Feeding pellets to my oscar?

Question

I feel that my oscar is frightened going to the surface for feeding, I dont know the reason. If I drop it not-floating type feed, as it moves down, oscar is the first fish to take a snatch. Same is the thing with beefheart & worms.
But when it comes to pellets it never eats them, it goes to the top, tries to grab one, then suddenly retards as if it is scared of something.
It must be habituated to pellets because if Iam not at home, no one will take the tension of getting the worms or cutting beef heart for it, thell just drop some pellets at it.
So what must be done to familiarize with pellets, definitely in need of an experienced (reason &) solution to it.

Please dont suggest me to feed them flakes, as they are rare & expensive here(although I give it as a treat twice a week).

I have three types of pellets
Dont suggest me feeders they can cause disease.
I dont want your xperiences, I want the proper solution to that

I cant even place everything(worms, feeders,meat, etc) as oscar is a hearty eater.
If it exceeds the limit of diet then therell be a problem

If I there at home I can feed it every kind of its diet.
When Im away I need to implement the pellet rule.
PLEASE READ THE QUESTION COMPLETELY

Answer 1

although oscars can be aggressive they can also be 'scared'. try dropping pellets and just walking away and try to watch it from afar. it may not like that you are right there by tank.

Answer 2

You have the right idea (mixing up the diet for your Oscar - it's ok to feed him/her feeders every now and again, but the pellets along with other meats like beef hearts and worms is an excellent way to keep them healthy).

If your Oscar is finicky (which is definitely sounds like) you could try soaking the pellets in Garlic Extract first before you put them in the tank for him/her to feed on. Trust me - soaking foods in Garlic will get the most finicky of eaters to feed. You can make your own, or you can buy something like Kent Garlic Xtreme.

Good luck to you

Answer 3

Nice call sly2k....was going to suggest the garlic myself. It does work very well. If you do give him feeders, do it sparingly as it can foul your tank up quite rapidly. But feeders are good for them. You can get feeders when you know you will be away for a couple days and let nature feed them. Also know that if you have missed a day of feeding your Oscar, it will not harm him/her. They can go on for days without eating. I used to feed my Oscar tank every other day and they were very healthy. Plus, by feeding every other day, there isn't so much of a waste load on the tank. We all know that Oscars can be pigs. :) Pellets floating and fouling your water is worse than your Oscars missing a meal.

Answer 4

Fish have scent glands and can pick up on the smell of their food. Oscars are not a fish that tend to be picky eaters but they are just like any other pet, that if you spoil them with treats then that is all they want, and if I were getting real meat and then I got some strange looking pellet, I would probably go away from it as well.

Answer 5

Good call on the feeders, not good for them. Never had that problem, try soaking the pellets in a bowl of the tank water for a few minutes, maybe then they'll sink. They do make some slow sinking pellets or granules, can't remember the name of the stuff I used though. Here's something similar to it

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4316&Ntt=slow%20sinking%20pellets&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

Or, what you could do is cut the beefheart up for the family/friends to feed to him. That way all they have to do is drop it in.

Answer 6

I used to play a game with my oscar. I would stand about 8 feet away from the tank and toss a pellet into the tank. When the pellet hit the water, he would attack it. That was a fun thing to do when I had some time.

Answer 7

Are you wanting to boost the scale of the fish ordinary? in basic terms get them growing to be speedier? frequently the known rule is that a fish's abdomen is correct to the scale of his eye. a stable high quality food could look after your needs in this section. you do no longer p.c. to overfeed them because of the fact they gets fat and torpid and no person needs a fat, lazy oscar! ha ha!. in case you're already feeding them a high quality food, and p.c. to offer them somewhat extra, then you definately would desire to continuously upload one extra feeding time into the habitual. If that's going to be a supplement to their already conventional feeding schedule then i'd do in basic terms one or 2 pellets each consistent with day and notice how that does for bulking them up.

Answer 8

You can still feed your oscar pellets. I had some fish that are like that as well. I simply presoak the pellets to get them to soften up. Then I squeeze the air out of them before putting into the aquarium.

Answer 9

i,m told oscer is hunter and should b fed with mostly feeder fish
making them chase ther food keeps them strong and healthy