How to Feed Live Food to Oscars

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.

How to make Oscar Fish eat Pellets

By Jennifer L. Potts

The Oscar fish is one of the most popular tropical fish. While they usually are eager to eat, Oscar fish sometimes will get into a mood where they are not willing to eat the pellets you are feeding them.

This usually does not mean that there is something wrong with your fish. It just means that you need to figure out why they are acting the way they are in order to get them to continue eating the pellets.

Instructions ;

1. Make sure you are buying fish pellets for fish of the Chichlid variety. Remember that all fish don't eat the same type of food.

2. Match the size of the pellets to the size of your Oscar fish by referring to the label on the food container. Your fish might be not eating because the size of the food is not right for them.

3. Keep food away from your fish for a couple of days. Sometimes all it takes is enough time for them to feel hungry again.

4. Change the type of food you are feeding your Oscar fish for a few days. Oscar fish eat fruit, so rip of pieces of fruit about the same size as the pellets you are feeding, and see if the change in routine gets them back to eating pellets again in a few days.

5. Switch the brand of pellets you are feeding your fish. If your local pet store only carries one brand, consider buying a new brand online.

How to Take Care of an Oscar Fish

By csbea - eHow Contributing Writer

Oscar fish are monster fish with a reputation of not only growing to a huge size, but also some say they have even had their Oscars to let them be petted. They can be a very interesting and beautiful addition to your home aquarium.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You'll Need: Oscar fish & Fish tank

Step 1

Keep your tank the correct temperature. Your tank should remain between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Getting your tank anywhere above 80 degrees can be very harmful to your Oscar, so be sure to buy both a heater and a thermometer.

Step 2

Buy the correct amount of aquarium space. Oscars can grow to sixteen inches which is a huge fish for a home aquarium. Be sure to have at least 40 gallons of water per every Oscar that you have in your aquarium.

Step 3

Keep your tank clean. You need to replace at least 20 percent of your tank water every week to keep your tank clean. Unfortunately the Oscar fish is quite the defecator, so you may also want to invest in a few tank cleaner fish to help with your tank cleaning duties.

Step 4

Feed your Oscars correctly. Oscars seem to love blood worms. If you keep your fish well fed it will also be less likely to attack and bite at any other cichlids you have in your tank. As long as provide your Oscar with a high protein diet, they will grow just fine.

Step 5

Manage with other fish in your tank. Oscars are a cichlid. This means that they are an aggressive and territorial fish. They do get along with some other types of cichlids, but they will need to be raised together in the same tank, or moved into a new tank together where neither has claimed a territory. Remember that for every fish you need to recalculate the tank size needed. You can also invest in bottom dwellers and eels without too much worry about your Oscar beating them up.

Tips & Warnings

1. Oscars are more like a pet than a fish. They require more expensive food, large areas to roam around in and plenty of places to hide. Be sure to daily take care of them to keep your Oscar healthy, strong, and growing.

2. Oscars are aggressive fish. They will pick on and even eat many types of non-aggressive fish.

Recommended read

For a complete guide on oscar fish care & breeding, please download the ebook guide at www.oscarfishsecrets.com