SPIN THE WHEEL. What color?

[duanes]

Of course if you get a true wild caught oscar, your water parameters would need to be perfect, such as soft, and acidic pH (6.8 or lower) and enough water changes to maintain very low, or undetectable nitrate.
With aquarium strain oscars, if your water parameters vary from the pristine wild, or you don't do enough water changes, it may take 2 or 3 years before diseases like HITH set in.
Sorry to be blunt, but HITH seems to be quite normal (at least from what I see in the disease section) for those aquarists that aren't persnickety about water quality.

 

[FINWIN]

Of course if you get a true wild caught oscar, your water parameters would need to be perfect, such as soft, and acidic pH (6.8 or lower) and enough water changes to maintain very low, or undetectable nitrate.
With aquarium strain oscars, if your water parameters vary from the pristine wild, or you don't do enough water changes, it may take 2 or 3 years before diseases like HITH set in.
Sorry to be blunt, but HITH seems to be quite normal (at least from what I see in the disease section) for those aquarists that aren't persnickety about water quality.

A good reminder. PH here is around 7.6 and not looking for problems. Brick never had HITH but I'm pretty sure he wasn't wild caught. He was raised in a good volume of water with total tank changes once he hit adulthood. And I supplemented him with medical grade vitamin C. His head was smooth as a baby's butt.

Someone mentioned green oscars but I'm not sure if that's another term for wild. Same with the tigers...I've heard that term used for wild Os as well.

The defunct site Oscarfishlovers had a member with a black and white oscar...have no idea where they got it from.

 

[Trouser Bark]

The defunct site Oscarfishlovers had a member with a black and white oscar...have no idea where they got it from.

That may not have been what it looked like. I see it in Peacock Bass once in a blue moon and rather than being black and white (which they appear to be) they instead just don't have any pigment. There's a name specifically for it and it's a naturally occurring anomaly but I don't recall that name.

 

[duanes]

That may not have been what it looked like. I see it in Peacock Bass once in a blue moon and rather than being black and white (which they appear to be) they instead just don't have any pigment. There's a name specifically for it and it's a naturally occurring anomaly but I don't recall that name.

Are you thinking about the term Zanthic?
This happens naturally with many cichlids, but in nature because they stick out like a sore thumbs they quickly become prey..
There are some Herichthys minkleyi in the pools Cuatro Cienegas Mexico that actually make it to adulthood, but this a very isolated and special place.

 

[FINWIN]

That may not have been what it looked like. I see it in Peacock Bass once in a blue moon and rather than being black and white (which they appear to be) they instead just don't have any pigment. There's a name specifically for it and it's a naturally occurring anomaly but I don't recall that name.

That's it! When I saw the post of that oscar I thought it was taken in B/W. Absolutely no color, just shades of gray with stripes. It was huge...have no idea if anyone else has one like that.

I've sent an inquiry to a seller on Ebay in Florida with some cool looking oscars. I need to know if they're tank raised or wild. Will post seller pics later, including a stunning albino with orange whorls and dots. I'm just gathering information for now.

Tangled up in Cichlids has some pulchers I have my eye on, the Andinoacara pulcher , Cichlasoma dimerus 'Arroyo Chelsea' F1 , Cichlasoma dimerus 'Rio Cuaro' F1 , and Cichasoma dimerus 'Bella Union' F2 (no picture shown).

 

[Trouser Bark]

Are you thinking about the term Zanthic?
This happens naturally with many cichlids, but in nature because they stick out like a sore thumbs they quickly become prey..
There are some Herichthys minkleyi in the pools Cuatro Cienegas Mexico that actually make it to adulthood, but this a very isolated and special place.

That sounds right. I've only ever seen one zanthic Peacock and it did stick out from all the rest.

 

[duanes]

Tangled up in Cichlids has some pulchers I have my eye on, the Andinoacara pulcher , Cichlasoma dimerus 'Arroyo Chelsea' F1 , Cichlasoma dimerus 'Rio Cuaro' F1 , and Cichasoma dimerus 'Bella Union' F2 (no picture shown).
[/QUOTE]
Here is Cichlasoma dimerus Bella Union

Bella Union is the river border of Uruguay Argentina border in that area, and is a bit temperate, as opposed to being tropical, so in nature this species gets a bit of a winter cool down, and that helps it remain healthy.
I kept it with other Uruguayan species without a heater, where the tanks water temps dropped into the 60sF

They also did well and spawned, in my pond in Milwaukee May thru Sept, where temps could fall even lower

 

[phreeflow]

There seems to be conflicting information about the size of the bumblebees...some say max at 10" some say the same size as ocellatus. I'm thinking they're the same size because the wild caught ones I saw at public aquariums were giant sized and they resembled the "bees". There were two types, the ones with high backs (ocellatus type) and the ones more elongated like submarines (like the bees) Even the vids online say some of the size info is dated. Like this one here:

BUMBLEBEE OSCAR CICHLID | FACT FILE (youtube.com)

see comments section as well. Anyone have the orbicularis?

I noticed that too and was confused…sizes ranged greatly on vendor sites from 9.5” to 18” but most academic sites seems to say 24cm (around 9.5”).

Checklist and practical identification key for the cichlid fishes (Cichliformes: Cichlidae) of the La Plata drainage in Bolivia, including three new geographical records

Also, I think orbicularis = crassipinus

 

[Something Fishy Here]

So beautiful...
it's mostly shades of gray and black

 

[FINWIN]

I noticed that too and was confused…sizes ranged greatly on vendor sites from 9.5” to 18” but most academic sites seems to say 24cm (around 9.5”).

Checklist and practical identification key for the cichlid fishes (Cichliformes: Cichlidae) of the La Plata drainage in Bolivia, including three new geographical records

Also, I think orbicularis = crassipinus

That's a crazy ass size swing for sure. Too much blibbah blabbah terminology with these names of sub groups. Didn't someone post here a foot long crassipinus? Maybe my memory is shot.