African Elephant Fish – Characteristics, habits and how to raise them

African Elephant Fish (Oscar Fish) is a freshwater ornamental fish with large size, bright colors, intelligent temperament, loved in the ornamental fish world.

African Elephant Fish , also known as Oscar fish, is a popular freshwater carnivorous ornamental fish today because it not only has a beautiful, eye-catching appearance but is also very intelligent and interacts well with humans.

Let's explore with Nice Fish the origin, habits, care and latest price list of African Elephant Fish to see if this fish is right for you.

Information about African Elephant Fish :

Where do African Elephant Fish come from?

African Oscar fish or also known as leopard fish.

Although called African Elephant Ear Fish, this fish species actually originates from South America. They are naturally distributed in the Amazon River basin, Parana River and Oricono River in the countries of Brazil, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia.

This fish has the scientific name Astronotus ocellatus, commonly known as African Elephant Fish, Oscar fish, leopard Elephant Fish....

Physical characteristics of African elephant fish

Leopard fish come in a variety of bright colors.

Let's learn more about the appearance of the African Elephant Fish - Oscar Fish to see if it has anything special.

• Body shape : Oval, slightly flattened on both sides.
• Size : 30 - 36 cm in adult fish, weight 1 - 1.6 kg depending on the line.
• Color : Rich thanks to the crossbreeding process, common colors are red, orange, white, black, blue, in addition, the Oscar Tiger line also has tiger-like striped patterns, Albino Oscar has a pink-white color, red eyes, very special.
• Eyes : Large compared to the body, usually red or orange, the eyes show the state of the fish.
• Dorsal & anal fins : Long from head to near tail.
• Caudal fin : Pointed, soft, some lines have long caudal fin.

Oscar Fish Behavior - African Elephant Fish

A colorful leopard fish tank with eye-catching patterns.

African Elephant Fish not only has an eye-catching, outstanding appearance, but it also has a very unique personality, intelligent but also a bit "stubborn". Let's learn more about the habits of this fish species.

Smart

Oscar fish are very intelligent, they have the ability to recognize their owners very well and often swim close when they see that person appear and ask for food by opening their mouths and shaking their bodies. In addition, they also remember the location and feeding time well and can distinguish familiar people from strangers.

Aggressive, highly territorial

African elephant fish are aggressive and territorial fish, especially when they are adults. If they feel threatened by other fish, they may attack or chase away the enemy. Therefore, if you want to keep this fish in a tank, you need to choose a tank with a large volume and fish of similar size.

Like to dig, destroy the ground

Oscar fish have the habit of digging the substrate and moving small decorations in the tank, so when designing the tank you need to choose a solid substrate and plant aquatic plants with good roots.

Eat well, eat well

African Elephant Fish is an omnivorous fish that eats animals such as small fish, shrimp, insects, etc. They are also very gluttonous, so you need to control the amount of food if you don't want this fish to become obese.

Oscar fish breeding behavior

African elephant fish are egg-laying fish, they can reproduce in captivity if conditions are suitable.

• When it comes to breeding, Oscar fish often pair up to live together and breed for a long time.
• First, the fish will choose a flat area in the lake, clear it, and dig the surrounding substrate to make a nest.
• The female fish lays several hundred to several thousand eggs at a time in a vertical row on a cleaned nest. The male fish follows and releases sperm onto the eggs to fertilize them. Then both fish take care of and protect the eggs.
• Eggs hatch after 2 - 3 days, after 4 - 5 days the fry can swim freely.

African Elephant Fish Breeding Guide from A to Z

Oscar fish need clean water and plenty of space.

If you want to raise healthy and well-developed Oscar fish, follow the instructions below.

Preparing the tank for African Elephant Fish

To give Oscar fish a spacious living space, similar to the natural environment, you need to design the tank as follows:

• Tank capacity : Minimum 100L/fish, best from 150l - 300l
• Water filtration & oxygenation system : Need a strong filtration system, best to choose external filtration type, continuous oxygenation system.
• Cover the tank : Necessary because the fish can jump if they feel excited.
• Decoration : Choose aquatic plants that cling well to prevent fish from digging, add caves, rocks, driftwood, create a substrate with sand and gravel. Choose large, heavy pebbles to limit fish from digging and moving them.

Suitable water parameters for raising Oscar fish

To help African Elephant Ear fish grow well, live long, and reproduce well, you need to pay attention to adjusting the water parameters in the tank according to the following levels:

• Temperature : 26 - 30 degrees Celsius.
• pH : 6.5 - 7.5
• Hardness : 5 - 15 dGH, soft to neutral water.
• Ammonia, Nitrite : Must be 0 because these two substances are toxic to fish.
• Dissolved oxygen : > 4mg/L, need oxygen support system especially when raising many fish.

Clean and change water in the tank regularly

To help keep the water environment stable and clean, you need to clean and change the water regularly, specifically as follows:

• Vacuum and clean the bottom : 2-3 times/week.
• Water change : Change 20 - 30% of water every week.
• Clean the filter membrane and algae : The filter membrane needs to be cleaned periodically when the water is still cloudy after filtering. Remove some algae, leaving only enough algae.
• Check water parameters : Water parameters such as temperature, pH, and ammonia should be checked periodically.

What do African Elephant Fish eat?

Oscars are omnivorous fish but are more inclined towards animals, you can feed them the following foods:

• Live food : Shrimp, prawns, small bait fish, bloodworms, earthworms.
• Industrial food : Can feed fish with floating pellets, sinking pellets, and colored food for ornamental fish.
• Vegetables : Can add spinach, pumpkin, seaweed, well-cooked peas.

Note :

• Feed fish 1 - 2 times per day, do not overfeed.
• You should feed your fish on time to get them into a routine.
• When eating raw food, it is necessary to ensure quality and hygiene to limit infection.

Health monitoring, disease prevention and treatment for African elephant fish

To help Oscar fish stay healthy and grow well, you also need to pay attention to the health of this fish, monitor unusual changes in behavior and body to know if the fish is sick. Here are some common diseases in African Elephant Ear fish, please learn to know how to recognize and handle them promptly.

How much is an African Elephant Fish?

Oscar fish have beautiful appearance and strange color, so they have high price.

The price of African elephant ear fish - Oscar depends a lot on size, origin, color... If you want to raise this fish, please refer to the following price list.

Note :

• Choose to buy African elephant ear fish from reputable aquarium stores to ensure origin and price.
• You can join groups on social networks such as the African Elephant Ear Fish Association on Facebook to exchange experiences and buy and sell fish.
• When buying fish, choose those that are beautiful, swim quickly, are healthy, and do not have skin diseases.

Questions and answers about African Elephant Fish

What fish species can African elephant fish be kept with?

This fish is quite aggressive and territorial, so if you want to raise it with other fish, you should choose arowana, pande fish, silver fish,... or fish of similar size.

How many types of African Elephant Fish are there?

Currently, there is no classification of African elephant fish, but based on color you can divide them into different colors such as

What's wrong with African elephant fish that won't eat?

There are many reasons why Oscar fish stop eating, it could be due to food that is not fresh or spoiled, fish being stressed, or water quality changing or becoming unstable.

Do African elephant ear fish need oxygen aeration?

Depending on the size of the aquarium or the number of fish in the tank, if the tank is large, there is no need for oxygenation. If there are many fish in the tank, oxygenation is needed.

Beautiful African Elephant Fish Pictures

Let's admire the collection of images of African Elephant Fish - the most beautiful Oscar fish with outstanding colors, a brave body and an attractive demeanor to understand why this fish is so loved by the aquarium community!

A bright orange African elephant fish.

Mini Oscar fish.

Rare and beautiful red eyed African white croaker.

An Oscar fish is swimming happily in the tank.

A super beautiful Oscar Albino fish tank.

Through the information that nicefish.net shared above, we can see that the African Elephant Ear Fish (Oscar) is not only a beautiful fish but also very intelligent and strong, very suitable for those who are passionate about raising beautiful, large-sized carnivorous fish.

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