You may have seen a lot of varieties of Oscar Fish.
But how many types of Oscar Fish are available to keep in a fish tank?
This is the question I am going to answer in this article.
As these are just different varieties of Oscar Fish the requirements like the water condition, tank size, and food are nearly the same.
Also, their behavior is very similar.
Table of Contents
Types of Oscar Fish
1. Lemon Oscar
Lemon Oscar is one of the most popular types of Oscar Fish in the aquarium hobby.
This type of Oscar Fish is very rare to find and if you can find it you should definitely keep it in your aquarium.
Lemon Oscar Fish features vibrant lemon yellow coloring throughout its body.
This fish quickly grabs your attention and can easily become the center of attention of your aquarium.
As with all the Oscar Fish, Lemon Oscars require a large tank of at least 70 gallons and more.
Ideally, you should use sand as a substitute for this species of Oscar Fish.
You should also introduce a few rocks into the aquarium.
The ideal water parameters for Lemon Oscar are as follows:
- Temperature between 79 to 86° Fahrenheit
- Hardness between 5 to 19
- pH between 6 to 8
This fish can dig up plants so you should attach the roots of the plant to any ornament in your tank.
Or you can use floating aquarium plants.
Lemon Oscar Fish is not as aggressive and territorial as other Oscar other types of Oscar Fish. But it will eat anything that can fit into its mouth so you should avoid keeping small size fish in the Oscar Fish tank.
This fish is relatively easy to care for and it is very hard. But you have to make sure that you are keeping it in a well filtered, clean and clear aquarium.
If you want to breed Lemon Oscars then you will need a large tank of at least 100 gallons or more.
Lemon Oscar Fish can spawn in hard to soft water as far as the water is clean and clear. And the breeding tank temperature should be around 79 to 86° Fahrenheit.
The female can lay up to 2000 eggs on the rocks.
Talking about food, Lemon Oscars are Omnivorous. But they mostly eat meaty food.
So you should feed it meaty food such as bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, cichlids pellets, earthworms, flakes food, etc.
2. Tiger Oscar
Image by Jón Helgi Jónsson under CC BY-SA 3.0
Tiger Oscar is probably the most popular type of Oscar Fish in the aquarium hobby.
This fish features dark blue to black background with orange to red patterns.
These patterns look similar to that of the patterns on the body of a tiger so the name “Tiger Oscar”.
This fish also features and a bright-colored eyespot on its dorsal fin.
Tiger Oscar can get very big so it requires a large tank of at least 70 gallons.
The natural habitat of Oscar has sand substrate or fine-grained substrate so I really you should use sand substrate in your aquarium.
You can also place a few large rocks that will help to anchor the plants and it will also help to give natural look to your aquarium.
The ideal water parameters for Tiger Oscar are as follows:
- Temperature between 72 to 77° Fahrenheit
- Hardness between 5 to 19 KH
- pH between 6 to 8
Tiger Oscar can dig up plants so you should anchor your plants to any ornament like a rock or driftwood in your tank.
Or you can use floating plants to cope with this issue.
Tiger Oscar can eat anything that can fit into their mouth so you should avoid keeping any small size fish like Neon tetra as tank mates in your Oscar fish tank.
You can keep other Tiger Oscars together or you can choose other fish that are similar to the size of your Tiger Oscar.
Tiger Oscars are omnivorous but their diet is mostly a meaty diet.
So you should feed them meaty food like bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, earthworms, pellets, flake food, etc.
If you want to breed Tiger Oscar in your tank then you will need a larger tank of at least 100 gallons.
They can spawn in very soft to hard water as far as the water is well filtered and clean and clear.
The temperature of the breeding tank should be between 79 to 86° Fahrenheit.
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3. Albino Tiger Oscar Fish
Image by osseous under CC BY 2.0
Albino Tiger Oscar Fish is the albino variety of the very popular Tiger Oscar Fish.
It features red to orange patches throughout its creamy white body.
This fish can get up to 12 inches.
Also, its growth rate is very high up to 1 inch per month.
That’s why you should keep it in a large tank of at least 70 gallons or more.
Albino Tiger Oscar Fish belongs to the Cichlids family which are known for their aggressive behavior.
And this fish is no exception.
It can get very aggressive and territorial especially during the breeding periods.
It can also get aggressive during feeding time.
The albino tiger Oscar Fish creates their territory in the tank and if any other fish invade in their territory they get very aggressive and chase away the fish.
This is another reason you should only keep them in a large tank.
In a large tank, they can create their territory and there still be a lot of space for other fish to swim around in the tank.
As Albino tiger oscar fish is aggressive, you should avoid keeping small size fish like Neon tetra, Guppies with them.
If you keep them they are most likely going to get eaten.
Ideally, you should keep them in a species only tank but if you want to keep other species of fish with then you can go for other similar size fish that can hold their own against Oscar Fish.
Albino Tiger Oscar Fish is omnivorous but their diet mostly consists of meaty food.
So you should feed them food like cichlids pellets, flake food, bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, earthworms, etc.
If you want to breed them then you should put them in a large tank of at least 100 gallons.
And the temperature of the tank should be between 79 to 86° Fahrenheit.
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4. Blue Oscar Fish
Blue Oscar is a crossbreed variety of Oscar Fish.
As the name suggests, the whole body of Blue Oscar Fish is covered with different shades of blue color.
This fish also features different patters throughout its body.
This is the reason there are actually a couple of variations in Blue Oscar Fish itself.
The two variations can be differentiated on the basis of the shade of the blue color and pattern.
Blue Oscar can get very large so you should keep it in at least a 55-gallon tank.
This fish is relatively hardy and easy to care for as far as you are keeping it in a well-filtered aquarium.
As this fish belongs to the cichlids family, aggressive behavior is very common in this fish.
Ideally, you should keep Blue Oscar in a species only tank.
But if you want to keep it with other species of fish then you should go for large fish that are similar to the size of your Oscar Fish and can hold their own against Oscar Fish.
Besides, you should avoid keeping fish that are very small in size like Neon tetra, Guppies, etc. Because they are most likely going to get eaten by the Oscar Fish.
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5. Blueberry Oscar Fish
Blueberry Oscar Fish, as the name suggests, features color similar to that of blueberry throughout its body. It is a painted fish.
There are also patches of orange color throughout its body and on its gills.
You will also notice an orange shade inside the eye of a Blueberry Oscar Fish.
Though Blueberry Oscar Fish is omnivorous, its diet mostly consists of food such as Bloodworms, Black worms, Earthworms, Brine shrimp, Mysis shrimp, etc.
This fish spends most of its time in the middle part of the aquarium but it can also forage through the substrate searching for food.
While doing that it may also uproot plants from the substrate.
That’s why it is very important to tie your plants to any ornaments in your tank i.e. rock, driftwood, etc so that they will not get uprooted by the fish.
Keeping floating plants is also a very good alternative to cope with this problem.
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6. Golden Oscar Fish
Image by Retro Lenses under CC BY 4.0
Golden Oscar Fish, as the name suggests, features yellowish to golden color on its body.
It also has a dark black color on its dorsal fins and near its head.
Young or juvenile Golden Oscar Fish features yellow color and as they grow bigger the yellowish color turns into golden color.
This fish kind of looks similar to the Tiger Oscar Fish.
But tiger Oscar Fish has patches of yellow-orange color throughout its body whereas this fish has plain golden color throughout its body except for its gills, fins, and head which is black.
Golden Oscar Fish can get very large up to 12 inches if you provide it the ideal environment i.e. good water quality, sufficient and healthy diet, and a large tank to swim.
This fish can be very aggressive that’s why you will have to be very cautious while choosing tank mates for them.
Ideally, you should keep them in a species only tank but you can also keep other similar size, passive fish with them.
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7. Black Oscar Fish
Image by Gabriel Saldana under CC BY-SA 2.0
Black Oscar, as the name suggests, features mostly black color throughout its body.
This fish also features shades of red and orange color throughout its body.
The color and the pattern differs from fish to fish.
But the body of Oscar Fish is mostly black in color with some grey-black shades and the gills and dorsal fins are totally black in color.
Some black Oscar Fish may also have a light lining of orange to red color at the edge.
There is also a light orange-red shade in the eye of black Oscar Fish.
This fish also looks similar to the Tiger Oscar Fish but Tiger Oscar Fish features a lot of orange to red patches throughout the body compared to Black Oscar fish.
Like all the Oscar Fish, you should keep it in a large tank because it can grow very rapidly at the rate of 1 inch per month.
And it can grow up to 12 inches depending on the environment and food you are providing to it.
For its proper growth, you should keep it in a larger tank of at least 55 to 70 gallons, provide it a variety of food and its diet should mostly consist of meaty food like bloodworms, brine shrimp, etc.
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8. Green Oscar Fish
Image by Carlos Reusser Monsalvez under CC BY 2.0
Green Oscar Fish, as the name suggests, features a green color throughout its body.
These fish have stripes of shades of green color throughout its body.
For example, this fish features dark green stripes along with yellow-green stripes.
This fish can have a lot of different patterns and you will notice at least some difference in every green Oscar Fish.
For example, some Green Oscar Fish have small patches of orange color on its body.
For the proper growth of green Oscar Fish, you should feed it a variety of food.
Though green Oscar Fish is omnivorous, it’s diet is mostly consists of meaty food such as bloodworms, blackworms, brine shrimp, etc.
Primarily you should feed it flakes and pellets especially the cichlid flakes and pellets because it contains all the nutrients that a fish require for proper growth.
Occasionally, you can treat it with frozen or dried and live bloodworms, brine shrimp, etc.
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9. Black and White Oscar Fish
Image by Daniella Vereeken under CC BY 2.0
Black and White Oscar Fish, as the name suggests, features black and white color.
This fish features black and white irregular stripes throughout its body.
It also features grey color on its fins.
As this fish can get very large, you should keep it in a large tank of at least 55 gallons or more.
If you take good care of it, it can live up to 20 years. Though it is not common that an Oscar Fish live up to 20 years in captivity.
Black and white Oscar fish belong to cichlids family and they are known for their aggressive behavior.
This fish forms their territory inside the aquarium and if any other fish enter into their territory then they will start to bully them.
This is another reason you should keep Oscar Fish in a large tank.
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10. Fire Red Oscar Fish
Fire Red Oscar Fish, as the name suggests, features red to orange color throughout its body.
This fish also features a white splash on its gills and white lining on the edge of its fins.
When Fire Red Oscar Fish are juveniles, you will notice the more white color on their body.
You will notice a white color on its head and its gills.
As they grow up, the whitish color fades away and is replaced by red coloration.
Also, as they grow up the red color gets darker and darker.
Fire Red Oscar Fish can get very large so you should keep it in a large tank of at least 55 gallons.
As this fish belongs to the cichlids family, it is very common to see aggressive behavior in them.
Ideally, you should keep them in a species only tank but you can keep other similar size fish that can hold their all against Oscar Fish in the Oscar Fish tank.
Fire Red Oscar Fish are omnivorous but their diet mostly consists of meaty food.
So you should primarily feed them cichlids flakes and pellets that will provide them all the nutrients that a fish require for proper growth.
Besides, you should also regularly treat them with frozen or live meaty food like bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, etc.
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11. Lutino Oscar Fish
Image by Daniella Vereeken under CC BY 2.0
Lutino Oscar Fish looks very similar to Albino Oscar Fish.
And it is very easy to misunderstand them.
Basically, Lutino Oscar Fish looks just like Albino Oscar Fish but instead of a white creamy body that an Albino Oscar Fish have Lutino Oscar Fish have a slightly yellowish body.
Lutino Oscar Fish features the same orange patches throughout its body just like an Albino Oscar Fish.
The fins and gills of Lutino Oscar Fish are white in color.
As Lutino Oscar Fish belongs to the cichlids family they are aggressive.
But if you provide them the ideal environment i.e. if you maintain ideal water conditions, provide it a large tank to swim around, and keep compatible tank mates then you can easily control their aggressive behavior.
As they get pretty large you should keep them in a large tank of at least 55 gallons.
It is very difficult to choose compatible tank mates for Lutino Oscar Fish because of their aggressive behavior.
Ideally, you should keep them in a species only tank. But if you want to keep other species of fish with your Oscar Fish then you can keep similar size fish that can hold their own against Oscar Fish.
Some good examples include other cichlids such as Convict cichlids, Firemouth cichlid and other active and similar size fish like Sailfin pleco, silver dollar, etc.
12. Florida Oscar Fish
Image by Marcus Karlsson under CC BY-SA 2.0
Florida Oscar Fish looks similar to Tiger Oscar Fish but they are darker in color.
There core body color is black with red to orange patches on the body.
Florida Oscar Fish is mostly black in color and you will not see the red to orange coloration not as much as Tiger Oscar Fish.
Besides, it has all the similar behavioral characteristics as like other Oscar Fish.
If you want to keep other species of fish with Florida oscar fish then it is quite difficult to find ideal tank mates due to their aggressive behavior.
But if you want to keep other species with Oscar fish then you may be able to keep other fish that are similar to the size of your Oscar Fish.
Oscar Fish have personalities and it really depends on the fish how it will behave in the tank with its tank mates.
Some Oscar Fish will not bother and others may start bullying other fish.
So you just can’t keep your Oscar Fish in your community tank.
Ideally, you should start with your Oscar Fish and then build aquarium around it i.e. introduced other fish slowly into the tank.
13. Veil Tail Oscar Fish
Veil Tail Oscar Fish looks similar to Tiger Oscar Fish.
The difference is the Veil Tail Oscar Fish has a longer tail than other Oscar Fish.
This fish can grow very large up to 14 inches including its tell so it requires a large tank.
Also, this fish can grow very fast.
When this fish is juvenile it may look very cute and small little fish but it can grow very rapidly if you provide it high-quality food.
It can grow at a rate of 1 inch per month.
So you will need to keep it in a large tank of at least 70 gallons.
Though Veil Tail Oscar is omnivorous, its diet mostly consists of meaty food.
Mainly you can feed it cichlids flakes and plates that will provide it all the essential nutrients that a fish required for proper growth.
And you should also regularly treat it with frozen or alive meaty food like bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, blackworms, etc.
Conclusion
So these are the different types of Oscar Fish you can keep in your tank.
As they are just different varieties of Oscar Fish, the requirements to keep them successfully in the tank are very similar.
I hope you found this article helpful.
If you do, please share it.
As always happy fish keeping!
