they loose that wild pattern you have now, its a camouflage as young have. as he ages this will no longer be needed and his true color will start showing. keep in mind young fish need to hide or blend in, as they become the predator its not about hiding, its about finding mate,
Oscar cichlid ID
- Thread starter David1999
- Start date
Didn't pay to much for these guys, $7.99 each 
and the LFS employee wasn't sure if they were WC or CB
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
and the LFS employee wasn't sure if they were WC or CBSent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
The term leopard tiger, red tiger, blue, long fin etc etc, are not different species but are line bred designer color versions of wild oscars that originally were imported in the 1950s, and have been selected for color, other mutations and finnage in the same category as long fin, fan tail guppys, blood parrots or fork tail bettas.
There are different species Astronotus occellatus, orbicularis, and crassipinnis, but it is highly unlikely you would find them in a LFS, unless the store is very highly evolved.
As fw stated what you found are probably simply young Florida farmed oscars, if they happen to have extra red, they're dubbed red, or tend to get made up names to fit.
In fact you can go to Florida and find feral versions in many ponds and ditches from Naples on down south.
Here are some I saw in a tiny pond off Hwy 41 near Everglades City
The young are much more colorful for camouflage, as stated above, but tend to lose much of that pattern as they mature.
There are different species Astronotus occellatus, orbicularis, and crassipinnis, but it is highly unlikely you would find them in a LFS, unless the store is very highly evolved.
As fw stated what you found are probably simply young Florida farmed oscars, if they happen to have extra red, they're dubbed red, or tend to get made up names to fit.
In fact you can go to Florida and find feral versions in many ponds and ditches from Naples on down south.
Here are some I saw in a tiny pond off Hwy 41 near Everglades City
The young are much more colorful for camouflage, as stated above, but tend to lose much of that pattern as they mature.
