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Scientific Name Astronotus ocellatus  (Agassiz, 1831)
Common Names Red Oscar
Marble Cichlid, Pfauenaugenbuntbarsch (Germany), Tiger Oscar, Velvet Cichlid
Type Locality Atlantic [in error].
Hop to next section Species Information
Size 457mm or 18" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
General Remarks How this fish came to have the name Oscar is unknown although it was commonly referred to as such by the 1960s where that name supplanted this other common name of velvet cichlid. In 1949 Gene Wolfsheimer reported in „The Aquarium Journal“ that the aquarists in California called Astronotus cichlids Oscars (Wayne Leibel, Aquarium USA Annual 2001). Larger cichlids like these were popularised as aquarium fishes in the USA where they've been kept and written about since at least the 1930s. Perhaps the fish was popularised by a local fishkeeper called Oscar, perhaps it has it's roots in mispronounced or accented use of the term Acara.
Hop to next section Habitat Information
Distribution South America: Amazon River basin in Peru, Colombia and Brazil to Argentina. Also known from French Guiana.
Guyana Waters, Coastal Rivers of Guyanas, French Guyana Coastal Rivers (click on these areas to find other species found there)
Amazon (click on these areas to find other species found there)

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IUCN Red List Category Least Concern, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2020.
Hop to next section Husbandry Information
Breeding Reports There is no breeding report.
Hop to next section Further Information
Reference Selecta genera et species piscium quos in itinere per Brasiliam, pp 129, Pl. 68.
Registered Keepers There is but a single registered keeper, view all "my fish" data.
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Last Update 2020 Jan 25 03:40 (species record created: 2013 Jun 13 22:23)