Astronotuses: what are they and how to keep them?

The Ocellated Astronotus (Oscar) is a fairly large, brightly colored cichlid native to South America. In addition to its interesting appearance, this creature is characterized as a smart and very entertaining fish.

Astronotus was discovered and described in the early 19th century. The fish was found in the Amazon basin, as well as in the small rivers Parana, Rio Negro and Rio Paraguay. Later, they were artificially distributed in Australia, as well as Florida and China, where the fish were able to quickly adapt and began to actively exterminate the "indigenous" aquatic inhabitants.

In nature, these fish prefer reservoirs with a sandy or muddy bottom., feed on crustaceans, worms and insect larvae. Astronotus has an oval, rather strong body with a pronounced head and large fleshy lips. Under natural conditions, an individual reaches 35 cm, but in an aquarium, the body length does not exceed 25 cm.

This graceful aquarium fish is one of those rare inhabitants of artificial reservoirs, about which we can confidently say that they have an individual temperament and mind. Astronotus is notable for recognizing its owner: oscar will closely watch your movements while you go about your household chores. Moreover, he does this much more consciously than all other representatives of cichlids.

Some fish even allow themselves to be stroked in the manner of domestic cats, and it is noticeable that they get some pleasure from it. If you wish, you can even hand feed your pet, but be prepared for the fact that he may snatch.

Oscars are undemanding to the care and conditions of keeping the fish. Even an inexperienced breeder can cope with their breeding, the only thing that can create difficulty is the size of the pets. Astronotuses grow very quickly and, as they grow up, eat all the fish that are smaller in size, which is why it is advisable to keep them alone, and in rather large containers - at least 300 liters.

In general, as is the case with other representatives of the aquarium fauna, the content of Oscars has both its pros and cons. The benefits include:

• intelligence - Oscars are among the most socially sociable underwater inhabitants, therefore it is very interesting and exciting to observe the behavior of these fish;
• omnivorous - astronotuses are able to eat any food: frozen seafood, fresh bloodworms, crustaceans and worms, as well as dry flakes and granules, which are sold in any pet store;
• longevity - with good care, pets can live 10-15 years.

At the same time, breeders will certainly face some difficulties, in particular, they will need:

• the presence of a voluminous aquarium of 400 liters or more;
• installation of a powerful filter and compresses for water purification and aeration;
• frequent water changes.

As we have already mentioned, the sexual characteristics of astronotuses are very weakly expressed, therefore, only a specialist can determine the sex and distinguish between a male and a female, and then only during spawning.

In most cases, breeders acquire about a dozen fry (boys and girls) at once and raise them in one tank. Thus, in the process of communication, pets choose a partner for themselves. It is believed that females are slightly smaller than males, but this trait is very relative. The only significant difference is the formation of the ovipositor., with the help of which the spawn takes place.

Most of the astronotuses were bred artificially, and the main interspecies difference is their color. For example, the albino astronotus has a white color, tiger fish have a speck on their tail, nut representatives are brown in color, and red ones, as the name implies, have a scarlet color.

The most popular aquarium oscars are the following.

• Tiger - this representative of astronotuses can rightfully be called the ancestor of all fish. It is distinguished by a gray or brown body with bright crimson or orange spots, sometimes with black edging. These fish have rather large fins, and near the tail there is a noticeably small, slightly vague spot, which resembles an eye in its appearance.

• Albino - already from the name of the fish it becomes clear that this astronotus has a white color with small blotches of red and large large red eyes. The dorsal and anal fins are rather long and slightly rounded.

• Veil - the colors of this representative of astronotuses can be different and uneven. The main distinguishing feature of these fish is elongated fins, which, when pets move in water, create a rather spectacular impression.

• Red - this fish can boast of uniform color and complete absence of spots. As for the colors, it can be either orange or scarlet. The fins are medium in size with a black border around the edges.

• Gold - this subspecies of fish is the result of long-term selection.Visually differs from red only in color: the scales of these oscars are usually yellow or golden.

Despite the fact that astronotuses are undemanding fish to care for, nevertheless, when keeping them, a comfortable living environment should be created. The main requirement is pet housing size... So, for a pair of Oscars, an aquarium of at least 250 liters is required, and better - from 400 liters.

Since the fish grows very quickly and reaches impressive sizes in the shortest possible time, it also leaves behind a lot of waste products - as a result, the aquarium turns out to be overflowing with organic matter, which is fraught with poisoning of pets with nitrates and nitrites. To avoid problems, a powerful filtration system should be installed in the tank. It is important to regularly siphon the soil, as well as change the water by 30% every 7-8 days.

As for the soil itself, the optimal solution would be to use river sand, gravel and pebbles 1-2 cm in size. You can lay out the bottom with large stones and snags - Astronotuses love to bury themselves and will probably dig through the entire substrate.

Plants should not be planted - the fish will very quickly pull them out by the roots or gnaw them. If you cannot do without aquarium flora, then give preference to its hard-leaved representatives.

Aeration is very important for these fish. The fact is that astronotuses need a lot of oxygen, while they prefer water without flow - this means that breeders are better off supplying gas from an external compressor installed on the surface of the reservoir. Keep in mind that all aquarium equipment and decorative elements must be securely fastened, as active fish love to play with them and attack.

Oscar-containing water must meet the following requirements:

• temperature - 22-28 degrees;
• acidity - 6.5-7.5 pH;
• hardness - up to 25 units.

The fish is also unpretentious to feed, it can eat many products. However, make sure that the diet is varied. You need to take dry food as a basis., they must be supplemented with frozen seafood, as well as tadpoles, grasshoppers, grated beef heart and other large feed.

You can offer your pets earthworms, but only if you first leave them in a small jar filled with water for 5-6 hours, so that the earth completely comes out of their intestines.

Be sure to include plant-based foods such as spinach, oatmeal, mashed brown bread, or lettuce. Keep in mind that Astronotus are quite greedy and voracious fish that can eat much more than the recommended norm, but they will not be good for it. It is very important not to overfeed the fish, it is advisable to offer them food once a day and at least once every 7-10 days to arrange fasting days, that is, not to offer food at all.

The most common pathology is hexamitosis. - it manifests itself in the appearance of ulcers and mucus on the body and on the head. As a rule, the cause of the disease is a lack of vitamin C and violation of the rules for feeding fish, for example, when pets are offered only beef or pork. Also, the problem can arise in the case of using a charcoal filter. Typically, hexamitosis is treated with dietary adjustments and medications.

Quite often, breeders may notice that their astronotuses lie on the bottom and breathe heavily, and their stomach may also swell: most likely, the fish have developed intestinal obstruction... This is again due to unbalanced nutrition or too cold water in the aquarium. You can help the Oscar cope with the painful condition by adjusting the water temperature and adding table salt to the reservoir at the rate of 1 tbsp. spoon for every 20 liters.

Often new fish become the cause of diseases. In order to exclude infection, each fish after purchase must be quarantined for at least a week, and any new decorative elements should also be soaked in potassium permanganate.

Astronotus is primarily a predator, so it will definitely swallow any aquarium fish that is smaller than it. That's why keeping with other aquatic inhabitants is possible only if they are also large.

Fish are especially aggressive during spawning, so it is advisable to set aside a separate aquarium for them. However, if your artificial reservoir has a volume of 1000 liters or more, then you can keep Oscars together with non-conflict cichlids (for example, geophagus), as well as large haracin metinnis and ancistrus. However, having conceived such a neighborhood, you should definitely adhere to several rules:

• astronotuses are allowed to be launched into the aquarium only after other fish have settled in it;
• it is advisable to put driftwood on the bottom so that catfish and other neighbors can hide in them in case of a dangerous situation.

Astronotuses reach puberty at the age of about 2 years, by this time they grow up to 10-15 cm, after which they are considered ready for spawning. Before breeding begins, you need to move them to a 100-liter spawning box and raise the water temperature by a couple of degrees, as well as increase the amount of feed. At the same time, lighting is made around the clock, but weak.

During spawning, the color of males and females becomes brighter and more saturated. When the parents-to-be are ready, they will begin to look for a spawning site and clear it. Usually fish choose flat stones, so it is worth taking care of their presence in the aquarium in advance. The female lays 1.5-2 thousand eggs, after which the vas deferens appears in the male and he fertilizes. All manipulations continue for about 4-5 hours.

The parents tend to the fry until they start swimming on their own. Incubation lasts about 50 hours, starting from 4 days young animals no longer lie in place, but move in the water column, at this moment it is better to put the male and female back into a common reservoir, otherwise the risk of eating their children is not excluded. The fry are fed twice a day, preferably using Artemia or Cyclops.

Astronotus are highly fertile when bred at home... Quite often they are bred on an industrial scale on special farms and fish farms. However, keeping such fish in an aquarium is a rather serious step, so you need to think carefully before you start breeding Oscars at home. The fact is that many are trying to breed and sell astronotuses, but the number of buyers is much smaller, the demand for these fish is small, and they grow very, very quickly.

Finally I would like to note that astronotuses are considered the smartest fish... They always respond to the human voice and can be trained.Many people like the decorative look of these fish and the choice of pets of the most exotic colors, but breeders need to take care of a large aquarium and pay attention to its contents.

But if you are not afraid of difficulties, then astronotuses will delight you every day with their impressive dimensions, beauty and amusing behavior. Everyone in any situation will find something of their own in astronotuses, and this is the main reason why these fish are so popular today.

For more information on astronotuses, see the video below.