Oscar
Astronotus ocellatus (Agassiz, 1831)
Status not recordedbony fish
The oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) is a bony fish in the family Cichlidae and subfamily Cichlinae. It belongs to the genus Astronotus in the order Cichliformes, class Teleostei, phylum Chordata.
Quick facts about the oscar
Other English names for the oscar include red oscar, tiger oscar, oscar cichlid, velvet cichlid and marble cichlid. The scientific name authority is (Agassiz, 1831).
- Weight
- up to 9 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 70 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- vertebratessrc for Main food
- Habitat
- riverinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the oscar
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the oscar live?
Not recorded
Where has it been introduced?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the oscar as introduced in 9 countries, and flagged as invasive in 1 of them.
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
What is the oscar?
The oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) is a species of fish from the cichlid family known under a variety of common names, including Tiger Oscar, Velvet Cichlid, and Marble Cichlid. In tropical South America, where the species naturally resides, A. ocellatus specimens are often found for sale as a food fish in the local markets. The fish has been introduced to other areas, including India, China, Australia, and the United States. It is considered a popular aquarium fish in Europe and the U.S.
From the Wikipedia article “Oscar (fish)” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oscar_%28fish%29&oldid=1384086199), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the oscar endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the oscar classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderCichliformes
- familyCichlidae
- genusAstronotus
- SpeciesAstronotus ocellatus (Agassiz, 1831)
Synonyms Acara compressus, Acara hyposticta, Acara ocellatus, Astronotus ocellatus ocellatus, Astronotus ocellatus zebra, Astronotus orbiculatus, Cychla rubroocellata, Lobotes ocellatus
Other names and names in other languages (33)
- Marble cichlidEnglish
- Northern cichlidEnglish
- Oscar cichlidEnglish
- Red oscarEnglish
- Tiger oscarEnglish
- Tiger oscar cichlidEnglish
- Velvet cichlidEnglish
- أوسكارArabic
- أوسكار رخاميArabic
- أوسكار شماليArabic
- vrubozubec pavíCzech
- PåfugleøjecichlideDanish
- PfauenaugenbuntbarschGerman
- AcaráSpanish
- AcarahuazúSpanish
- CarahuazúSpanish
- Cíclido Oscar TigreSpanish
- Tigre ÓscarSpanish
- ViejaSpanish
- riikinkukkoahvenFinnish
- CrombierFrench
- PauwoogcichlideDutch
- Pielęgnica pawiookaPolish
- Acará-açuPortuguese
- Acará-grandePortuguese
- ApaiariPortuguese
- Oscar-oceladoPortuguese
- Глазчатый астронотусRussian
- påfågelciklidSwedish
- AstronotTurkish
- 地圖魚，花豬Chinese
- 圖麗魚Chinese
- 地圖魚Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS
Relatives of the oscar
Other species in the same genus Astronotus.
CompareOscar vs Fat oscarOscar vs Mikolji's oscarOscar vs Acara letramerusOscar vs Acara margarita
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is an oscar?
The oscar is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes.
What is the scientific name of the oscar?
The scientific name of the oscar is Astronotus ocellatus, placed in the genus Astronotus.
What other names does the oscar have?
The oscar is also called red oscar, tiger oscar, oscar cichlid, velvet cichlid and marble cichlid.
Is the oscar a cichlid?
Yes, the oscar is in the family Cichlidae and the subfamily Cichlinae.
Is the oscar an invasive species?
In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the oscar as invasive in 1 country: Mexico. It lists it as introduced in 9 in all.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/oscar
“Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/oscar.
@misc{oscar_2026,
title = {Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/oscar},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}