Things You'll Need:
- 40-gallon fish tank (or larger)
- Soap
- Water
- Rag
- Water conditioner or stress reliever
- Aquarium thermometer
- pH test kit
- Cichlid buffers
- Oscar food
- Aquarium decorations and plants
- Fluorescent bulbs or light fixture
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Step 1
Clean the entire aquarium with soap and water prior to placing the Oscars inside, ensuring there is no soap residue in the tank. Use a minimum of a 40 gallon tank. Ideally, larger tanks are more suitable for even small Oscars because they have more room to swim and grow.
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Step 2
Condition the water in the aquarium. If using just tap water, allow it to sit for 24 hours. You can also add a water conditioner or stress reliever to the water to remove any contaminants.
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Step 3
Acclimate the Oscars to the aquarium water prior to putting them in. You likely got your Oscars from a pet store. Place the plastic bag from the pet store, unopened, inside of the aquarium. Allow it to sit in there for 15 minutes. Put some of the aquarium water into the bag prior to setting the fish free in the aquarium water.
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Step 4
Monitor the water temperature of the aquarium that the Oscars are in using a thermometer designed for aquariums. Optimal temperature is about 77 degrees. You need to try to maintain a steady temperature without constant fluctuations. Any water temperature between 74 and 81 degrees is fine.
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Step 5
Buy a pH test kit to ensure the pH level in the water is around a 7.2. The pH level measures the amount of acid in the water. Minor fluctuations in the pH level are okay, as Oscars can adapt fairly easily to gradual changes. If you need to increase the pH level, use cichlid buffers, which can be bought at most pet or aquarium stores, and follow the packaging directions.
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Step 6
Siphon around 15 percent of the water once a week and replace it with new water. You will need to condition the water as you did when first setting up the tank.
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Step 7
Feed the Oscars once a day. They are primarily carnivorous eaters, preferring live foods. Give the Oscars cichlid food blends along with a supplement of freeze-dried worms or shrimps. You can also feed the Oscars blended beef heart, cichlid pellets, lettuce, and peas. Provide the Oscars with a variety of high protein foods to maintain their health. You should never give Oscar fish feeder goldfish. They may carry disease and are not nutritious.
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Step 8
Avoid overfeeding Oscar fish. Oscars should be able to eat the food you have given them within two minutes. Any food remaining after two minutes needs to be removed from the tank to prevent excess pollution and buildup.
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Step 9
Keep plenty of plants and decorations in the aquarium. They like to hide and prefer for at least half of the aquarium to be covered.
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Step 10
Choose other Oscar fish to live in the aquarium. Although Oscars would prefer to live alone, if you want other fish in the tank it is best to pair Oscars with other Oscars. If you have a passive Oscar he may be become bullied by the other fish. In contrast, an aggressive Oscar fish may attack the others.
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Step 11
Use fluorescent bulbs or a fluorescent fixture with a low intensity for lighting in the tank. Oscars are not fond of bright lighting. Turn the light of the tank off at night.
