Peacock eye cichlid albino - Astronotus ocellatus

Native to Central America, the peacock-eyed cichlid or Oskar has been described as Astronotus ocellatus. A synonym is Lobotes ocellatus. Here you buy an albino breeding form. The actually dark body areas are white in the albino Oskar. Partially the animals can still show a red marking.

The primitive looking Oskar is a territorial large cichlid from South America. The origin of Astronotus ocellatus is in the Amazon region, where it is mainly found in stagnant or very slow flowing waters.

With an average size of over 25 cm and a final size of over 45 cm, this very large South American cichlid also needs a very large aquarium. For a small group of the peacock eye spotted cichlid one calculates a well dimensioned and above all well filtered large aquarium from 250 cm edge length upward, for a pair a basin from 200 cm is sufficient.

The sexes with the eyespot cichlid can be distinguished externally practically not. Although the females always have rounded fins, the fins of the male Peacock Cichlid are not necessarily pointed, but can also be rounded. During the spawning season you can recognize the female by her genital papilla - but you have to look closely. It is therefore rather tricky to find a harmonizing pair right away, and it is advisable to start in a suitably large aquarium with a group of 5-6 fry, so that a suitable pair can find itself.

The Albino Oskar is a beautiful ornamental fish, although very territorial and predatory. Albino peacock cichlids are therefore best kept in a species tank, or in a very large display aquarium with appropriately sized, peaceful South American cichlids of other species, or with large catfish. You can mix the different color forms of the Oskar without problems.

The Albino Peacockeye Cichlid is easy to breed. As a substrate spawner, the breeding pair first cleans a large flat stone very thoroughly to then begin spawning. The Oskar female lays up to 2000 eggs. After hatching, the parent fish reburies the larvae in a shallow pit that they excavate in the sand. There the fish larvae are guarded until they swim free. During the first few days, the larvae sometimes nibble skin secretions from their parents. After swimming free, they continue to be guided by their parents for quite some time. Raise the voracious young albino peacock cichlids with (lots of) Artemia nauplii at first and switch to larger live food later.

You do not need to plant the aquarium for a group of albino peacock cichlids - the fish are so rough that any greenery will not survive for long. Stone structures and roots provide structure, serve as territorial boundaries, and give the ornamental fish in the aquarium privacy and hiding places. Flat stones are used as spawning grounds. The substrate should be sand or rounded gravel.

The filter in the aquarium for peacock cichlids must be large for the rather large fish. A good water hygiene with a weekly water change of about 25% serves the well-being of the peacock-eyed cichlids.

Concerning the water values the Albino Peacockeye Cichlid is not choosy. The water can be soft to hard. The pH should be around 7 to 7.5, and the aquarium temperature should be around 23 to 28 °C.
 
In their habitat, Oskar Cichlids feed predatorily on fish, snails, crustaceans and worms. In the aquarium they like to feed on larger live foods, but will also take some soft vegetables now and then.

Our food recommendation: The NatureHolic Cichfeed has a grain size of 1.5 mm and is therefore also suitable for larger fish. The NH Cichfeed is a soft granulate for mainly carnivorous ornamental fish. It has the same consistency as small crustaceans and insect larvae that fish naturally eat, and the soft granules protect the fish mouth from micro-injuries that can be caused by hard feed granules.

Expert Tip: We recommend when keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and husbandry.