NEWS112
43
Wild-caught adultOscar fromColombia.This specieshasnot been scientificallydescribed.
underestimate the know-how of the fish
transporters of those days, the fishes
needed a certain amount or resilience to
survive. Then again, the first successful
exportsofdiscus tookplaceback then...
Largeandspectacular
Oscars are among the largest aquarium
fishes normally seen in the trade, and can
attaina lengthofup to40cm.Thatsize is in
fact exceptional, but can be achieved by
long-lived specimens in huge aquaria.
Almost all the individuals seen in the trade
are captive-bred in South-East Asia.Wild-
caught specimens are only very rarely
offered forsaleandare thenalways labeled
as such.
Anyonewithanaquarium150 to200cm in
length should definitely try their hand at
keeping Oscars in it. These fishes can
become exceptionally tame and provide
their owner with a lot of enjoyment, plus
they become more attractive with every
AquariumGlaser recently imported thesespectacularOscars fromBrazil (RioTapajós).Theyareprobably
Astronotus zebra
P
ELLEGRIN
,1904.
centimeter theygrow.Oscars can,however,
often cause a lot of trouble in smaller
aquaria, as after all they are cichlids and
defend their personal territory fairly
energetically. Because Astronotus rapidly
grow to 15-20 cm long even in smaller
aquaria, ameter-long tank is not too small
for a single Oscar, with no other fish(es)
sharing the tank. For this reason it is better
not to buy Oscars unless a really large
aquarium isavailable.
Productiveopen-brooders
Oscars breed in pairs, with bothmale and
female sharing equally in the care of eggs
and fry - oftenmore than 1000per brood!
The sexes can be told apart only with
difficulty (females remain smaller andhave
a more pointed head profile), so the best
way to obtain a pair is by growing on a
group of youngsters and letting them
choose theirownmates.
Therearegood reasonswhyOscarsarenot
usually bred commercially in Europe.
Rearing the ever-voracious brood to
saleable size costsmore in time, electricity,
andwater (not tomention food) than they
fetchwhensold.Butmattersarecompletely
different on the rare occasionswhenwild-
caughtspecimens - suchas thespectacular
ZebraOscar - are imported!
Young Oscars have completely different
coloration.This one iswild-caught, fromPara,
Brazil.
