2Pt. Question>What is the Best way to take care of oscar fish? why is he losing color?

Question

I recently bought an oscar and have been taking care of him the best I can but I'm not sure of the best environment or foods to feed him. Right now im feeding him bine shrimp. What else can I give him> Hes pretty slow and I have other faster fish in the tank with him. Also, my oscar is going pale and losing his color. I feed him and the other fish in the fish tank Omega One protein formula but He is too slow and the other fish eat it before him. Is he not getting enough protein? PLEASE HELP>I'm really new at taking care of fish of any kind so anything and ever bit of help is much apreciated =-)

Answer 1

Well, for starters, you didn't say what size of tank or type of other fish he is with. These are both major factors. Based on what info you have given, I would say he is losing his color because of stress. The faster fish could be intimidating him. Have you noticed any signs of damage on him? (i.e. ragged fins or missing scales) It is possible that these faster fish might be biting him. Or maybe he is simply intimidated by all of the activity. Temperature is also a major factor to consider, as well as consistency of temperature. An adult Oscar will need a tank that is at least 6 feet long for him to live a full and healthy life. You can upsize tanks as he grows, but keep in mind that any time you do any kind of upheaval, it is a major stressfactor and could make him vulnerable to disease. Temperature should be somewhere between 76 and 82 F, with and ideal of 79 or 80. Aqain, consistency is key, so things like windows, direct sunlight, exterior walls, and proximity to ovens, are all things to avoid being close by the tank (especially if the tank is smaller). For feeding, brine shrimp is ok, but is small and does lack a high enough protein level. As Oscars age, they become voracious eaters, and nearly any thing live will be appreciated. Try to avoid feeder fish, though, as they are deficient in nutrients and tend to promote Hole-In-The-Head disease in later life. Good options for live foods are ghost shrimp and earthworms. Omega One is a good food, but the only way to combat the fact that he is not getting any of it is to overfeed. But then you'll run into water quality issues. A solution is to up your water change schedule (using a gravel vac), and (if you want to) keep a few tough bottom feeder/scavengers to help clean up the mess of overfeeding. Such as Plecos and Raphael (or armored) catfish. Raphael catfish are a favorite class of mine; there are 2 main types available. The first, the spotted, grow to about 4.5 " and will be in danger when the Oscar gets too big. But the second, the striped, grow to about 7 or 8" and should be able to live with an adult well at that size. If you do have or add scavenger fish to the tank, you might try adding in sinking shrimp pellets and/or algae wafers to the mix as they will sink quicker and may entice him to be a little more aggressive at feeding time, or at the very least he might scavenge some himself. As he grows, try to ensure that he gets a fair amount of spirulina (or algae type) suppliments and vitamin D rich foods to help guard against Hole-In-The-Head disease, as the species is prone to getting it. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

First off, what size tank do you have? how many fish are in the tank with him? what kind of fish are they? hmm this is a question I should be discussing with you one-on-one. hmm I'll do my best to do it here, if I lose you, you can IM me or something so we can better discuss...anyways here goes: Know what kind of fish you have; remember this: One inch of adult fish equals one gallon of your tank. So if you have a 4" fish, you are using up 4 gallons of your tank...This way, you will not over-crowd your tank and it will be much healthier.

Ok, so now that you know that, the next will be size tank...if your tank is less than 20 gallons, I suggest you upgrade immediately. Ecspecially if you have other fish in the tank with your oscar. Again, keep in mind of the rule I explained above. What happens is when the fish get larger, and the room in the tank decreases, the fish MAKE room by either killing the other fish, or jumping out of the tank...no lie, this happens often.

Next food...Oscars can eat things from silversides, krill, brine shrimp, live goldfish (although, really not reccommended...they will dirty up your tank), and pellets. There are tons of brands out there that have specific formulas for Oscars in different size pellets. Now, feeding should only be once a day, and feed slowly..after about 3 minutes stop. Now, the silverside and shrimp and krill should be more of a treat, not an every day feed.

Maintaining tank: do regular water changes of course...use a gravel-vac to get down into the rocks and pull the waste out and change your filter cartridge once a month. I also reccommend stirring your gravel weekly to help move some bacteria around and get some of it out. Don't forget to add your declorinator drops when you add water back in!! I prefer Amquel Plus+ over anything else.

Ok then, I think that should do it...mm again, if I confused you any, just IM me. Hope I helped ^__^

Answer 3

If your other fish are eating all the food, you need to put more food in the tank. Try separating them while feeding. Oscars will eat just about anything. I feed mine a wide variety of foods. Brine shrimp, freeze dried krill, bloodworms, algae tablets. A good thing to do is buy frozen food and melt it before putting it in the tank. One way to get food to your oscar is to distract the other fish with food on one side of the tank and feed your oscar on the other side. What I would do it put floating food in the tank for the other fish. And then dump the melted frozen food in while they are eating. The food will sink, giving the oscar a chance.
As for his color loss, that is normal. There is color enhancing food. The best thing to do is just feed a variety including greens, like algae tabs or seaweed. THe color should come back, but if he stays a little pale, it doesn't mean he's unhealthy.

Answer 4

There's two obvious reasons for an Oscar to fade. Either it's diet is wrong or it's stressed. They aren't the worlds most aggressive fish, but they do have their own pecking order. One Oscar on it's own or with fish of equal size is normally OK. Two or more that have been brought up together sort out their differences at an early age. A young Oscar growing up in a tank with larger fish will fight as it gets bigger and is able to take on other tank mates. One Oscar needs 40 UK gallon to be happy and a varied diet. I feed mine Tetra Doromin as their staple diet and as treats they get garden worms and crickets. I was using feeder fish till they decided to hide behind the heater; that plan is on hold till I figure out how to protect the heater, because it didn't slow an Oscar down. You'll probably find it chills out if it has it's own space, my Tiger Oscars aren't that colourful but the orange brightens up when they get excited. Food normally makes that happen :0)

Answer 5

I have a 4 year old albino Tiger Oscar that has hole in the head disease due to feeding him gold fish.DO NOT FEED IT GOLDFISH!! I also have a 3 year old Oscar and i feed him guppies that i raise my self in other tanks (beef heart made my oscars lethargic)For color loss I recommend Hikari Cichlid Gold complete and balanced color enhancing diet. They also have live plants that they mostly rip up, but also nibble and eat at. You can catch insects, throw them in their tanks for them to have as a snack. I would get your oscar a separate bigger tank ASAP. as your oscar grows it gets more aggressive and will eventually kill or even eat the other fish in his tank.
. I keep each in separate 100 gallon tanks with double filtration. Oscars get to be pretty big fish and a 45-50 gallon tank will not be comfortable for them when they are finished growing the ideal temp for them is79-80 but can be from about 78-82. I do a quarter water change once a week and clean the inside glass with an algae scrubber. once a month I do a half tank change. Hope that helps

Answer 6

Oscars need a minimum of a 55 gallon tank for just them, a 75 is better. This is for just 1 oscar, no other fish. You will also need double the filtration of a community tank, oscars are messy fish.

Omega One is a good product, problem is that oscars don't usually eat flake food. Try their small cichlid pellets, my oscar inhales them. Pick up some frozen beefheart, feed that a couple of times a week. Veggies are good as well, oscars are not strict piscavores, and need some vegetable matter to avoid constipation & bloat. Most any frozen veggie is good, avoid corn.

Mine gets fed zuccini, veggie pellets, & spirulina tablets, as well as peas, green beans, carrots, or whatever we may be making as veggies for dinner. Make sure any veggies don't have any butter or any other sauce. Try to make the pellets a staple, with the beefheart & veggies a couple of times a week. Avoid feeders, any found at any shop will eventually carry disease, they are not a necessary part of an oscar's diet.

Answer 7

http://www.oscarfish.com/
Go to the aboue link to learn all you need to know about having happy healthy Oscars. I had an Oscar named Mr. Happy (he moped all the time). I bought him a very expensive food as a treat that I would give him every once in a while. When I stared feeding it to him, he would eat nothing else. I couldn't afford the food on a regular basis and he quit eating. I fed him a variety of foods but he just wouldn't eat. He ended up starving himself to death. I felt horrible but I really couldn't afford to buy the food he loved. It was like $12 per tube, which only lasted four feeding. After that experience I found http://www.oscarfish.com/ and am learning as much as I can before purchasing my next Oscar. Good luck! I wish you and your Oscar the best!

Answer 8

Get a book on Oscars. Books have to be fact checked while any one can and does write anything on the internet. Even "reputable sites" can be passing on incorrect info.
Get one from the pet store you got him from.