My Oscar's Eating???? i need Help

[Mjnorcal922]

well this morning i got up at like 8 and went to feed my new oscar and i gave him one pellet he didnt want it so i took it out and 15 minutes later i put another one in and he ate it so i put a second one in and he ate it then a little bit later he ate another but now he is going around eating on the cucumber and trying to eat off the gravel. What do i do? is 3 small pellets a day enough???

 

[aakaakaak]

People will want to know how big is small, in measurements.

I don't really know much about anything cichlid related.

 

[Newman]

imagine that the oscar's stoumach is as big as its eye (which is true for betta but probably a bit off for oscars) so feed it no more than the size of maybe 1.5x or 2x its eye size. I say feed him twice a day, that amount.

of course this is all guess work. it would be better to know the size of the pellet being fed and the size of the fish too.

 

[Mjnorcal922]

pets mart told me that hes so small to feed him once a day and they feed there fish in the morning so thats what im gonna do ima just feed him 2-3 pellets a day

 

[Newman]

feed him twice a day. the reason being is that he is so small. 2-3 pellets sounds right. he may pick all over the tank for food, but thats normal. most fish are hungry unless theyre sick or dead.

 

[Mjnorcal922]

You sure? lol i dont want him to grow too fast

 

[Newman]

yes 2 times a day should keep him healthy. think of him as a teenage kid. he has already passed his baby age (fry stage) and now he needs a lot of food to grow up properly, w/o malnutrition issues.

also dont just feed him that one kind of pellet. use it as a staple diet if you will, but try to mix his diet up with w/e veggies he likes (safe veggies like romaine lettuce, spinach, zucchini, etc). frozen foods are nice to feed too. idk maybe something like bloodworms. as he grows maybe begin feeding him frozen krill or beefheart cubes. he will like those.

what kind of pellets are you feeding him again? a good quality pellet food is Hikari cichlid bio-gold pellet.

 

[Mjnorcal922]

Well i have Cucumber in there and has been in there all day thats why i wasnt gonna feed him a second time today

 

[Newman]

only leave vegetables in the tank for a max of one day (including night cuz plecos feed at night mostly).
start tomorrow then.

 

[aakaakaak]

only leave vegetables in the tank for a max of one day (including night cuz plecos feed at night mostly).
start tomorrow then.

^---He just solved your pleco not eating problem too.

 

[Mjnorcal922]

Thanks Everybody ^^

 

[Mjnorcal922]

only leave vegetables in the tank for a max of one day (including night cuz plecos feed at night mostly).
start tomorrow then.

^---He just solved your pleco not eating problem too.

Ok well what i just did is i took this piece of cucumber and i cut off all the seeds and i went and got some fishing line and tied it around the no fishing decor sign i have and then tied it around the piece of cucumber...Does this look like it will work for the pleco??

 

[bassbonediva]

If it's off the gravel, the pleco probably won't touch it. I'd anchor it closer to the gravel, if it was me.

 

[Mjnorcal922]

If it's off the gravel, the pleco probably won't touch it. I'd anchor it closer to the gravel, if it was me.

ok i did that and i did somthing new! check this out lol also i tossed a little slice extra 4 the oscar its floating on top ^^ i dont think you can see it in the pic

 

[Newman]

has the pleco eaten anything since you got him?
all this looks like it should work btw.

 

[bmoraski]

If it's off the gravel, the pleco probably won't touch it. I'd anchor it closer to the gravel, if it was me.

it makes it easier for your pleco if its anchored. although ive seen my pleco dance with a piece of zuccini floating around the tank, its pretty funny. ill have to try and get a video of it. lol
as far as feeding your oscar, be careful to, not overfeed.

 

[Mjnorcal922]

My Pleco hasnt ate the cucumber at all, idk why but he might of when i was asleep but the cucumber looks the same as when i put it in.
i Feed the oscar 2 Pellets in the morning and 2 at night so like at 7 am and 10pm thats right before i leave and right when i goto bed

 

[brian1973]

Oscars are funny creatures, once they get older they will let you know when they are hungry and unlike most fish they dont, in my experience, eat to the point of stuffing themselves. I feed mine once a day but feed the amount on what he "tells" me, if I pick up the bag and he swims up to the top I feed him, I also feed him based on how active he is when he comes up, if he is very excited I feed him more, if he comes up but doesnt act to interested I feed him less. I have never used any exact number of pellets and it has worked for me through the years. What is fascinating is he will recognize the Hikari cichlid pellet bag, if I pick up the algae wafers for the pleco he will ignore it but when I pick up his food he comes up to the top. They will also get upset and sulk at the bottom of the tank for a few hours. One word of warning, stay away from store bought feeder fish, they tend to carry diseases and parasites that can be transferred to the Oscar. I have tried many different food items and the only thing mine will eat is hikari cichlid gold floating pellets and frozen brine shimp/blood worms (not thawed), even when offered live feeder fish, that I bred and raised, he ignored them totally.

Also I am not going to preach about it since yours is still small and I dont know what size your tank is but a single oscar will require a 55G tank minimum.

 

[Mjnorcal922]

Oscars are funny creatures, once they get older they will let you know when they are hungry and unlike most fish they dont, in my experience, eat to the point of stuffing themselves. I feed mine once a day but feed the amount on what he "tells" me, if I pick up the bag and he swims up to the top I feed him, I also feed him based on how active he is when he comes up, if he is very excited I feed him more, if he comes up but doesnt act to interested I feed him less. I have never used any exact number of pellets and it has worked for me through the years. What is fascinating is he will recognize the Hikari cichlid pellet bag, if I pick up the algae wafers for the pleco he will ignore it but when I pick up his food he comes up to the top. They will also get upset and sulk at the bottom of the tank for a few hours. One word of warning, stay away from store bought feeder fish, they tend to carry diseases and parasites that can be transferred to the Oscar. I have tried many different food items and the only thing mine will eat is hikari cichlid gold floating pellets and frozen brine shimp/blood worms (not thawed), even when offered live feeder fish, that I bred and raised, he ignored them totally.

Also I am not going to preach about it since yours is still small and I dont know what size your tank is but a single oscar will require a 55G tank minimum.

Yes i am going to get a 55 gallon tank when he gets bigger. I mean because ill have no choice a really nice 55 gallon tank runs like 100-200 bucks on craigslist all the time there is like 5 on there right now where im at and thats the full setup like you know the filter,heater,lid, light and stand plus some decor/gravel but im gonna wait for christmas or when get a job to get the bigger tank

 

[aakaakaak]

Your pleco should be cool with eating algae wafers if he's not too keen on cucumbers. You might try peas, carrots of zucchini as well.