Does an oscar know when to stop eating?

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Libpete

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 8, 2013
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England
I have just bit the bullet and brought in some guppy control in the form of a young oscar, about 2.5-3". I think its a tiger oscar but ill add a picture later for an ID. I was looking to add an African butterfly fish but couldn't find one.

My 60g (UK size so about 75 US?) has become overrun with guppies and there is just too many to take to the LFS. There must be about 80 adults/sub-adults, and just as many fry and smaller fish. The other tank mates are a 6-7" RTBS (he's a big guy), a 6" featherfin catfish and a 13-14" common pleco, so they will be all be fine for now and for adulthood as long as I didnt get an oscar with attitude.

So far he is just cruising around and settling in, not seen him give chase or suck up any guppies, only been an hour though. The tank has lots of driftwood, plants and two filters, the Juwel internal and an an eheim ecco external.

My question is, will this oscar just go on a major killing spree and eat himself to death like that spaghetti man in Se7en or will he just pick off his dinner as he sees fit?

Any advice/opinions are greatly received. Picture will be added soon.
 
Seems as though mine doesn't so I regulate the amount it's gets daily. I feed for slower steady growth too many Oscar owners (fish owners in general) grossly over feed their fish.

Your fish will eat more than it should but it will stop once it can't fit any more in it's mouth. Not the best diet IMO but it is what it is I guess. If you bought it just to eat your guppies what will you feed it once they are all gone? Pellet training will be difacult at that point but they are gluttons so...........
 
You will soon end up with just an O. My son has a guppy tank, we put a senegal bichir within 2 weeks we went from 300+ guppies( including fry) to 6 adult females, one missing 3/4 of her tail, and no babies. I moved the bichir to my geo tank. When i fed live to my centrals one 5" oscar would go through 50+rosies a night along with being fed heavily. Hope you aren't to attached to your guppies.

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Don't expect any guppies to be around in the next day or so. Throwing an O into a peaceful tank with small fish is a great way to end up with a tank that houses a fat O, lol.

Seriously though, I doubt your fish will die from eating guppies as he/she will stop at one point before bursting. Oscars are gluttonous fish but they wont eat themselves to death.
 
Getting those 5 guppies two years ago was the worst thing I could have done. I just been to check on the oscar and already he is sucking down fry from the surface. Its a hard way to do things for me but a cull was my best option I reckon. Ill take a few more of the larger adults to the lfs tomorrow for some store credit but the oscar is free to eat as much as he likes. I see there being two types of fish, one dumb as anything like the goldfish and guppy and the other being pet like with a personality. The latter tend not to eat themselves silly but thought I would check first.

As for what to feed him when they are gone, he will be getting peas in the tank nightly as thats my plecos staple diet so he should like them by them. And he will end up on pellets, it doesnt matter how long it takes him to get hungry enough to accept them, they all do in the end. Also will be feeding him live redworms as thats what I have for my eel who lives in a separate tank.

Will add a pic for an ID in a few hours as the light makes it completely impossible to get one.
 
Heres a quick picture to see what type of oscar he is please. I caught him swallowing a little male guppy in a split second movement but apart from that he just cruises around. The rtbs gives chase when they encounter each other so he will have a strict upbringing. There really is so many guppies and he way to small to get through them all soon. His belly hasnt rounded up any in the 24 hours he has been in there.

t5d8.png

Better pictures of full tank and the guppies will follow eventually.

t5d8.png
 
So he's been in there for about two weeks now, and the guppies are still EVERYWHERE! If he was a bit bigger more would have been eaten im sure. He tries to grab any that swim close to his mouth but he doesn't put much effort into it. Ive seen him swallow one whole and the other night he had a big frilly male tail sticking out of his mouth for ages.

The only thing I dont like is I saw him grab a large female guppy by the belly (too big to eat) and he must have squeezed hard for a second as she died just after that. I dont mind him eating them but wounding them and letting them die is a bit harsh.

Hopefully he will grow a bit soon as he feeds well. He readily eats the flakes I feed the guppies with, and also uses this time to try and grab a guppy while they are distracted. I also feed him and the catfish with frozen krill a couple of times a week which he also loves. I also tried to feed him some garden peas which I feed to my pleco, but he crushed it up and fired it back out in tiny bits. Not impressed with the pea!
 
Okay, there is a noticeable reduction in guppy numbers now.
 
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