I suppose this comes down to nurture and not nature. I've had four three year old oscars for about six months now. The guy who gave them to me moved to San Antonio. The tank was grossly overstocked but they were still peaceful, except when it was feeding time. They were never fed a fish in their lives. I was curious as to whether or not they would take some guppies. I offered them a handful as I would offer them pellets, and nothing. They just kind of stared at the fish then ignored them. Is this behavior strange?
Anyone got oscars that don't eat fish?
- Thread starter Richie_ELP
- Start date
Give them time. They will get bored and eat them eventually most of the time. Mine pounces on anything, but I always shake the massivore first so he's expecting food. Maybe you could remove the guppies and try that? Or just wait.
Some people do have Oscars with smaller community fish, though, so it could go either way.
Some people do have Oscars with smaller community fish, though, so it could go either way.
if feeder fish are your preffered food you could starve the oscars for a day or two as long as they are in good condition this wont harm them. im sure it wouldnt take them long to figure it out.
They are not necessarily my preferred food. I have them breeding in a 20g L for my softshell. I couldn't purposely starve them. I'd feel bad 
My oscar doesn't touch any bite size fish in the tank. If I try to add a new one that is bite size he might eat it.
All oscars are different, and its normal to have a few that wont harm other fish. ( But mine still do)
They take insects eagerly, so i suppose that is good enough. I want to give them a lot of krill to try to bring out the colors a little more.