I recently ordered 2 longfin Oscars from my LFS, so far I've fed them bloodworms, and guppy's (home bred). they are around 4 inches and very active. I did some dabbling in research for how often your supposed to feed them and whatnot, but I'd rather get information from actual fish hobbyists. my question/s is how often and what's the best food to feed these guys/girls for optimal growth? id rather pay the money for the fish's health and happiness.
what's the BEST food for oscars
- Thread starter Somefinsfishy
- Start date
My two oscars were always fed pellets as a staple with insects and seafood as a treat. Up until they hit 8” I fed them everyday with the exception of Sunday’s. After that I limited it to 3 days a week. Usually 2 days of pellets and one day of insects or seafood. They always enjoyed insects the most (live or frozen) and that’s probably what they are eating most in the wild. Hikari is my favourite brand for large cichlids. Hope this helps, oscars are lots of fun to keep.
If your water change schedule allows you could up the feeding to twice a day until they hit 8” this can help pack on size. Oscars are gluttons and will eat until they explode so it can be hard to tell when they have eaten enough. Generally a good rule of thumb is to stop feeding right when you can see their stomach start to bulge slightly. I have found that they tend to get better at self regulation as they age.
awesome! I'll look into some Hikari foods for the little guys/girls. my nephew has some decently sized Oscars that Hes had for years. so, I ended up grabbing some Aswell. I've gotten 2 of them and they formed a bond very quickly. hoping for male and female. appreciate the fast response Aswell!
Offer your oscars a variety of foods to eat. That is the best diet for them long term. High quality pellets are #1. But insects like crickets, roaches, wax worms, super worms, and baby night crawlers are all beneficial. I also offer freeze dried/frozen krill, and fresh chopped prawn. But if you are truly looking to keep your O healthy and happy for years to come, routine filter maintenance and weekly water changes are a MUST. Because deteriorating water quality is a major cause of illness in these fish down the road.
Hikari Cichlid pellets and Tetra shrimp wafers for pellet food. They try to steal the frozen shirmp, salmon, and talapia I feed my rays, one of them very aggressively.
They are very messy and 1 2many was correct about routine filter maintenance and water changes.
Best of luck and enjoy them for years to come.
They are very messy and 1 2many was correct about routine filter maintenance and water changes.
Best of luck and enjoy them for years to come.
Glad someone finally mentioned nightcrawlers; Oscars love them. We also gave them the occasional slivers of beef heart. And feeder fish fed a healthy portion of spirulina flakes. "Swimming salad".
There have been a number of studies done, that suggest vitamin C is a very important part of a healthy oscars diet.
So if you feed pellets, adding C to them can be very advantageous
And if you must use feeders, or bloodworms, gut loading or soaking them in ascorbic acid, is also helpful.
In nature thye eat snails, insects, aquatic invertebrates and fish.
These is one population know to prefers to eat Cory catfish.
So if you feed pellets, adding C to them can be very advantageous
And if you must use feeders, or bloodworms, gut loading or soaking them in ascorbic acid, is also helpful.
In nature thye eat snails, insects, aquatic invertebrates and fish.
These is one population know to prefers to eat Cory catfish.
The vitamin c requirement in juvenile O's is minimal, as I recall 25 mg per kg. The vast majority of pellet feed, even the low quality formulas, will typically contain 10-20 times that amount, in a stabilized form.
Personally I would never feed feeders, unless bred & raised in my tanks. No Bueno.
Personally I would never feed feeders, unless bred & raised in my tanks. No Bueno.