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I have a 6-7 inch Albino Tiger oscar and a single guppy which have been in the same tank for awhile now ( over 2 weeks).....he hasn't even attempted to eat it yet, what gives? Does this mean that feeding live fish is out of the question? *confused*

This can happen a lot with predatory fish. They eat everything besides one feeder. I would reccomend against feeding live feeders to any oscar especially a sub-adult.

So wait untill he is bigger or just not feed live fish at all? I would prefer to be able to feed him live fish every once in awhile......

It's best not to feed your oscar live food at all. There's just to many good alternative choices out there to be needlessly risking the life or health of your fish. Remember if you feed your oscar a feeder fish that has say a parasite,etc. chances are very good the oscar will get the parasite,so is it really worth it in the end.
If you are intent on feeding live food it's best to raise the feeders yourself,so you know their disease free or quarantine the ones you buy for at least a week before giving them to your oscar in order to make sure their ok.
However, in the end your just better off if you don't feed your fish live food.

okay....so I should buy some guppies or if I absolutely have to goldfish, and keep them in a say 10 gal tank for at least a week and then breed them? sounds fun I guess..... but don't guppies eat their own fry?

You aren't going to be able to breed goldies in a 10g, so you'd have to go with the guppies for that option. Also it's going to take longer than a week to get some fry. Yes the parents might eat the babies. Lots of hiding places can help with this.

Somehow I guess I didn't make myself to clear. Sorry. If you buy any feeders at the store to feed to your oscar, make sure that you quarantine them for at least a week to make sure their disase free before you feed them to your oscar not breed them.

If you really want meat in your oscars diet than I strongly suggest going with beef heart and krill. That's what I fed mine in the past and they grew like weeds. Plus you don't have to worry about disease.

I don't think you should be feeding your Oscar beefheart or krill. The fat's in beefheart are not a normal part of an Oscar's diet and they will be hard for your fish to digest. The waste will also turn your water quickly.

I have fed my Oscar's a diet based around quality pellet food, occasional greens (like pea's) and sometimes (once every few months) a goldy or two. I like goldies as they have a bit of speed making them a challenging meal for my O's. My fish have grown very fast... and are currently 11" or so and not showing any sign of letting up on growth yet.

Just base their diet as you would your own - good quality food, regularly but not to much. Only eat high energy foods when you're burning lots of energy. Feeders = high energy food... To much high energy food, and you'll get fat unhealthy fish

I would agree with no beefheart but krill is an excellant food for almost any fish.

Krill is a very nutritious substitute for feeders. Some people condition fish for spawning on krill alone, I have heard. Anyway the krill is healthy and very nutritous for your Oscar and I would choose it over feeders any day.

Feeders = high energy food... To much high energy food, and you'll get fat unhealthy fish

Feeders have almost no nutritional value at all, and are not a "high energy" food at all.

Last edited by Nameless at 30-Jul-2005 14:20

okay.....well my dad told me to feed beef heart as well and sometimes some cooked chicken (unseasoned of course)and guppies just for fun but not too often....... but right now I am feeding flake food and pellets.