By Kimberly Sharpe
The Oscar fish (Astronotus ocellatus) grows up to 16 inches in length when kept in captivity in a large aquarium. A member of the Cichlid family, the Oscar fish lives in the waters of the Amazon where it thrives as a carnivore. In a tank setting, the fish requires a balanced diet to thrive.
It will easily consume flakes, freeze dried and frozen fish foods, but it also enjoys a weekly live food snack. The Oscar will eat anything that it can fit into its mouth with ease. Avoid feeding small feeder fish to your Oscar because feeder fish can often carry diseases from over breeding, poor pet shop handling or stress the fish endure from transport.
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You'll Need ;- Meal worms, crickets or meal beetles & a Fish net
1. Feed a live food snack of meal worms, crickets or meal worm beetles. The insects are easily purchased at most pet supply stores.
2. Drop one or two of the insects into the tank for the Oscar to consume. The fish will quickly swim over and gulp up the live food.
3. Feed only a few insects at a time, depending on the Oscar fish's size. As the Oscar eats, its abdomen becomes gently rounded. Once it has a small round stomach appearance, cease feeding the fish. The Oscar might also eat the food then spit it back out into the water, which is an indication the Oscar is full. Oscars are notorious for overeating and will often become obese if they overfeed frequently.
4. Remove any live food that remains in the tank if the Oscar fish has not eaten it within 15 minutes. Scoop it out using a basic fish net and dispose of the food. If the cricket, meal worm or meal beetle is not already dead from drowning, it will usually soon die from shock. Avoid feeding dead insects to the Oscar fish because they can quickly spoil and make the fish sick.
Tips & Warnings
Never feed reptiles, such as lizards, turtles or small snakes, to an Oscar. They can carry diseases which will make the Oscar sick.
