The last time I had Oscars was back in the 1970s. The Tiger and Red Oscars were just making their appearance and I had raised up 8 of them to about 12" in length. As much as they were like having a bunch of puppies in my fish room (personality plus), they were huge eaters and messy at that. They came and went, and my inclination was to not keep Oscars again. Even though some great wild (crassipinnis/orbicularis) Astronotus had been brought to Winnipeg by Spencer at aFISHionados in the last couple of years, I resisted ... until Sunday. A fellow aquarist brought a large pair of albino/lutino Oscars in for the auction at the September ASW meeting. He said he needed to open up tank space for his pond Koi. They were a breeding pair and he had pictures of the young on his Smartphone. He had a reserve of $30 for the pair (which was like giving them away), but there were no takers. Few people in the Winnipeg club seem to be able or willing to take on big fish, which is completely understandable. I keep large fish and have for more years than I can remember, but my tank space is presently limited and I'll be moving my pond fish in shortly too. So even though I had a few twinges, I didn't "take the bait". Most of the eyes of the room were on me. The Oscars were put aside and during the break, I chatted with the fellow who brought them in. He said he would be lowering the reserve to $20 and wouldn't be taking them back home. I'm not sure what that meant exactly but it conjured up images of "flushing" 12" fish (or even worse). When they were offered after the break for $20 (the pails they were in were worth $10!!), I raised my bidding paddle, to the cheers of the crowd. It wasn't the money...it was the idea that these fish were considered worthless by most people in the room. That's the way it is with most big fish... you can't give them away. A large male Jack Dempsey and a 14" Red-bellied Pacu were also on the auction table. As far as I know they were not taken. When I got them home, I looked about my fish room, not having a clue where to house them. I decided to put them in with some of my Madagascan Paratilapia in a 180G. They fitted right in and are looking and behaving great. I'm not at all sorry that I took them and am looking forward to having them breed. In my long fish keeping journey, I had never bred Oscars. Guess it's never too late to try. And if nothing else, I'll make sure I try to give these fish a good home.
