I have 4 Oscars and they REFUSE to eat flake or pellet food anymore, the only way they will eat is if they have fresh Night Crawlers or Chicken Livers. Any Idea why or is this a phase they go through.
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- Thread starter bigomudders
- Start date
How big are they, and what size tank are they in? Are they the only fish in the tank? What else have you tried feeding them?
4 Oscars, 2 Blood Parrots and 2 JD's in a 135 gallon. They used to eat the flake and pellets with no issue at all, then they wont even look at it unless it's brine shrimp or fresh liver. They range from 4 to 5 inches each.
those oscars have trained you well, lol. they've realized that the chicken livers, nightcrawlers, and brine shrimp taste better than pellets and other prepared foods.
fast them for a few days (as long as all fish in your tank are in good condition and good health) and then try pellets again soaked in garlic juice. should solve the problem. save the yummier foods for occasional feeding so they don't get into the same habits again.
flake, IMO, isn't the best option for larger oscars. they'll make a big mess with it, chuffing it out their gills and not getting much out of the food. at least i know this with my oscar, Gus.
also sounds like your tank is pretty overstocked. i'd look at moving some fish to another tank or re-homing them if you don't have other tank space available. a 135 gallon is a good size for 2 oscars, 3 if they are not full size yet and get along well.
fast them for a few days (as long as all fish in your tank are in good condition and good health) and then try pellets again soaked in garlic juice. should solve the problem. save the yummier foods for occasional feeding so they don't get into the same habits again.
flake, IMO, isn't the best option for larger oscars. they'll make a big mess with it, chuffing it out their gills and not getting much out of the food. at least i know this with my oscar, Gus.
also sounds like your tank is pretty overstocked. i'd look at moving some fish to another tank or re-homing them if you don't have other tank space available. a 135 gallon is a good size for 2 oscars, 3 if they are not full size yet and get along well.
Your stock list seems ok to me, especially at th 6" mark or so, as long as you have good filtration.
As far as diet, try hikari massivoire delight or hikari jumbo carnisticks. Very nutritious and haven't seen a fish refuse them yet...
As far as diet, try hikari massivoire delight or hikari jumbo carnisticks. Very nutritious and haven't seen a fish refuse them yet...
