Oscar not eating

so my oscar's an't eating they are only baby/juvy age I tried just about every kind of food and can't get them to eat or come to top of the tank. they been in there well over 72hrs so I don't think they can be to scared or they would stay hidden I would n. they look heathy and what not but just won't eat or come to top of tank any ideas?

 

they r just scared still....mine did the same thing for like 2 weeks and now they are hogs....just keep feeding them they will loosen up.

 

yay u finally got ur oscars going to get any tank mates for them?

Peace Out Callum!

 

when all my tanks are set up they will have tanks mates I don't wanna overcrowed them while they are pairing off.

 

fair enoguh r they male and female do u no? and it might be a while before they pair off and by that time they will think the whole tank is their terrtitory so personaly if it were me I wouold add them now and let them grow up together

Peace Out Callum!

 

How big is the tank, and how many oscars do you have in that tank? Oscars are known to sulk when they are not happy.

 

the oscars are eating now they was just spooked I think. they got endless bellys now hehe.

 

That's great. Must be a relief. Watch out for overfeeding, though.

 

Did you try live fishes?

 

Hello there everyone. it has been awhile since I posted a new thread about my oscar. he is doing fine. he is about 7 inches now I'm very happy that I have grown my oscar this much however my oscar haven't been eating his staple diet pellet no more just been spitting back out. I know that he is hungry but just refuses the pellets what should I do?

 

Have you tried him on any different kinds of food?

 

Have you tried him on any different kinds of food?

yes I do feed him other foods. I sometimes feed him mealworms, crickets, earthworms, frozen krills, frozen bloodworm,

 

Ok great! So is he still eating those types of food, just not the pellets?

 

Ok great! So is he still eating those types of food, just not the pellets?

yes he still is.

 

Ok then... I wouldn't be too worried then if I was you

 

I just figured I would ask because this has never happened before to me! But I just bought a baby oscar 3 days ago for my 55 gallon he will be moved to a 125 in,June but I'm letting,hI'm grow a bit first! But anyways he won't eat pellets at all every time I get close to the tank he runs and hides and then,he refuses to come to the surface to eat I have never had an oscar like that before every single one always eats ...

 

If it's not used to the pellets it can take a while for them to accept them. But if it runs and hides it's frightened of you. Are there any dither fish in the tank? Young Oscars on their own can be very timid to start with...

Do you know what it was eating before you got it?

 

It doesn't have any dithers I only got him to grow out in my tank I guess the other ones I have had in the past were always with tank mates to start and I'm pretty sure he was being fed flakes which I won't feed. Its funny when I am on the other side of the room,he swims like crazy like right now he is swimming,up and down in my,bubble wall but as soon as I get close he hides out

 

Try frozen foods. That's usually more enticing. If he's still rejecting everything he may have a parasite altering his appetite.

 

I don't want to try the frozen food though because if he gets used to that trying,to make him eat pellets will be way way harder

I mean he won't even get close to the pellets I don't think,he even,knows they are there...

 

I don't want to try the frozen food though because if he gets used to that trying,to make him eat pellets will be way way harder

What's wrong with that? Most frozen foods are very healthy and having a variety in his diet will help make him healthier as he ages.

 

Well I mean I know it is good but oscars require a staple food which is a pellet I have always used hikarI cichlid gold. They need this 3 to 4 times a week with frozen food or peas 2 times a week. I do this because pellets cover all their nutrional needs I use frozen food as a treat and something to vary their diet. I don't want to get my oscar hooked on frozen food because that's all he will want to eat for life which isn't good.

 

That's not what I meant lol. I meant just try something like mysis shrimp which is known to make stubborn fish eat. If it doesn't work then treat for parasites and you can go back to pellets.

I understand fish need a good staple and variety

 

Oh ok my bad sorry I was confused on what you meant haha

 

Oscars don't need peas, or any other veg. Young Oscars don't like dried foods, especially flakes. A lot of them refuse them point blank. And getting stuck on one food is always reversible. I've found over the years that the best foods for adult Oscars are pellets, cockles, small prawns, earthworms or compost worms, pieces of 'white fish', and insects. A varied diet is more healthy than a diet of just pellets. The best foods for small oscars are the above, and the various frozen foods available (bloodworm, krill, etc). You'll also find that small oscars will eat far more of these meaty foods than they will dried foods, which they usually only eat because they have to.

You really need some large fast dithers to bring it out of its shell (or ideally some more oscars, but that gives you more problems long term).

 

I just stated I believe in a varied diet but they require a staple food and oscars do actually love veggies and peas are very healthy they clean out digestive systems and oscars are omnivores in reality. I could add some silver dollars I suppose I was wanting to get 3 more to go with the 4 I already have for the 125 gallon I will be getting so I guess throwing 3 in wouldn't hurt. I also said I was planning on 3 to 4 days a week with pellets which is what I have always done then blood worms and brine shrimp 2 or 3 days a week is what I generally do I feed peas usually twice a month. I have grown 2 inches to 14 inchea and 2 more to 10 I,ches so I do know about their diets I just was saying I can't get him to eat pellets.

 

7 dollars and an Oscar in a 125 will likely be carnage. Oscars have an 'attack reflex' triggered by light flashing off reflective fish. Young Oscars especially.

They're not omnivores. Their natural diet is strictly animal based ( insects - adults and larvae, fish, crustaceans, worms, etc). Any pieces of plant they eat are grabbed accidentally with prey. They don't require any one food as a staple as long as they're getting a variety of good stuff.

 

silver dollars and oscars are one of the best tank mates actually I have done it as well as 100s of people succesfully look anywhere online and it says silver dollars make excellent tank mates so there's that and look on all of the oscar forum based websites and it says feeding veggies is a good thing and it says they are omnivores every fish is techinaclly an omnivore if you want to get scientifical just saying . any fish in,the wild even a shark is a omnivore since they do eat plankton.... But anyways I was wanting an opinion on how to make my oscar eat pellets not an opinionn what I should feed him or you telling me they can't,be kept,with silver dollars because you are wrong on that IMO.... So if you can tell me,how to get my oscar to take pellets as a staple because that's what I'm choosing to do with him I would appreciate your input until then no thank you.

 

"Every fish is an omnivore". Fish have evolved to fill every niche, which includes all the different diets available to them. There are many different mouth and dentition designs, each well adapted to the particular foods the fish eat. Saying every fish is an omnivore is simply unscientific and not supported by fact.

I try not to blow my own trumpet, but I kept, bred, and pretty much supplied the north of England with tank bred oscars for twenty years. I've read literally thousands of pages about oscars and raised tens of thousands of fry to saleable size, and have raised dozens of oscars into breeding pairs. I've been honestly trying to help you, but you dismiss my advice at every turn. I'm now out of this thread. I hope you enjoy your Oscar, and I hope at some point it becomes a learning experience for you.

I'll add this before I go. Silver dollars are regularly imprisoned in glass boxes with large aggressive cichlids. If you get to know them well you'll realise that they don't have much quality of life in these situations. Dollars are very peaceful, defenceless fish that take fright easily, especially when trapped inside the territories of fish that could potentially kill them at any moment. Yes, lots of people do it, just like lots of people used to keep goldfish in ridiculously small bowls. That doesn't make it right.

 

Well I'm glad you were the amazing oscar breeder good for you. I'm just saying oscars do like peas and cleans out digestive tracts you should know that with 20 years experience just saying and all I wanted was an answer of how to get it to eat pellets not what you do to feed yours I just wanted him to eat pellets like I said a staple diet of pellets 3 to 4 days a week brine shrimp blood worms or crickets 3 days a week and peas twice a month sounds pretty varied and,healthy. So instead of saying,I don't k,ow anything help me,with my question and also silver dollars get rather large they are fast and I'm sure pretty hard to kill at full size and you just said to add a dither fish so what would you suggest giant danios or tiger barbs or something else that will get eaten?

 

they already answered those questions for you. If you choose not to listen, we can't help. Also, don't buy fish that will get eaten if you don't have to. To answer your previous questions I would reread the comments here.

 

I'm done with this forum,then you all treat me like I know nothing about diets all I did was ask how to make him feed eat pellets I didn't ask what diets he needs or to feed frozen,HOW DO I MAKE HIM EAT PELLETS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YOU HAVE MADE ME MAD CONGRATULATIONS

 

I'm sorry you feel that way. We are trying to help as best as we can. I hope there are no hard feelings and I'm sure we can all agree over our love of fish.

 

You didn't help neither did he all he did was say they don't need a staple and lecture me on oscar diet needs and still no one answered on how to make him eat pellets thanks anyway!

 

If I may correct you. He said a varied diet is better, he did not say that they don't need a staple. The reason that alternate foods (shrimp, bloodworms) were suggested, imo, is so that he would get something to eat. You could feed him a treat food with some pellets mixed in. He might eat that.

 

Pretty sure I did give an answer.

I said try mysis, if he rejects it he could have a parasite and that's why he rejects the pellets. Meaning a parasite treatment and he has a better chance at accepting your pellets.

 

My bad you did you were the only one My bad on saying everyone you sir are the greatest the rest of you ✌

 

Geez people. Some posts have been edited.

Josh wants to know one thing. How to get his Oscar to eat pellets.
Have you tried soaking them in garlic juice? I've done that with bettas who refused pellets. Garlic is said to be an appetite enhancer.
Maybe it's the smell. My stomach growls when I cook with it.
Two very different fish but maybe it will work for you.

Josh, some of the members who have added additional info are really just help.

 

josh7

If you want it to eat pellets as a staple, try the best method, in my experience, to get them off a food they're 'stuck' on. This method obviously also gets them onto a different food (ie pellets). Feed it what it Will eat, and feed it till it's literally full and can't eat any more. This will stretch its stomach bigger, and just like humans, after a week or so it will need this much food just to feel 'full', to stop the hunger, yes? Your stomach can stretch a lot or not much, depending on how much food it's used to? But however big it can stretch, when it's full you're not hungry anymore.

Here's what that does after a week or so. As soon it it's full stomach gets less than full it gets hungry again. But now it's got a long way to go before its stomach is empty, so it's going to get hungrier and hungrier, for much longer.

The outcome is, after a while it will eat anything (pellets) to satisfy its much greater hunger.

I would keep feeding it a large amount for another week or so, then you can gradually reduce its stomach stretchiness again by feeding it less each time.

I hope I've explained that clearly because IME it nearly always works.

___

I don't actually have 20 years experience, I have 45. The first 20 were spent mainly with oscars and a tank or two with other fish, but I've had them regularly since. I only mentioned it thinking that you might be a little more inclined to believe what I was saying. I'm sorry for not telling you the method above for getting them to eat pellets, but it will probably not eat as many pellets or flakes as it will the more meaty foods, which is why I was advocating a more varied diet.

At no point in this thread have I told you are even implied that you know nothing. Nor did I tell you that Oscars won't eat peas. You said they need peas and I corrected you. They are not naturally omnivores, they are carnivores. You also said "all fish are omnivores" which is far from true.

As for the dollars, put some in with your young Oscar (how big is it btw?) and watch the scales fly. Dollars are a piece of cake for an Oscar to kill. One bite round the head does it. And I disagree with all of the many thousands around the world who think dollars have a nice calm, relaxed, optimised life in a tank with big cichlids, totally unable to get to a safe distance, ever. In nature dollars will give big cichlids a very wide berth. They're quite a fragile fish, physically and psychologically.

I hope that's redressed the balance somewhat. No hard feelings.

 

You were still rude but thanks for giving me info I can actually use I didn't know about the whole stomach stretching that was a good idea and once again your options on silver dollars are different than mine and you disagree with pretty much any other oscar owner that they are bad tankmates. they seem to be fine I have never had an oscar Chase bite or harass any of mine. Its a 2 inch oscar right now.