Are Oscar Fish Jumpers? (Can they jump out of the tank?)

Are Oscar fish jumpers? This is the question many beginners ask when they want to keep Oscar fish in their tank.

And in this article, I am going to answer the same.

Yes, Oscar fish are jumpers and it is their common behavior in the wild.

They usually jump when they see something that they want to eat or if the water quality of the tank is not good.

Does Oscar fish jump out of their tank?

Oscar fish are good jumpers.

They are omnivorous and in the wild, they feed on insects.

They catch insects roaming over the water of the river by jumping through the water.

And when you keep Oscar fish in your tank they usually jump out of the tank when they see something that they want to eat.

Another common reason Oscars jump out of the tank is when the water quality of your tank is not good.

Particularly, when your tank contains a very concentrated amount of ammonia.

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Why Oscar fish jump out of the tank?

There are a few instances Oscar fish jump out of the tank.

• Oscar fish jump out of the tank when they see something above the tank they want to eat.
• Oscar fish jumps out of the tank when the water quality of your tank is not good. Particularly, when the ammonia levels in your tank are high.
• If you are keeping other large aggressive fish with your Oscar fish that are constantly bulling your Oscar then oscar fish jumps out of the tank.

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How to prevent Oscar fish from jumping out of the tank?

There are several things you can do to prevent your Oscar fish from jumping out of the tank.

Put a lid on the tank

We will start with the very obvious solution.

To stop Oscar fish jumping out of the tank you can put a lid on the tank.

This is the most reliable way to prevent Oscar Fish from jumping out of the tank.

Oscar Fish are very powerful fish so you should also make sure that you are putting a tight-fitting lid on the top.

Maintain ideal water parameters

Oscar Fish usually jumps out of the tank if it is not getting the ideal environment in the tank.

So you should make sure that your tank water is well within the ideal water parameters range.

The ideal temperature for Oscar Fish is between 74 to 81° Fahrenheit.

Its pH tolerance range is between 6-8.

And the hardness tolerance range is between 5 to 20 KH.

Besides maintaining these water parameters, you should also make sure that your tank does not contain any ammonia.

If your tank contains high ammonia levels then your fish will get stressed and will jump out of the tank.

So you should regularly test the water parameters of your tank with a test kit. Check out our recommended Test Kit

And if the water parameters are not within the ideal range then you should take action to fix the problem.

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Temperature

Oscar Fish preface warm water.

So you should make sure that you are providing warm water of anywhere between 74 to 81° Fahrenheit to your Oscar Fish.

If the temperature of the water in your tank is below the ideal range then you should introduce a water heater into your tank to raise the temperature. Checkout our heater recommendation

If you notice the water temperature of your tank is over the ideal water temperature range then you can simply introduce some ice cubes in the tank to cool down the water.

Now introducing some ice cubes into the tank is not a permanent solution to fix the high-temperature issue.

I have written a detailed article on what causes the high temperature in the tank and how to lower the temperature.

You can check out the article here.

Ammonia

Ideally, your tank should not contain any ammonia.

If your tank contains a concentrated amount of ammonia then this will stress out the fish and your fish will try to jump out of the tank.

To lower the ammonia levels, you should do a partial water change.

This will help to dilute the ammonia levels in your tank.

Usually, high ammonia levels are caused due to overstocking your tank.

Oscar Fish can grow pretty large and they are very messy fish that’s why they require a large tank.

When it comes to tank size for Oscar Fish a good rule of thumb to follow to get at least 55-gallon tank for one Oscar Fish and then additional 20-30 gallons for every new Oscar Fish.

So if you are keeping a lot of fish in a relatively smaller tank then you should upgrade your tank to a larger tank and this will solve the problem.

Besides, here are other ways to lower ammonia in your tank.

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What to do if your Oscar Fish jumped out of the tank?

Depending on how much time your Oscar Fish was out of the tank there are a few things you can do to revive your fish.

If your fish just jumped out of the tank then you can just put it back in the tank.

If you don’t know for how much time your fish was out of the tank and when you put it back in the tank it doest move then its certainly because your fish was out of the tank for a long time and its body and gills are dried.

And now your fish require special care to revive.

In this case, first of all, you should immediately put it in a separate tank. 

You can also use a plastic container.

Just make sure that it doesn’t contain any residual chemicals.

Then fill the container with fresh water and put your Oscar Fish into it.

Then you should add Betta revive into the tank. You can find it at your local fish store or online.

Betta revive will help to breathe your fish properly. And it will also help to prevent it from getting infected.

You can also add some antibiotics into the container to boost the immune system of the Oscar Fish.

Now you just have to keep the water as clean and pure as possible by doing water changes as much as possible.

You should do the water changes at least once per day.

After some days once the fish looks healthy then you can reintroduce it into the tank.

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How to take care of Oscar Fish in your tank?

Oscar fish is a relatively hardy fish. In captivity, it can grow up to 12 inches and live for about 12-15 years. 

But to make your Oscar fish live for a long time and reach its maximum size, you have to keep good care of it.

Below I’m going to share with you some tips to take care of your Oscar fish.

Large tank

Oscar Fish can get pretty big they can get up to 12 inches long.

Also, they grow at a very fast rate of 1 inch per month.

Besides, Oscar Fish are very messy fish.

That’s why you require a large tank to keep them.

While deciding the tank size for Oscar Fish a good rule of thumb to follow is to get a 55 gallons tank for your first Oscar Fish.

And if you are going to keep multiple Oscar Fish them 20 to 30 gallons for every new Oscar Fish.

You can read a complete guide on Oscar Fish tank size here

Maintain ideal water parameters

Maintaining ideal water parameters is very important for not only Oscar Fish but any fish.

If you don’t maintain the ideal water parameters then your fish will be stressed and that can decrease its activity levels and longevity.

The ideal water temperature for Oscar Fish is between 74 to 81° Fahrenheit.

Its pH tolerance range between 6 to 8 and the hardness tolerance range is between 5 to 20 KH.

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Compatible tankmates

Oscar Fish belongs to the Cichlid family which is known for aggressive behavior.

And Oscar Fish is particularly known for its aggressive behavior.

So you should avoid keeping other small fish as tank mates in your Oscar fish tank because they are most likely going to get eaten by the Oscar Fish.

You should keep other moderately aggressive, large fish with your Oscar Fish.

Check out the list of the best tank mates for Oscar fish.

Varied diet

Oscar Fish are omnivorous but their diet mostly consists of meaty foods.

In the wild, they mostly feed on crustaceans, small insects, fishes and plant matter.

In your tank, you should primarily feed them high-quality cichlids flakes and pellets.

Occasionally, you should also feed them live or frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, blackworms, etc.

As Oscar Fish are omnivorous you should also feed them vegetables such as boiled peas, spinach, lettuce, carrot, cucumber, etc.

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Conclusion

Oscar Fish are jumpers so you should always make sure that your tank has a cover on it.

Also, Oscar Fish are very strong fish so you should make sure that the cover his tightly attached to the tank.

I hope you found this article helpful.

If you do, please share it!

As always, happy fish keeping!