Neville

Hey guys, yesterday my friend Tony bought a baby oscar for his 150g (the biggest tank among our friends circle); the oscar is 3.5". The tank is not new, Tony had two 2.5' iridescent shark in it but as the sharks were getting very big he returned them to the store; they were only 3" when he first bought them.
Oscars r one of my all time favorites though I’ve never kept one, now my friend needs some info regarding oscars as it is his first time with oscars. Like,

1. How often should we feed it bloodworms? (once/twice a week or more?)
2. How often should we feed it feeder fish?
3. How can we enhance its growth?
4. Do they need vegetables (Lettuce…..)?
5. What kind of decoration will be perfect?(driftwoods, rocks, snail shells?)

Now the oscar is not taking pellets, he eats it but doesn’t swallow it and spits it out! But he eats tubifex dried worms and he recently ate 2 big platies! May be he doesn’t like pellets. Any suggestion?
The oscar’s behavior is normal and his only companion is a 10” huge common pleco. The oscar is very curious, he patrols the whole tank and keeps looking for food, but he has some white spots only on his pectoral fin, may be it is because of the cold weather, Tony is using heater and the tank is fully cycled. The oscar also yawns (once or twice in an hour, is it normal?) it can also perform mimicry I think; sometimes it lays on its side for a very short time! What is the normal growth rate of oscars? Do they like toys like plastic divers, wheels? Thanks in advance……………

Gunnie

Tell Tony congrats on the new oscar!

1. I'd go easy on the bloodworms and stick with no more than twice a week.
2. You have to be very careful with feeder fish. Many of the feeders you buy at the store or the bait and tackle shop are not very healthy and could carry disease to your oscar if he eats them. You should always quarantine any feeders to make sure they are not sick. Plus, if they are quarantined, that gives you time to feed them quality food, and they will be more nutritious for your oscar.
3. Oscars can grow very quickly (an inch a month) if you feed them a lot of protein. A good quality pellet food like the Omega One cichlid pellets are an excellent staple food. They don't like veggies much, but you can try and trick them a little by making some of your own fish food which usually includes spinach or some other veggies. I think the best way to help them grow and stay healthy, is to start with a good staple food like Omega One or New Life Spectrum, and add things like bloodworms, shrimp, etc. to their diet. Variety helps keep them healthy too.
4. Don't put anything delicate in your tank. It will be destroyed or moved as the oscar gets bigger. They like to arrange their tanks to their liking - not yours. Plants will be uprooted, and gravel may be moved around, so don't get too upset when that happens. And oscars get more aggressive and ornery as they age. His yawning is something mine do also, and I don't think it's anything bad. They lay on their sides when they pout, get bored, or get sick. His home is new to him, and it will take a few days for him to get used to it. He's probably just pouting right now. They are big babies. Mine didn't care for them, but I have read that some oscars like to play with ping pong balls floating on the surface.

Neville

Thank you so much Gunnie, i think this will help Tony a lot, as he is a new Oscar owner and i like the Ping pong ball concept...great idea! Thanks again and Merry Christmas!