Tiger oscar fish is aggressive, territorial, omnivores with various unique features and a lively creature. They grow fast and a lot of fun to have in the home aquarium, but you must ensure that they have the appropriate tank system and proper diet for their survival.
How Big Do Tiger Oscar Fish Get? The maximum size of Tiger Oscar fish is about 10 to 14 inches. However, their growth rate is fast, which grows 1-1.5 inches per month until it reaches the optimum length. In the case of wild oscar fish, their size is large than the aquarium tiger oscar. According to various reports, their size can reach around 12-18 inches long.
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How Big Do Tiger Oscar Fish Get?
Tiger Oscar fish belong to the Cichlidae family. Aquarists love to keep it as a pet, so you have proper knowledge about these before buying it.
Oscar fish categorize into Red, Albino, and Tiger. The primary body color is Olive Green with black mottled skin and orange marking, and stripes appear all over its back, tail and have a pointed oval appearance.
In addition, it has vivid light orange marks on the back of the gill covers. It also has a rounded tail, sleek low-profile black fins, which provide incredible agility.
Tank size
Ideally, the tank size requirement of your aquatic fish is about 50-125gallon. The growth rate of Oscar is fast, and the typical growth range is around 1-1.5 inches per month.
The overall growth rate of it is approximately 10-14 inches. If you keep one fish, then 55-75 gallons is sufficient for them. Appropriate-sized fish can keep in the same tank.
If the fish are small enough and held in the tank with others, there is a chance of being eaten up. You can Prefer some garish and vivid-colored tank with a unique decor option. The large aquarium provides easy layout and handling.
Tank requirements changes with the increase in the size of Tiger Oscar fish
You can put 1-5 tiger Oscar juvenile fish in a tank with enough room for each, but you can upgrade the tank as they rise.
You have to maintain the proper tank requirements like adjust the best quality filtration system (canister filter) and HOB filter.
These can optimize the entire volume of water 3-4 times/ hour. Arrange some suitable aquarium lightning which beneficial for both the plants and fish.
In this case, you have a recommendation to incorporate the pre-filter, which prevents this situation. You can adjust the heater in an aquarium with a built-in thermometer.
Water parameters
Water parameters should be stable and according to the need. The temperature of it is around 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit. The preferable water flow condition is moderate to high since they can accustom to it efficiently.
The pH of it is almost neutral or meets the wild criteria where they belong.
However, the toxicity of ammonia is influence by it, so you should maintain it properly. Use a dechlorinator because it clears out the chlorine content and another trace element.
Due to their messy nature and size, your aquatic pet would need more maintenance than other fish species. A sufficient amount of waste releases out, so it is necessary to change the water. Ammonia is highly toxic for them, so regular water change maintains all these parameters at their proper level.
What to feed Tiger Oscar Fish?
There is a various variety of food used for feeding these species. However, it is essential for their proper development, so you have plenty of food and specify the period of it.
Diet source
Diet sources can be meaty, vegetables, plants, live feeders, prepared food, and homemade are favorable.
When you provide them with various high-quality foods, they will become more enthusiastic, and their performance will improve.
Protein-rich diet
Due to their size, it is essential to determine and find appropriate information about their complete nutritional requirement.
You should make sure that these fulfill its need. It is a recommendation to use a balanced diet. In the natural habitat, it has plenty of food sources like larva, small fish, and plant debris.
In this way, another natural source like insects and a crustacean. You can also give them live feeders like goldfish, but these are not appropriate due to the bulk of fat if you feed enough quantity.
These foods contain fats and proteins that can damage a cichlid’s organs and cause harmful intestinal blockages.
Frozen food
Seafood is best for them if provided at a moderate level. The success key to your aquatic pet’s health and growth is the maintenance of a varied diet.
Here is a variety of frozen food like shrimp, clams, squid, and tubifex worms available for them. It becomes an ideal addition to their diet if you offer it to them in alternate form and use it often.
Frozen bloodworm is the most popular option but chooses one which is not small-sized.
The Oscar cannot recognize these food blocks as a food source that breaks up into hundreds of tiny fragments when you put them into the aquarium.
Putting these right into the tank after removing them out of the blister is not a proper decision. The best way to feed it is which defrost and warm up at ambient temperature.
Veggies and fruits
Oscar species are omnivores. These have the deficiency of some nutrients present in plants, so also give and choose such a diet. They love to eat meaty food and all kind of other diets like plants and algae.
Oscars also eat the fruits (nuts) of certain tropical plants during times of high water flow. You can give the shelled nut of appropriate quantity like 1-3 for 3-5 minutes. If they are not familiar with these, then feed when they are hungry.
Frozen peas are the best because they can enhance its color. Take a couple of these and rinse them in cold water for a few minutes before putting them in the tank.
When you decide to feed the vegetables or fruit, choose the right and avoid polluting the tank environment.
Vegetables that can be suitable for them and provide complete nourishments include cucumber, zucchini, sprouts, peas, and lettuce.
Cut these into small pieces according to their size and boil or steam them, so swallow and digest with ease. When you feed these, try to start with a small quantity so they are accustomed to it and once a week is enough.
You can also put the liquid vitamin boosters. However, if you provide them all at the time, it is a chance that these remain uneaten and spoil at the bottom. Also, it may cause the ammonia level high.
Live feeder
Live food has many advantages, but it all depends on your ease. This kind of meaty food contains a protein diet which is a warming addition for your aquatic pet.
It has the hunting instinct, which is beneficial for getting their food like live small feeder fish. You should buy them from any store and ensure that they are healthy.
The drawback of it the dissemination of harmful diseases, so you do care about it. Feed the amount which is enough and avoid overeating.
The live food includes worms, insects, shrimps species, and many others. They are also known as suction feeders or bottom-feeders because they capture prey by sucking the food in with their jaws and extended mouth.
It extends its mouth to suck the massive wall of water quickly. These are the ambush predator like wait and capture the prey when it comes close enough toward it.
Vitamin C
It is reported that sometimes Oscar lacks Vitamin C, which is beneficial for their growth and health maintenance.
Commercial diet
The variety of food includes canned, pellet formulation, freeze-dried and frozen. The food of your fish is compatible with its mouth.
Since they grow very large, high-quality pellet food should feed to them, and you can also split them into three pieces. For your aquatic fish, a pellet, crisps, flakes, tablets, and others are available.
Beef heart, Hikari cichlid, and canned products are a good source of their diet. For juvenile fish tablets, wafers and pellets are more suitable and effective than the other. It is the best idea to select and feed different feeding varieties to fulfill the nutritional requirement at any given time.
You can also give them various fruits like watermelon, cantaloupe and few others which suitable for them but try to avoid feeding seed along these.
How often feed tiger Oscar fish?
Its color becomes more enchanting by providing the best source of food and give a red tone. Food that enriches with astaxanthin, like peas and krill shrimp, makes it more noticeable.
Juvenile is small in size, and their growth rate become high so need more diet.
You should feed two to three times per day for 2-3 minutes until their belly become distended. It is also known as feeding satiation.
If you feed them pellets, then 2-4 of them are enough for them. You can alter their diet pattern in their routine. Avoid using flakes in them because they may be stuck and cause a choke in their throat.
In adults about 7-14 inches, they need less feeding, like two times a day, which fulfill their diet requirement.
You can feed some adults in a week for 2-4 days for 2-3 minutes thrice time daily, which sufficient for them. It helps to enhance their digestion and clear out the digestive tract.
Diet precautions
Food is the compulsory component of your healthy tiger Oscar for growth. You have to choose the best quality diet. If you give them a good combination, it shows better results like commercial products + live food.
You ensure that food is hygienic. When it is feeding, ensure to remove the unnecessary debris after eating to avoid foul-smelling. You choose the correct food combination and feeding routine if you want these to look great and appear happy, alert, and stable.
How Fast Do Tiger Oscar Fish Grow?
Oscar species growth rate is fast as the above-mentioned, but you can increase its size fast with little care and consideration.
You can give them the food at 3-4 hours interval. Select the best diet, and you can purchase the diet which specific prepared for them.
If you give these with a better combination like frozen shrimp or live food, it can enhance their weight. Maintain the aquarium water and clean the food debris and water off your aquatic pet and 50% water change.
Why fish growth becomes slow?
There are many chances of disease like tail, fin, and bacterial or fungal skin infection because of aggressive nature and fight with other fish.
Hexamita is the head disease in which a hole develops, this kind of fish is more susceptible to it.
You can treat them with the antibiotic which specifies for them and avoid using salted formula. Try to prevent internal, opportunistic parasites from getting the fish sick, so you feed medicated flakes or pellets.
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