I seem to be having a problem getting my Oscars to eat prepared foods. They will only eat feeder goldfish which I think they were fed most of the time at the lfs where I purchaced them. I bought them at about 6 inches each so I think that they are "conditioned" to eating only feeders and are set in their ways as they totally ignore any other kinds of foods offered. Is there anybody that can help me break my Oscars out of their feeding habits? Any help would be greatly appreciated. :hi:
Feeding Oscars
- Thread starter Ed T
- Start date
usually simply starving them for about a week gets them to happily accept pellets. the lfs i work at got in a 5" oscar that was used to only live food, about 4 days of starving and he was taking pellets without complaint. what pellets are you trying? what size tank are they in? any other fish in with them? how many oscars exactly? are they getting along?
live foods are fine as about 20-25% of their diet, but it shouldn't be goldfish. goldfish are very high in fat and very low in nutrition. guess where heavy metals like lead and mercury are stored? in the fat.
in the wild oscars mostly eat insects and crustations. the best live foods to feed them are crickets, earth worms, shrimp, meale worms, black worms and things like that. they can also eat frozen and freeze dried foods and even veggies
but the majority of their diet should be pellets. believe me, if he gets hungry enough, he WILL eat pellets.
in the wild oscars mostly eat insects and crustations. the best live foods to feed them are crickets, earth worms, shrimp, meale worms, black worms and things like that. they can also eat frozen and freeze dried foods and even veggies
but the majority of their diet should be pellets. believe me, if he gets hungry enough, he WILL eat pellets.
I have 2 red Oscars in a 75 gallon tank they are the only fish in the tank. they get along pretty good except for the occasional lip locking. But they dont do that to often and they usually swim together. I tried to feed them freeze dried krill and cichlid pellets and I would soak the krill in some water to soften them up alittle but they dont seem to be interested in eating anything but feeders.
dont try dried krill. i have seen way too many fish eat those and refuse anything else. since dried krill isnt even close to a complete diet, thats not good. starve them for about a week. was the tank pre-cycled? even any live food at all in the diet can introduce parasites and disease, and i like my fish too much to run that far from necessary risk on their life, so once you get them on prepared foods, no need at all for live anything. if they are already lip lockign you dont want to make that any worse by keeping them on live if not necessary. what filtration do you have? how often and how big are your water changes? my tanks get 50% weekly and with that water change schedule their health and growth is amazing.
AGREED!!! A 'quality' pellet is essential to your 'O's health, growth & color. http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=23037;category_id=3011 is a very popular 'quality' pellet among a lot of hobbyist but there are a number of others. (my 'O's are spoiled so my choice might be considered exotic) 'Un-conditioning' is a test of wills & 'O's can be stubborn 
but stand firm!! Offer the pellets & if they refuse (4/5 min.) remove them. After a while of eating nothing, those pellets will look mighty tasty. Be patient! They won't starve! my first one took 8 days to break but the second one only took 1 day. (could be cause he saw his buddy chowin down) :laugh: :laugh: Run w/ just the pellets 4 a wk. or so, then periodically give them various treats. (freeze dried, frozen, live ect.) LFS 'feeder goldfish' I would advise against. ( low nutritional value / high probability of disease) Some hobbyist choose to raise their own 'feeders' but I can't help you w/ that. Just give them some time & they'll be eating like there's no tomorrow.no
that probobly notundefined the greatest idea what happens when they dont eat then and there starving :rant2:
reptileguy2727 said:
that probobly notundefined the greatest idea what happens when they dont eat then and there starving :rant2:
a fish in good condition should be able to go at least a couple weeks without food. so if at that point they havent taken pellets, then yes you need to feed live still and trying switching them over again at a later time. in the end it is much better for them to get them onto a healthier diet than live.
[/QUOTE]that probobly notundefined the greatest idea what happens when they dont eat then and there starving [/QUOTE]
In general, most healthy fish won't intentionally starve themselves to the point of death. Make sure the water quality, temp, ect. are optimum. In the rare case of a 'wild caught' oscar (most are tankbred) you might have to be a little more creative. All in all PATIENCE will win out. 
Good Luck
In general, most healthy fish won't intentionally starve themselves to the point of death. Make sure the water quality, temp, ect. are optimum. In the rare case of a 'wild caught' oscar (most are tankbred) you might have to be a little more creative. All in all PATIENCE will win out. Good Luck