on its face. I feed mine with little shrimps i buy from the market. Since I started feeding mine with shrimps it became more healthy and the holes disappear as well after a couple of weeks.
I used to work at a small pet shop and one of our juvenile Oscar's, not really sure how, got nailed by a crawfish. Took him home to my 39 and managed to nurse him back to health. his tail was half gone, down to the bone in one spot. it never grew back in that one spot but you could hardly tell. Found him a home with a nice gentleman with a 150 looking specifically for a new fish friend. He was my little foster water pup. Begged, ate from my fingers and followed me around my room.
i currently have 2 oscars 1 tiger and 1 strawberry veil fin.. they were given to me as christmas presents a little over a year ago and were less than 1/2" in length now the tiger is about 8" and the strawberry around 10" and they are just like underwater puppies! LOL... They are in desperate need of a tank upgrade as i only have a 55 gal, unfortunately an abusive boyfriend shattered my knee and i havent been able to get back to work yet... but when i do these beauties are getting a serious upgrade!!!
When I was a volunteer tour guide at the New England Aquarium back in the 80's, they had a 1K gallon tank with giant plecos, oscars, and arawana and they would feed baby mice to both the oscars and arawana. They also fed them pellets as well as algae waffers for the plecos. One thing to note the oscars had eaten all the plecos' eyes, and all the placos were blind but still able to swim and forage for food
Love this videos, i really want an Oscar or 2 but i need to get a tank for them, everytime i see one they look so intelligent av observant. How is it to keep Oscars with Heroes, or/ and Jack dempsey? If they get a big enough tank that is?
I'm pretty sure a steady diet of feeder fish gave my Oscar's hole in the head. I loved those fish. I got them at about 2 inches, they got about 6-8 inches before they died. I was so depressed.
monster spotlight is a great idea. having owned an Oscar for years . I understand that they need not be perfect. But become immensely important to us as keepers. I still mourn my loss of Bubba when I see Oscars that have that I am king attitude.
In so many years during my hobby i never found any fish more appealing and full of personality like Oscars. We have so many hybrids and unique fish in hobby today but oscars still tops the chart when it comes to favourite fish and i personally believe all variants of black oscars are more agressive and behave like a mafia in tank in comparison to other oscars like albino or copper .
It's really like a dog in the water,very interesting and good fish for beginners.I currently have one,at first it was shy and a bit nervers,but now whenever it saw me it came to me and asked for food.
hes bad ass I have 4 Oscars all together 2 males and 1 female tiger Oscars 1 red female Oscar and possibly I had to learn with cichlids period is the more the better and the more decor the better Oscars are good with other Oscars and Jack dempseys but they must be mr. cranks size or he will sallow it or torture till death also just in they're nature to use size but jack Dempseys can hold they're own.i have 2 jack Dempseys male and female all in 75 gallon with a pleco about a foot and a red eared slider which is do good in beginning my oscars would let the turtle sleep while floating and snatch him under the water is guess they figure we can't eat him so we will let him be the pleco cleans him multiple times a day I do water changes twice a week and want to relocate and upgrade.also need advice to any because I want to join the Ohio cichlid association heard good from you bad from others what is the pros and cons ??
Had one years ago. He was a pill. He would launch out of the tank at feeding and one time latched onto my wifes finger. You could imagine her scream.lol I did feed him feeders and he let one live and grow to a huge beautiful gold fish that got as big as the Oscar. It was a strange relationship. Match made in Heaven.
My first fish was a oscar n to be honest I seen a 2 inch fish n said yea let me buy a mate for him I had a 55 next thing I know he was the only only one. So I decided I buy a electric catfish not a good idea they use to keep me up at night.. lol then at the end he was by his self. I gave him up to a friend of mine that had a 300 gallon tank n he love him but wen I did gave up he was almost 14 inches big boy n was grumpy..
I'm probably not telling you anything you don't already know but there is a RU-vid video of a guy in Florida fishing for Oscars in his local pond or stream. Oscars are obviously non-native, an invasive species, I guess that at some point somebody has either accidentally or intentionally released some into the local water, probably when they became too big for the tank. Anyway, in a very short space of time this guy had caught about 15 Oscars all around the 6-7 inch size. The really sad part is that because they are invasive it is illegal to release them back into the water that they had just come from so he had to kill them all. The thought did occur to me that if he were able to bag them up and ship them to UK (or anywhere else for that matter) they would be worth an absolute fortune to the aquarium trade. Certainly in UK you just can't get Oscars at that size, they are normally about 2 inches and very expensive.
it is possible it is from hobbyists, but more likely its from befor the fish farms had to have the culverts dug around their farms. In times of flooding,t he fish ponds would overflow.
andy stokes There is a lot more than Oscars in Florida, there are numerous introduced species of fish. Many cichlids like Oscars, as well as peacock bass and snakeheads, even koi. From what I have heard it is believed that fish farms that flooded are the main reason why so many were introduced into Florida waters but I'm sure people illegally releasing pets the grew to big for their tanks has contributed to it as well. Also the Burmese python and Iguanas that were introduced through the pet trade.
+Rachel O'leary my monster fish that I would keep would have to be a red tail catfish, I just love the look of the standard catfish. but for now I will stick with madtoms. though I can agree that all fish in there own way are pretty awesome.
Gustav Gans I disagree, owning both Oscars and bettas. Bettas are like tiny water dogs, where as the Oscars are giants ones. Also Oscars don't naturally eat bettas but obviously they would eat them if they were housed together.
I owned a betta sorority before just switched to cichlids. Female bettas actually have a lot of personality but nothing compared to oscars. They just straight up demand attention sometimes😂
My Oscar looks just like yours. Bought him in 2003 and still kicking! We finally found a tank mate that he likes, a giant Pleco we rescued from the family.
awesome fish! I keep a 5yr old Oscar named king Zeus. he's about 15" and also a young jardini arowana.your Oscar looks great! love to see more of him. have a great day!
My Oscar seems the same as yours. Can't be kept with anything including plants. Now he has decided to go to war with his heaters and filters. I learnt my lesson after he broke 3 heaters and 2 thermometers. His heaters have heater guards now lol
Not bad. Mine wes ten before he was killed by a old landlord of mine. My bad I should not of in trusted a old fish to a novice. Old fish are like old people. In they get fragile. My I ask how long you have been keeping fish?
I just lost my 8 years old Oscar due the tank broke (and my heart). I have six years old pacu in 442gallon tank, do you think I could someday have Oscar there to live happy life with pacu?
I had 2 pacu in s 75. They were about 16 inches long. 1 Red belly, 1 black. They really have personality, the most of any fish I ever had. They recognize you, react to you. I used to hand feed them shrimp. They liked to be pet and loved their shrimp. Really cool fish. They ended up going to a 1000 gal tank via my donation. They were too big for me at the time and deserved a better home. I had them since they were about 2 inches long... Great fish
i really love Oscar cichlid.s they are absolutely beautiful cichlid,s nice video GOD.BLESS YOU I'm a great fish keeper i have the same size Oscar cichlid.s with tank mates I raised up together since they were juveniles and now they are fully grown together they get along great check out my channel please thank you mike Angel😀🐟🐡🐟
I had 3 Oscar's with red in there bogeys when I use to breed show Guppies in my younger years. He was playing with you when he gave you his back and turn around fast. Every time I see an Oscar I remember the oneshe I had. Thanks for sharing the video.
He is a beautiful fish. As a layman, I wouldn't notice any imperfections. His name quite suits his pouty mouth. Beautiful eyes. I enjoy your monster fish.
Thank you Rachael. I have a red tiger oscar called Oscar the Grouch (original, I know. Lol). He got me into the hobby and like you, is the only fish I have named. They are like lil puppies and so interactive as well as moody. They seem to cop a bad wrap and that's a shame as they are an awesome pet. Thanks again, Captain is awesome!
My red Oscar is about the same size, never measured but is in 4x2x2 tank as well and looks a similar size to yours. He's only 3 at the minute and I've only had success keeping him with a pleco which is about an inch longer than him.
Great talk, I love his name, I understand what you mean. I had tiger oscar, albino oscar, Clown Knife, and two pacu. I moved to Hawaii and couldn't take them; Hart breaking. Now 10 years later I am back on the main land. Have a few small tanks but not the same. I looking at getting a large aquarium again. Pacu also have great personality. My Pacus love eating "hot dog" I know you shouldn't. I did it only when I didn't get a chance to get there fish food and that was rare..
I'd love to see a video made about knife fish, particularly the black ghost knife fish. I know they can grow to be several inches, have unique feeding and housing requirements, and interesting personalities.
