Cichlid Fish Care

Cichlids are one of the most rewarding tropical fish species to keep in the home aquarium. They are very active, alert and are fun to watch. Another great advantage of cichlids over a tropical fish community tank is that you can ignore the rule that is set in place for tropical fish species in the aquarium that you must have 1 inch of fish per gallon. The tropical fish species tank tends to be quite sparse compared to the cichlid tank mainly because most tropical fish school together and cichlids are continually traveling all over the aquarium, actively exploring every inch!

Why Choose Cichlids?

Cichlids are very different then ordinary community tropical fish – they are so incredibly territorial that you will need to put more of them in your tank, in fact you’ll have to pack it full and the reason for this is because your cichlids will never able to create their own territory because there are too many fish around for them to establish their own space. If you only have a few specimens, they re so fiercely territorial that when the other fish enters their established territory, they will attack them so viciously that they can kill the invading fish! You’ll need to have lots of habitants in your aquarium!

Cichlids are very interactive aquatic pets, some people swear that they recognize their owners. I believe this to be true, when I go to my cichlid tank, they come right up to the glass and want their feeding, they look at me and you can tell they recognize me. When a stranger walks by the aquarium, they all hide. It is commonly said that cichlids recognize the footsteps of their owners and come out to visit and the can differentiate between the footsteps of a stranger when they go and hide!

Cichlid Care Topics:

Fish Tank Requirements  

Cichlid species are a little more complex then the usual tropical fish, but this attributes to their great hobby potential. This article helps you to set up the best aquarium possible for your fish to give you many years of enjoyable cichlid husbandry.

How to Resolve Conflicts & Aggression Between Cichlids – Having a tank full of aggressive fish can pose some problems. These tips can help you to have a more “peaceful” cichlid aquarium. Nothing can guarantee that they will be able to cohabitate but it’s worth a try and the challenge can be very enjoyable for you.

Other Suitable Tank Companions  

There are some housekeeping water dwellers that you may want to add once your aquarium gets it’s first algae growth. Since these are very aggressive fish, you can’t just place any other species in the aquarium or your current habitants will consider it a delicious feeding!

Cichlids in the Wild

If you know the natural habitat of cichlid species and where they originate from, either Central American, Lake Tanganyika or Lake Malawi then you can be able to tailor your aquarium ornaments to their natural habitat, it can be a rocky outcropping, sandy bottom or even deep grass.

Choosing Cichlids

When you’re at the pet shop, here are some tips on how to choose the best quality and healthiest fish. Tips on how to spot cichlid disease or illness and to avoid getting an unhealthy fish.

Feeding

Explaining any special feeding requirements that your aquatic pets may have and suitable foods that you should feed your cichlids. Detailed feeding plan for optimal health, coloration and growth.

Beginner Cichlid Tips 

 A very important tip if you are purchasing an aquarium and having cichlids as your very first fish. They are a great choice for the first timer but you will need to cycle your tank somehow and this article explains the best way to do that.

African Cichlid Species 

The most common cichlid species kept in the home aquarium. The African cichlids are the most widely available in pet stores and are the most popular of all cichlid species. This article gives common names and scientific names.

South American Cichlid Species 

Listing the most popular cichlid species as kept in the home aquarium that originate from South America. Popular species include the Oscar and Piranha. This article gives common names and scientific names.

Oscar Fish Care

Now you are serious about keeping Oscars then it's time for looking at exactly what requirements one of these fish need. First and foremost Oscars can easily exceed 12 inches in size and weigh up to 3 pound in weight. Any sensible person should realise that a fish like this cannot be housed in a small aquarium, it is just not fair and it will never work in the long run. Some people try and keep Oscars in small aquariums but they nearly always run into problems with water quality which in turn will lead to serious health problems with the fish. 

So what size tank should you be considering if you are thinking about getting an Oscar? Thankfully experienced Oscar fish keepers around the world have now come to agree that one single adult Oscar must have AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM of 55 gallons of water to itself. There isn't any argument about this figure, keeping them Oscar in less than 55 gallons will only lead to water quality problems. Even with 55 gallons you are going to have your work cut out keeping the water at a quality that will keep the fish healthy. So if you are planning on keeping two Oscars then it's quite simple, you will be looking at an aquarium in excess of 100 gallons. Obviously once you start going down the realms of wanting Oscars, plus tank mates you're looking at a pretty substantial aquarium well in excess of 100 gallons.   

I cannot emphasise how important it is that you keep your Oscar in the correct size aquarium. A large Oscar housed in an aquarium that is too small will result in water quality that will deteriorate very quickly indeed. It will be virtually impossible for you to maintain water quality that is anywhere near acceptable for an Oscar fish to live in.

You may be wise to look upon keeping Oscars in the same way you would if you are committing yourself to a pet dog. Oscar Fish can live up to 15 years +, longer than most dogs. It makes perfect sense to give your fish the best home you can from the very beginning. 55 gallons is the absolute minimum for somebody who cannot go any bigger, if you can accommodate a much larger tank than my advice would be to go for it, I promise you that it would be the best thing for your Oscar in the long run.

Oscar Fish

The Oscar is a South American tropical cichlid. Due to its colour it is also known as Velvet Cichlid. The Oscar can grow upto 14 inches and its weight can be 3lb. In general an Oscar can grow upto 11-12 inches in length. There are different types of Oscars that can be found in nearby store, however all types of Oscars are related to wild Oscars. These types of Oscars are Albino, Tiger which further cross-beeding results are Albino Tiger and Red Tiger. In the early 1800's the Oscar was given the Latin name Lobotes ocellatus, but this has been updated to Astronotus ocellatus, a hopefully more accurate name.

The Oscar is one of the more intelligent aquarium fish that you will come across, they seem to have the ability to recognize their owners and almost seem to be aware of what is going on outside of their aquarium. Feeding time is always fun as the Oscar really does live for food and dinnertime. The Oscar is the boss of its own tank and once you have been keeping them for a while, you will realize that it's best to leave them to rearrange the tank to how they like it. They are very well known for creating havoc in the aquarium, but in an amusing way I must add. They excavate the substrate like a JCB and move rocks and decor around with ease, an Oscar aquarium can sometimes look like a battle zone. Plants don't last very long so if you want to setup a showcase display aquarium, Oscars probably aren't for you.

There are hundreds of species of aquarium fish available to buy, many of them have beautiful colors and will make an aquarium look stunning. But there is something about the Oscar Fish that puts it in a class of its own. The Oscar will often become very tame and can be coaxed to feed from its owner's hand. Many people also like "petting" the Oscar and strangely they sometimes seem to enjoy it and will approach your hand. It's not something that we actively encourage but there's nothing wrong with doing it as long as your hands are clean and you are not too rough.

TYPES OF OSCARS

Tiger Oscar fish - The original Wild Oscar fish and is extremely common.

Albino Tiger Oscar fish - This is actually a Lutino Oscar fish with colour pigmentation.

Red Oscar fish - The red Oscar fish is truly beautiful when displaying its vibrant red colouration

Veil Tail Oscar fish - They are beautiful fish with their long flowing fins that often look like silk 

Red Lutino Oscar fish - Red Lutino Oscar fish also called it as Albino Oscar Fish

Lemon Oscar Fish - There are some species of Oscar that are unique and therefore quite rare