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t_chelle161st Place POTY

Joined: 24 Jun 2003Articles: 4Comments: 68Location: MO

Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 12:21 pm

Oscars are all the same species (Astronotus ocellatus), however, there are several color varieties and forms available.

The most common color varieties include:

Tiger (Dark base color with orange/red stripes.)

Red (Dark base color with solid or mostly solid orange/red that does not form bold stripes.)

Common/Wildtype (Dark base color with lighter stripes, generally yellow, grey, or pale green, and very little to no orange. This is the color of wild oscars.)

"Albino" (True albinos are solid white with absolutely no pigment and are VERY rare. Most people call any oscar with a light base color and no dark pigment "albinos" even though they are not true ablinos. "Albino"oscars come in red & tiger patterns.)

"Albino" tiger (White/light base color with red/orange stripes. )


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"Albino" red (White/light base color with solid red/orange.)

Lutino (These look like "albino" oscars, but have some darker coloration, generally on the fins or the eye spot. They also come in red & tiger patterns.)

Lutino tiger (White/light base color with orange stripes and some brown/grey on the fins and/or body.)

Lutino red (White/light base color with solid orange and some brown/grey on the fins.)

Some of the more rare color varieties include:

Sunshine/Lemon (similar to "albino" red/tiger oscars, but have yellow markings instead of red/orange)

Golden (similar to a red oscar, but has more of a yellow/golden color instead of red/orange)


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Bloody/Super Red (an extreme red oscar which is a very vibrant, solid red).

Oscars have also fallen victim to the process of dyeing.This is a horrible process which weakens the fish making it much more susceptibe to illnesses and shortens its lifespan. Plus the color eventually fades so you're left withan expensive, sickly, "albino"/lutino. Please do not buy dyed fish.

"Blueberry" ("albino" or lutino red/tiger oscars dyed blue)

"Strawberry" ("albino" or lutino red/tiger oscars dyed red/pink. These aren't as common as "blueberry"oscars. Also, some albino/lutino oscars naturally have a pink/peach base color, but on a dyed oscar, it won'tlook as solid or evenly distributed.)

Along with the different color varieties, oscars have also been selectively bred for different body/fin shapes.

Veiltail (Have longer than normal fins & tails. Come in all common color varieties.)

Short bodied/Balloon (Have a shorter, more compact body than normal. Come in all color varieties. Theseare relatively rare and in many cases, oscars with shorter than normal bodies are actually stunted and horribly deformed from being kept in poor conditions rather than selectively bred to be that way so be leary about buying short bodied oscars.)


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There are also 2 other species belonging to the genus Astronotus. These are not oscars, but they are closelyrelated and look somewhat similar. They are also pretty rare to find in LFS's. Astronotus orbicularis:

Astronotus crassipinnis

Rating: 4.67/5.00 [3]

Author Comments

drunkensundaySymphysodon discus

Joined: 11 Dec 2006Articles: 0Comments: 1Location: Rhode Island

Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 6:12 pm Post subject:

wow man, GREAT job on this article. this clears up alot for me. thanks!

Rating: 0.00/5.00 [0]

legendreMicrogeophagus ramirezi

Joined: 13 Feb 2007Articles: 0Comments: 1Location: Australia

Melbourne

Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 4:14 am Post subject:

well done with the article now i no how many different types of oscars there are great job

Rating: 0.00/5.00 [0]

XenchiMicrogeophagus ramirezi

Joined: 09 Nov 2006Articles: 0Comments: 1

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:11 pm Post subject:

Wonderful Chelle!! I'm sure this article will be of benefit to many. Thanks again!

Rating: 0.00/5.00 [0]

zedleppelin3Symphysodon discus

Joined: 14 Jan 2007Articles: 0Comments: 2

Location: TERRAN SOLAR SYSTEM

Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:12 pm Post subject:

Wow nice post, gorgeous pics many different varieties i have never seen b4 thanks

Rating: 0.00/5.00 [0]

heyladySymphysodon discus

Joined: 23 Aug 2006Articles: 0Comments: 2

Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:15 am Post subject:

Excellent article Chelle!!

Rating: 0.00/5.00 [0]


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sk8rgarrettMicrogeophagus ramirezi

Joined: 08 Mar 2007Articles: 0

Comments: 1

Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:18 pm Post subject:

i noticed all the dyed fish looked small and skinny-like they usually dont live very long hmmm think about that before you go

buying a dyed fish.....just making a point

Rating: 0.00/5.00 [0]

recycling goddessApistogramma agassizii

Joined: 16 Feb 2005Articles: 0Comments: 3Location: Canada

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:13 pm Post subject:

really great pictures. thanks for taking the time to create this!

Rating: 0.00/5.00 [0]

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