Yeah, looking at pics of a 2-inch Oscar and trying to extrapolate forward to what he'll look like at a foot in length is pretty tough; even people with extensive Oscar experience can only make an edumacated guess. And there will likely be a couple of intermediate "looks" that come and go over time.
"wild" Oscars from the Miami area, pretty nice looking fish.
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I think those ^ are absolutely gorgeous, and they may be wild...as in living free...but they would more likely be "feral" as opposed to true wild-type fish. I'm sure that only a few generations back their ancestors were Red Tigers or Reds or some other typical Oscar man-made colour. They got loose, or were set loose, and after a few generations all the garish colourful ones were picked off by predators, with the survivors rapidly reverting to something close to a natural-occurring fish.
Which in no way makes them less wonderful as aquarium fish! I've spent my life living with dogs, and only a couple have been actual established pure "breeds"; most were mutts, and each of them was the best dog I've ever had! Mutts are wonderful as pets, just as long as you know they're mutts, try not to breed them and absolutely don't try to pass them off as anything other than mutts.
Xanthics in general are awesome, every bit as spectacular IMHO as albinos but without those weird risen-from-the-grave red eyes.
And Cichlasome dimerus are lovely, I'm currently engaged with them and I like their quiet, subtle, non-gaudy colouration...but I think you'd be a bit disappointed by their relative lack of interactive personality. Oscars are tank stars; Dimerus are background supporting actors. Nice, but not Wow!
