I had two oscars, but one died. The other is getting big, psycho, seems to always be hungry?

Question

I have never had one before, was given these by a friend who did not like them and was afraid they would eat her other fish. I tried to research them but found conflicting advice. Anyone with first hand advice? It seems to constantly be starving. I can't imagine anything else that would survive in its tank. I have to clean the gravel twice as often as my goldfish, and they always seem to be starving also. I can't keep a live plant in the tank because it eats it.

ok, getting diverse and opposed answers here. I feed mainly pelleted goldfish floating food, with tubifex worm cubes once a week and a meal worm once a week. A few other flakes or granules occasionally. I haven't started live feeder fish yet because I figure the mouth is too small. It is 3 inches long.

Ok, I am awed and amazed at all these answers. I honestly cannot choose a best answer, I am going to use information from most of these. Thank you all so very much.

Answer 1

give the oscar feeding fish twice a week.

Answer 2

First off, just about everyone else who answered this question is a complete moron. Do not, under any circumstances, feed your oscars feeder fish or goldfish from a pet store. 90% of the time they're in really bad shape and in poor living conditions therefore making them VERY bad for your oscars. Not only that, but most feeder and goldfish you see in pet stores have been treated with a multitude of chemicals and actually contain very little (if any) nutritional value.

If you must feed him feeders then I would suggest raising guppies in a separate tank. They breed constantly and are very cheap fish and most of the time the females you buy are already pregnant so this is actually a very easy endeavor. Just get a ten or twenty gallon tank set up and you'll be ready to go. Just make sure to buy a divider for the babies or else the other fish (including mom and dad) will eat every last one of them.

Don't bother putting plants in the tank, as your oscar will likely eat them (as you've already seen) or he'll just uproot them. Oscars will move whatever they can so try to keep the small decor to a minimum. They often attack thier pumps and filters as well. Don't be alarmed, as this is normal, your fish is likely just bored.

Ocscars are notorious for constantly seeming hungry and they'll almost always take whatever food you give them. It's your job as the keeper you make sure he doesn't eat too much or too little. Use common sense. A handful is probably too much, but a tiny little pinch won't work either. Try feeding him two or even three times a day, it worked just fine with my oscar, which I named Tyson.

By the way, I hope you have a 55 gallon tank or larger with double (yes I said double) filtration or you'll be in a lot of trouble a year from now, cause that little three inch baby oscar will be about a foot long by then.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Altogether the advice given so far really isn't bad. One reason there is conflicting advice is that there is often more then one way to do things. That, and many people just have no clue.

Oscars have massive appetites and will always beg for food, even after you've stuffed them to the gills with it. It's up to the owner to keep things healthy.

Get him a good carnivorous cichlid food - it will be a little bit more suitable to him then the goldfish diet.

Feeders - you don't need them. In addition to the health risks already mentioned, they are pretty messy. Also, what many people fail to realize, is that Oscars don't naturally eat much fish - their main diet in the wild is insects, crustaceans and worms. WIth that in mind, shrimp and prawns, krill, crayfish, worms, crickets, insect larvae are all great supplements.

You never mentioned tank size. They are very messy fish and aside from their physical size, the reason why they need big tanks. 75 gallons for one is best.

Oscars are not mean fish in any way. They're big, somewhat territorial, and hungry, but not mean. Most other similar sized cichlids, and many smaller, will easily take him on. So other cichlids are not the wisest choice of tankmate for him.

Answer 4

OK. well first off STOP feeding him goldfish pellets Oscars are NOT goldfish and have completely different nutritional needs. buy him CICHLID pellets feed twice a day with those. Tubifex worms and meal worms are good treats so you're OK with those. Try and give him blanched lettuce or small piece of oranges once a week or so. I also feed mine frozen brine shrimp and sometimes frozen krill. with Oscars it is imperative that you feed them a well balanced diet because they are very prone to hole in the head disease. (caused by poor nutrition and poor water quality)

Answer 5

Take particular care to see that the pH levels are correct for your Oscar. Hard water (city water that is high in calcium and lime deposits are harmless to people but will kill an Oscar. Your pH should be 4.0 to 6.0 --much higher than that and Psycho could be in trouble....yes they eat everything in the tank...they are like big babies...!

Answer 6

Everything you said is perfectly normal oscar behavior. They are territorial, so if you have 2 of them in anything under 125 gallons, one will end up dead after they reach adolescence. Their character changes to more or less evil after they reach 6 or 7 inches. They're at the top of the fish food chain, so expect them to act like little underwater lions.

They organize the tank, not you. If they don't like a plant... they'll rip it out or shred it for fun. If they don't like the decorations... they'll move them. Ditto with the heater. An electrocuted oscar is no fun to come home to. They get bored really easially & they'll often amuse themselves in what may seem like undesirable ways. I think its part of their charm.

You have to do the thinking for your oscar when it comes to food. They'll eat like pigs... until they get liver disease or bloating. They're very much like your average american person... filling themselves up on sweet fatty foods until they're too unhealthy to walk. They associate you with food, so when you come around they'll beg for it. Don't let his sad looks fool you. He's not starving to death and will do just fine with whatever you give him. He's trying to work you for extra treats & if you give in,you'll be contributing to a downturn in his longterm health. They need WAY less food than what they ask for.

They are piggy eaters also... I started keeping them again recently after a break & I forgot just how much of their food they spit out & don't swallow. They do require more gravel vacuuming than your average tropical fish. No doubt about it.

There are a lot of fish that go well with oscars if you have the space to quell their territorial desires. I keep pike, large pleco, and male convict cichlids in with my oscars (NEVER keep male & female convicts in with oscars... they'll kill the oscar). In the past I have kept jackmax fish with oscars, but they were really evil demons & needed put in their own tank. Oscars do present a bit of a challenge since they produce so much waste, but its not an impossible challenge.

One thing that may make your life easier would be looking into an easy fill system for your tank. I shoot my tank waste out a window to drain it & then just hook up a twisty hose to the kitchen sink. Positioning the tank by a window and getting that hose screw adapter thingy for the sink have made taking care of mine pretty hastle free

Two things that can contribute to their aggressiveness... Temerature: If its too high, they can go super psycho. Keep it to a maximum 76 degrees. Food: if they're eating fish meal & meat products all the time, they're going to be more psycho. Introducing more veggies to their diet can have a calming effect on the fish. Giving them feeders and carnivore foods all the time will reinforce their killer instinct. Feeders are used when the fish is depressed & sulking (laying on his side because he's sad, not ill). At any rate, expect him to be at least a little psycho, and mega territorial for anything that looks like him. Sometimes nature takes over the nurture business & they end up super psycho anyways... attacking everything & thrashing about.

I never understood why pirhanas are so highly regarded killing machines. I really think oscars are much meaner fish.

Answer 7

they are begging for food, and yes they are large aggressive fish. you could try maybe a large bichir or something with it. feed it 4 times a week with pelleted foods, and dont ever feed it feeder fish ever again. it causes the fish to be more agressive and it can lead to disease

Answer 8

buy some guppy feeders and ghost shrimp he will love them brine shrimp as well