Definitely one of my favorite cichlids.
The Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) is a species of cichlid native to South America, specifically Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Brazil and French Guyana. It is also found in the Amazon river basin.
This fish can grow to be up to 18 inches in length and weigh up to 3.5 lbs. Quite a big fishy!
In the wild, their diet consists of pretty much anything that falls into the water, and other fish, so these cichlids are omnivores, which means they eat both other animals and plants.
In captivity, their diet consists of cichlid food, like pellets, and other fish. This species does require a lot of vitamin C though, and will develop problems without enough of it.
They require a temperature of about 72-85 F, and a pH (acidity level) of 6-7.5.
They have a pretty long lifespan of about 15-20 years, so if you plan on buying one, it is quite a commitment.
They also require a minimum tank size of 55 to 75 gallons to grow up healthily. I got mine as a baby, and it's still pretty small so I put it in a 20 gallon (which is much too small for a full grown fish), but I do plan on moving it to a 75 gallon shortly.
Here's a picture of my own oscar fish:
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