Variety of Oscar
Tiger oscar
Astronotus ocellatus
One of 4 varieties of Astronotus ocellatus · See all varieties →
FreshwaterFish
Varieties · Astronotus ocellatus
See all 4 →
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 68–82°F
- 20–28°C
- pH
- 6.0–7.5
- Adult size
- 13.8 in
- 35 cm
- Minimum tank
- 95 gal
- 360 L
- Temperament
- Aggressive
- Social behavior
- Solitary
- Tankmates
- With caution
- Swim level
- Middle
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Breeding
- Hard
- Rarity
- Rare
- Family
- Cichlidae
Overview
Tiger is what most shops call a plain oscar: a dark fish with orange-red marbling laid over it. Stores sort stock by how much orange a fish shows. Juveniles change a great deal as they grow, so the pattern you pick is not the pattern you keep. The species shows no reliable external sex differences, so the markings tell you nothing about whether a fish is male or female.
In the wild
Tiger is the trade form closest to the wild pattern, and wild oscars carry the same cryptic arrangement of irregular blotches and stripes. Hobby sources disagree over how much the orange has been pushed by selection along the way. The name mainly exists to separate plain stock from the solid red and albino lines on the next shelf. Fish with unusually heavy red marbling get sold as red tiger, a selection layered on the same look.
Good to know
No color mutation sits behind the tiger pattern, so tank-bred tiger stock throws tiger young without special pairings. Juveniles are darkly marked with wavy white to orange banding and fill in the adult blotching as they grow. Each fish's markings are individual, so the pattern is not a line marker the way solid red or albino is.
Did you know
No two tiger oscars from one spawn end up marked the same way. Keepers use the blotching to tell individuals apart in a tank of several, which is not something you can do with a solid red fish.
Common questions
Is a Tiger oscar a different species from the Oscar?
No. A Tiger oscar is a variety of the Oscar, Astronotus ocellatus, and it wants the same tank, water and food as the species.
What size tank does a Tiger oscar need?
A Tiger oscar needs at least 95 gal (360 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
How big does a Tiger oscar get?
An adult Tiger oscar reaches about 13.8 in (35 cm).
Related species
11.4 in (29 cm)132 gal (500 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)Fat oscar
Astronotus crassipinnis
11.4 in (29 cm) · 132 gal (500 L)
11.4 in (29 cm)132 gal (500 L)77–86°F (25–30°C)Mikolji's oscar
Astronotus mikoljii
11.4 in (29 cm) · 132 gal (500 L)
13.8 in (35 cm)79 gal (300 L)70–79°F (21–26°C)Midas cichlid
Amphilophus citrinellus
13.8 in (35 cm) · 79 gal (300 L)
13.8 in (35 cm)75 gal (284 L)75–79°F (24–26°C)Red devil cichlid
Amphilophus labiatus
13.8 in (35 cm) · 75 gal (284 L)
13.8 in (35 cm)90 gal (340 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Trimac cichlid
Amphilophus trimaculatus
13.8 in (35 cm) · 90 gal (340 L)
14.2 in (36 cm)317 gal (1,200 L)77–86°F (25–30°C)Xingu peacock bass
Cichla melaniae
14.2 in (36 cm) · 317 gal (1,200 L)