View Full Version : what is a good diet for oscars??
K_S_W_I_S_S
03-13-2003, 2:50 PM
My O is about 6-7 inches long right now, what would be a good diet to feed him? I have one more question, how do you guys feed your oscars? I used to just put the food in for him, but one day I must have been taking too long with a shrimp and he jumped and took it from my hand... I feed my fish everyday, and one day I didn't feed him and the next day is when he jumped for the shimp... I used to hold my hand in the water to feed him krill too.
ChilDawg
03-13-2003, 3:49 PM
If you are feeding your oscar shrimp as a consistent diet, he will have some nutritional deficiencies. I would suggest a diet relying mostly upon a variety of the dry foods with occasional live/frozen/fresh foods, or impregnation of the latter with vitamins if that is to be the sole source of nutrition.
K_S_W_I_S_S
03-13-2003, 6:08 PM
what do you mean by "or impregnation of the latter with vitamins if that is to be the sole source of nutrition.?"
ChilDawg
03-13-2003, 6:48 PM
Sorry, I should've toned that down a little. If you are planning on only feeding live or formerly live foods, I believe that you need to make sure that such foods are loaded with vitamins and minerals so that your fish would have all the nutrition which he needs. That's why I would recommend one of the commercially formulated dry foods supplemented with some of the live/formerly live foods.
K_S_W_I_S_S
03-13-2003, 7:14 PM
i do use other stuff too anyway, i dont only use shrimp, but thats all i have been using for like 1.5 weeks cuz im thinking about what kind of food to buy... i used to use hikari gold (i think) and wardley cichlid floating pellets, along with shrimp...
goldfries
03-13-2003, 7:56 PM
at that size i'm quite cautious when feeding. it's a pain when they grip your fingers and pull them down.
he does get his frozen bloodworm cubes from my hand.
Tightdog1
03-13-2003, 8:43 PM
if i were you i would just feed an assortment of feeds to be sure he gets the nutrition he needs like some pellets, frozen food(beef heart, brine shrimp, etc.), flakes (probably too big now tho), and whetever you feed now and addortment is good for anyfish so they get goo nutrition.
ChilDawg
03-13-2003, 9:23 PM
I have heard that beef heart lacks nutrative value for fish. Could someone shed some light on that or let me know why I am sadly mistaken by saying so???
goldfries
03-13-2003, 10:15 PM
variety = more vits/minerals covered.
stik6shift98
03-14-2003, 3:03 AM
GOLDFISH GOLDFISH GOLDFISH:p
Slappy*McFish
03-14-2003, 12:00 PM
I agree, start feeding them pellets/food sticks at an early age...this is the best staple food for any oscar...you can suppliment it with earthworms, shrimp, feeder fish(make sure they are disease free), and crickets(a favorite)..I used to gut pack my crickets with flake food.
K_S_W_I_S_S
03-14-2003, 5:27 PM
how do you gut load crickets with fish flakes?????did you breeed them or just buy them a lot? and how often would you feed them to your oscar?
Slappy*McFish
03-14-2003, 6:48 PM
I usually just bought the crickets in bulk(several dozen) and kept them in a 10 gallon tank with paper egg carton and cricket quencher(a gel-like water source)..."gut packing/loading with flakes".... just pour some fish flakes in the cricket cage in a dry spot and the crickets will devour them....getting quite plump in the process. When your oscar eats them, he will also be getting some healthy, vitamin enriched fish flakes.....my oscars absolutely went nuts for them.
K_S_W_I_S_S
03-14-2003, 7:13 PM
cool.. i have like 5 extra 10g's and i think im gonna try to breed crickets... is that possible? do you think that they would be able to live off of fish food?
I have made a puree in the blender with beef heart (from the butcher at Publix) Ocean Nutrition formula two algae based flake, cichlid stix and frozen spinach. I then put it in a ziploc bag and froze it and broke off chunks like it was frozen food and fed it. My oscar loved it. Chili- I think you are not supposed to feed pure beef heart because heart is a muscle and is very high in protein but lacks vitamins.
JacksontoKobe
03-14-2003, 11:58 PM
Beefheart supplies Protien which is a very important factor in juvinile fishes growth and it also supplies Iron which is important for strong skeletal structure. Also I have always believed that just a variety of foods on a daily basis is as good as any pellet with vitamins that are not natural. I feed my O's this mixture Shrimp, Scallops, Beefheart, Lobster or Crab on occassion Earthworms, Grasshoppers, Silversides, and extra lean ground beef I fell that with this mixture the will get the vitamins neccesary.