View Full Version : Oscars......world's most wasteful eaters?
Does anyone know of a fish that wastes more food through their gills than an oscar??? AGGGHH!!! I swear half the food I give him comes pouring out his gills as he crunches the pellets up....and of course all of this waste floats gently down to land on my gravel so I can clean it up every other day... :( Is there a better food to be giving him than the Hikari "Cichild Gold" floating pellets? Something he won't feel the need to chew so much? Maybe I am just imagining it......but I don't remember any of my other oscars chewing as much as Gulp does.
If this new-tank cycle ever ends......I plan on adding some kind of bottom feeding tankmate that will help clean Gulp's room a bit. Until then.....the Python and I have another date tomorrow morning. :p
sumoschro
12-30-2003, 9:39 PM
yeah i remember when i had an oscar he used to pour food through his gills a lot. I just threw a few cories in there and they helped clean it up. I did frequent water changes in that tank also, like once a week or more.
blitzen25bm
12-31-2003, 2:47 AM
out of the fish i owned i agree.
i've been tempted to call my oscar "messy marvin", but i think it's a "she".
try the tetra cichlid sticks, they seem to stay together for me pretty good. the jumbo min seems pretty messy tho.
i have some odds and ends rummaging around in that tank still. my oscar's still pretty small and very shy, so i put 3 giant danios and a fairly large female convict in with it. i was hoping to improve "her" attitude, but they do scavenge some waste. i also have a striped and a spotted raphael in there that missed the last trip to the store and 2 asian upside down cats i was also growing to sell.........
it may sound sort of mercenary, but having some extra, unusual fish for sale seems like it helps keep the store interested in my extra convicts. in the meantime i still get to enjoy them too. :)
Wippit Guud
12-31-2003, 7:22 AM
How about cooked shrimp? It's chewy, should stay together :)
SayersWeb
12-31-2003, 7:53 AM
My Oscars make a total mess.... The Tiger Barbs have learned this and actually go up and smack the Oscars on the gills to get them to start chewing. They then grab anything tha comes out.
I have a Firemout that is also very messy. When he eats the Upside Down Catfish often hover about 1cm below him waiting for food. Quite funny to watch!
LMOUTHBASS
12-31-2003, 1:13 PM
gulp just a Q - did you say you were still cycling your tank? cause if you are and it's taking a while maybe it could be that you are vacuuming out good bacteria colonies every other night? I've heard this is a problem when establishing the cycle
Originally posted by LMOUTHBASS
gulp just a Q - did you say you were still cycling your tank? cause if you are and it's taking a while maybe it could be that you are vacuuming out good bacteria colonies every other night? I've heard this is a problem when establishing the cycle
not true... sorry
you actually need to vacuum to keep the bacteria somewhat clear and viable. the bacteria you need to keep happy in your tank are actually firmly adhered to surfaces and unlikely to be vacuumed out.
LMOUTHBASS
12-31-2003, 1:48 PM
what i've read ewok
Originally posted by LMOUTHBASS
what i've read ewok
go ahead and find some resources...... i'll be happy to read.
i don't have time now, but i'll dig some up later. :)