Oscar fish are very popular and you might want to own some as pets. Many people say that they’re the best pet fish that you can buy.
They’re not too hard to care for and they’re a lot of fun. It’s easy to see why people love these fish so much.
If you’re looking into buying Oscars for your fish tank, you likely want to learn as much as you can about them. It’s good to do research ahead of time so you’ll know what to expect.
How long do Oscar fish live? Are these fish that live for a long time or do they only live for a few years?
Keep reading to learn about Oscar fish lifespans. You’ll learn a lot about Oscars that will help you to decide if they’re right for your home aquarium.
How Long Do Oscar Fish Live in Captivity?
Typically, Oscar fish that live in captivity are going to live for quite a long time. If you do a good job of caring for Oscars, they should live between eight and fifteen years in your fish tank.
It is possible for the fish to live longer than this, too. However, it’s common for the fish to only live for around fifteen years in a fish tank.
The fact that these fish live for at least eight years on average doesn’t mean that they’ll always live that long. The fish can certainly die earlier than this if you don’t do a great job caring for them.
If you want the Oscars to live for a long time, you must put effort into caring for them. They need the tank to be in the right condition so they can thrive.
Regardless, it’s good to know that the Oscars have impressive longevity. They’re fish that can live for a long time in your fish tank so long as you put in the effort.
If you’re looking for fish that will be in your home for many years, Oscars might be some of the most appealing options. Don’t hesitate to buy Oscar fish if you want a long-lived fish that you can enjoy for a decade or more.
How Long Do Oscar Fish Live in the Wild?
Oscar fish are capable of living for long periods in the wild. The average lifespan numbers shift a little bit when looking at wild Oscars.
The average lifespan of a wild Oscar fish is between ten and twenty years. While this does line up a bit with the lifespan of captive Oscar fish, you’ll see that wild Oscars have the potential to live for around five more years than captive Oscars.
This is simply because they have an easier time surviving for long periods in the wild. There’s more potential to run into issues in the tank than there is when an Oscar fish is in its natural environment.
It should be noted that Oscars have lived for as long as twenty years in fish tank settings. This simply isn’t the most common occurrence.
If you do a stellar job caring for your Oscars, they might live for twenty years. It’s more likely that they will live for up to fifteen years in your fish tank with optimal care.
So don’t hesitate to buy Oscars when you want to own fish that live for a long time. Even if they do live for longer in the wild, they still live for many years in home aquariums.
How Can You Help Your Oscar Fish to Live Longer?
So you likely want to make it so your Oscar fish can live for as long as possible in your fish tank. What can you do to help the fish do well under your care?
Truly, you just need to focus on giving the fish the best care possible. Getting the basics done right is the thing you want to focus on.
Below, you’ll learn about the things that you should be doing for your fish. This should give you a better idea of how you can play a role in helping your fish to survive and stay healthy.
Once you’ve read everything, it’ll be easier to care for Oscar fish with confidence. You can get excellent results, but it will require some effort.
Buy a Tank That is Large Enough
Oscar fish are rather large and they require a lot of room to be happy. These fish hate being forced to live in cramped environments.
When you buy an Oscar fish, it might be somewhat small. It’s common to buy these fish when they’re juveniles and they will then grow to be huge by the time they reach maturity.
An Oscar fish can easily grow to be twelve inches long in a fish tank. Since they grow to be so big, you need to make sure that you have a large tank for them to live in.
It’s best to buy a 100-gallon fish tank or something even larger. Depending on how many fish you plan to put in the tank, you might want to buy something larger to be safe.
One Oscar might be able to live in a 75-gallon aquarium just fine. But it’d be cramped if you added other fish to the tank.
You always want to go with a big tank when you’re purchasing Oscars. They won’t be happy if you put them in a small tank.
When Oscars are forced to live in a small fish tank it causes them to feel stressed. Stress is going to make your fish sick if you don’t correct the problem.
Since you want your Oscars to live for a long time, it’s important not to cause your fish stress. Do your best to buy an appropriate fish tank so you can get good results.
Feed the Fish Properly
As you’d expect, feeding the fish properly will be a huge part of keeping them healthy. You need to make sure that you’re giving your Oscars a balanced diet.
Oscar fish are omnivores and they’re voracious eaters. They’re actually rather messy eaters as well, but you’ll learn about that later.
These fish need to eat pretty often to stay in perfect health. Juvenile Oscar fish need to be fed more often and it’s recommended to feed them three or four times per day.
Mature Oscar fish can be fed twice per day and everything will be fine. Make sure that you feed them often enough because the fish will get stressed if you don’t feed them.
They’re hardy enough that they can go for quite some time without food. However, it’s not good for the fish to be put in a stressful situation.
Feeding the fish the right types of food will also be important. Typically, you’ll feed Oscar fish cichlid flakes and nutritional pellets that are formulated for large cichlids.
This is the standard daily type of food that you give to these fish. If you feed them the right stuff, they’ll stay in good shape.
You must supplement the diet with other types of food, too. It’s important to give Oscars meaty treats from time to time.
Some enthusiasts like to give Oscars live food such as shrimp or worms. There are even some people who give Oscars small feeder mice when the Oscars are large enough to easily devour them.
Of course, you don’t need to give them strange types of food if you don’t want to. Simply buy freeze-dried worms or shrimp to give to the fish occasionally.
You can cut up bits of veggies and fruits for these fish as well. They like eating veggies and fruits as snacks, but you have to be sure to wash things first to ensure that everything is clean.
Focus on feeding the fish well and it should be easy to keep the Oscars healthy. The diet is such an important part of the process.
Keep the Water Clean
Keeping the water clean should be a top priority for you. You can’t keep your fish alive for long if the water conditions are poor.
Dirty water is going to cause your fish stress. It’ll also directly endanger the lives of the fish if you let things get really bad.
You must monitor the conditions in the tank to ensure that all is well. This means regularly testing the water and monitoring the temperature.
The water will get dirty over time if you don’t do regular tank maintenance. Oscar fish tanks are notorious for getting dirty since Oscars are very messy eaters.
Since Oscars make the water dirty faster than some other fish, it’s imperative to buy a powerful filter. You want to use a filter that can help to keep the tank clean.
Even with a good filter, you’re still going to have to do tank maintenance. This means you must clean the fish tank yourself on a regular basis.
You also need to do weekly water changes to keep the water clean. It’s best to do weekly water changes of 30% to keep things in order.
Put in the effort and the fish tank should be clean and nice for your Oscar fish. A clean fish tank with good water quality makes it easier for the fish to stay healthy.
Pick Out Appropriate Tank Mates
Many people like to put Oscar fish in community fish tanks. They can be good community fish, but you need to pick out tank mates for them carefully.
Some tank mates might not be appropriate for Oscar fish. This can go wrong in many ways.
Oscars might bully or even eat some fish that you try to put in the tank with them. Despite being large fish, Oscars can also be bullied by tank mates when they’re rather aggressive.
Only put other fish in the tank with Oscars if they’re known to be compatible. You need to research all of the fish that you put into the tank.
Make sure that every fish gets along with the other types of fish that you’re planning to put into the tank. This will take some time and effort to plan everything out, but it’s important to do this.
If you just buy fish and don’t do any research, you could put the Oscar fish in danger. If the Oscars get bullied, they might become so stressed that they will stop eating.
In some cases, the Oscars might even die because of bullying issues. Do your best to prevent this from happening.
Don’t let this information scare you away from setting up a community tank, though. Community tanks can be so much fun, but you simply have to set things up the right way.
Be a Proactive Fish Owner
It’s best to be a proactive fish owner. This means paying attention to your fish to see if anything is wrong.
Oscars have the potential to get sick just like any other fish. If you pay attention to the tank, you’ll catch things early so you can help the fish.
Sometimes Oscars might have issues with illnesses such as popeye, hole in the head disease, or ich. These problems are less likely to occur when you’re taking really good care of the tank, but you still want to monitor the fish in case you make mistakes.
There are many ways that fish can get infected even when you keep the water quality high. For example, adding a new fish could bring disease into your tank.
Simply monitor the fish regularly and note any unusual behavior that you see. This will allow you to catch problems fast so you can diagnose the fish.
You can figure out what is wrong and treat the fish to get it back to being healthy. Hopefully, your fish will never get sick, but you’ll be more likely to save the fish if it ever gets sick when you pay close attention to the tank.
Final Thoughts
Now you know that Oscar fish live for a pretty long time. They can live for up to twenty years, but they normally only live for up to fifteen years in captivity.
They’re amazing fish that should be a joy to own. Do your best to take care of the fish tank and you can keep them healthy for a long time.
Oscars are great pet fish that you won’t regret buying. Just remember that you need a large fish tank for them since they grow to be quite large.
Jeff has always enjoyed having pets, but as a child, he was drawn to his family’s fish tank. Being able to maintain a small ecosystem and observe the behaviors and interactions in the underwater world peaked his interest early on and has kept him hooked until this day. On Avid Aquarist, Jeff shares everything he’s learned about helping aquatic life survive and thrive in a home aquarium.