magical oscars??

Question

ive been into fish keeping for over a year now, have had various species from angels/african cichlids/silver sharks/plecos/tiger barbs/silver dollar/discus/parrot cichlids(who are very intelligent and funny)etc. etc. but none of these has got my attention like the oscar..

i actually treat this fish like a proper pet(i.e dog) i have just about seen all tropical fish now and the oscar is a league of his own imo..

what makes these fish so special cause at first i thought they looked like nothing special but now there are my favourite without question??

just want to add i have 2 aquariums and i havent lost a single fish in 6 months..i still have angels/barbs etc. in a seperate tank/i re homed the african cichlids after they killed about in total 20 fish including 4 baby oscars/angels and silver dollars
enough was enough with them/ they were costing me a small fortune lol

Answer 1

I think for a lot of people it's their personality. The seem to recognize people and even react to some people differently than others, so they appear more like a "traditional" pet than "just another fish".

They also seem to enjoy scaring their owners by doing things like laying on the bottom of the tank so you think they're dead, only to jump up as soon as you put your hand in the water.

Plus some of the tigers just look nice.

Answer 2

I have been into fish for 20+ years. but have only had oscars myself for the last 6 months. The two I have are still babies. One very nice healthy strapping tiger and one little runty tiger with a deformed jaw that was so tiny and pathetic I had to have her she was well worth the $3 I paid for her (talked the guy at the counter at petco into dropping her price because of her deformity) She's doing great and is quite the caractor. I totally agree with you on the oscars. I have kept a variety of fish over the years but I am particularly fond of cichlids. I have a almost 7 year old jack dempsy that has the coolest personality as well as a 4 yr old black belt that LOVES to interact with people not just the hand that feeds him. He will scoop up a mouth full of rocks and spit them out at the tank to get attention from anyone nearby. I got into oscars through a friend. I had always thought of oscars as big ugly fish that loved to eat just about anything. My friends Oscar however changed my way of thinking with her antics. She would as some mentioned fake her death to get a rise out of my friend as well as splash her to get her attention if she was close enough but wasn't giving "baby" attention. She loves to play in the bubbles and bump the lid on her tank to get attention. All though there are many different species that interact with their owners the oscar is popular because they demand interaction they are not content lulling their time away swimming they want the interaction with their people. Oscars are a bit more picky and often do prefer "their" person where as Blue my black belt doesnt really care who's giving him attention as long as some one is. My friends oscar will give her the cold shoulder at first if she has been away for the weekend to show her she was unhappy with her being away much like a typical pet such as a dog or cat might. I do believe all fish have personalities I have had them in my life too long to ignore that fact but Oscars are a bit more outgoing than other species hence their large following.
Enjoy the oscar if you take care of them properly you will have many years together.

Answer 3

They quickly come to recognize the hand that feeds them and exhibit funny behaviours like 'pouting' (lying on their sides) and begging, so people can sort of relate to them better. There are many varieties of new world cichlid that have the same behaviour, but Oscars are by far the most popular since they're so easy to get, cheap, and grow so fast.

Now, you've gone through a heck of a lot of fish in just one year - either lots of deaths or lots of trade-in's - I hope you stick this one out and keep your Oscar buddy for the long haul.

Answer 4

I own 2 Oscars and let me tell you. they are extremely intelligent . they like to play dead to get my attention. They love playing in the bubbles. They eat everything which is great when you et a bug in the house they Will chomp it right up. My older Oscar loves to be stroked, he will come to the top of the tank and let you pet him. There just the best fish plus they live for a good 10 plus years.

Answer 5

Oscars are great
i had an albino tiger for eight years, he ate out of my hand,played hide and seek (me in front of tank with book covering face, he would swim to ends of tank to try and see me)and try to bite me any time i tried to rearrange the bog-wood in the tank.was about ten inches long.
died a couple of months ago, so i will soon start looking for another. great fish, characters, and defiantly a 'companion pet'

Answer 6

Oscars get boring after a while, why don't you get an arrowana. In the amazon jungle they are called monkey fish because they can leap 4 ft in the air to get their prey (food). If you can raise one to its full size you can feed it pinkies or mice.

Answer 7

Yeah i think of so, he particularly does have a knack for paying for the music in a movie in simple terms precise. i've got in no way particularly observed all of his movies, yet I bear in mind seeing a movie of his from around 1994, a tamil movie talked approximately as Kadhalan, and that i enjoyed all the songs on there. i recently watched it on YouTube and it nevertheless sounds good. His music on Slumdog particularly set the temper and environment so properly.