Cichlid Oscar Tiger Albino | Astronotus ocellatus

The albino oscar is a member of Astronotus ocellatus , the same species as the wild oscar. This fish can also be called the albino red oscar, albino ruby ​​oscar, albino tiger oscar, marble cichlid, or velvet cichlid. Although usually referred to simply as oscar, all variations of Astronotus ocellatus belong to the family Cichlidae and are actually a type of cichlid.

Natural habitat

In the wild, this fish lives throughout South America and is mainly found along the Amazon River in Peru, Brazil, French Guiana and Ecuador. There, they live in shallow, slow-moving waters with lots of plants and large objects for shelter. Due to the popularity of Oscars in the aquarium hobby, they have been inadvertently introduced into many non-native ecosystems.

Identification

The wild South American Oscar comes in various shades of brown, green, gray, and black and often has orange spots along the sides of its body. They have a distinct eyespot at the base of their caudal fin which can help trick fish and larger animals.

Ornamental fish hobbyists have since bred these fish to flaunt a variety of colors including lemon, red, and tiger/batik variations. One color that is rarely found is the Oscar tiger albino. However, this fish is often mistaken for lutino coloring.

Oscar albino vs oscar lutino

Albinism is the result of one or more defective genes that fail to produce or distribute the right amount of melanin. As a result, areas where melanin is present, such as skin and hair, lack pigment or color intensity.

True albino Oscars have an almost white base color with pink spots. The hallmark of albinism for these fish is red or reddish eyes. It’s very common for ornamental fish shops to put the name ‘albino’ on any white oscar cichlid, but this is not true albinism.

If the fish is not genetically albino, then it is called a lutino. It is very difficult to tell the difference between these two colorings, especially since lutino fish can begin to develop a darker color later in life.

As we said earlier, you need to check for red eye if you are looking for a true albino Oscar fish. An oscar lutino can have pink eyes and a white body, but it can also have orange and gray spots around the edges of the fin. People also often confuse Oscar lemon with Oscar albino and Oscar Lutino.

All Astronotus ocellatus , including the albino Oscar, can be the same size. These fish can grow very large and very quickly which can fool the beginner hobbyist who wants to buy an Oscar as a teenager.

Oscar fish can easily reach a length of 30 cm when fully grown, although it is not unheard of that they can grow to 60 cm. It is also believed that they can grow about 2.5 cm each month until they reach their adult size.

Oscar fish not only grow to a great size, but they can also live for a very long time! In captivity, these fish can easily live up to 10 years; The wild ones can even live up to 20 years.

Oscar albino fish aquarium requirements

Although the albino oscar tiger fish may be much rarer than other oscar colors, their needs are the same. They are large fish that require a large aquarium.

The minimum recommended aquarium size for albino Oscar fish is 200 liters for one fish with lots of extra filtration; an additional 250 liters or more for an oscar will give your fish extra room to reach their full size potential without worrying about running out of space (calculate aquarium volume: length x width x height [cm] / 1000).

A 400 liter aquarium can hold two Oscars for some time, although nutritional levels and growth rates need to be monitored. While some hobbyists use a larger aquarium as a multi-oscar rearing aquarium, keeping more than two Oscars in the same tank can quickly lead to overcrowding.

Other than that, this fish doesn’t need anything too special. They are a burrowing species so a soft sand substrate will prevent your fish from injuring themselves. The many tethered driftwood structures and dim lighting will give your fish the protection they need to stay happy.

Behavior

Oscar is a popular fish because of his very friendly personality. They are usually at the front of the tank and can even be trained to come to the surface when it is time to eat. Because Oscars can be very large, they tend to be labeled aggressive.

Food

Oscar tiger albino fish care is relatively easy as long as you give them the space they need. These fish are omnivores and are very likely to eat any food you put in front of them. Always make sure you don’t overfeed your fish as this species likes to ‘beg’ for food at the top of the tank until you give them something!

As omnivores, these fish will accept a variety of animal and plant foods. They can be fed a wide selection of live, frozen and freeze-dried foods, such as worms (earthworms, bloodworms, Tubifex worms), artemia, and small forage fish.

Oscars are best suited to a high protein diet and should be regularly fed flakes or pellets formulated for oscars or cichlids. These fish can also be given boiled vegetables from time to time, such as spinach and cucumbers, although some Oscars prefer foods that activate their natural predatory instincts.

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