Can Oscars eat fruits??

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BC in SK;2495096; said:
Don't even think about fruit or veggies for an oscar:ROFL: yes, they are actually omnivores, but with a very carniverous "tendancy". Pellets are about as close to 'veggies' as they will ever need! Give them MEAT: chopped up human grade frozen whole fish ( ie. sardine, mackeral etc.), chopped up human grade frozen salmon, chopped up uncooked peeled shrimp, chopped up or whole krill from the LFS, live earth worms etc.

You are wrong. You're doing your Oscar a disservice if you feed that sort of stuff and no veggies. In the wild they eat their own share of plant material. A main part of an Oscar's diet is crayfish-which survive themselves on plant material. If you care about giving your Oscar what he needs, you'll make sure 25% of his diet is veggies. They love peas, zuchinni & spirilina wafers (not the same as 'algae wafers' sold in stores). Their health depends on a varied diet.
 
Modest_Man;2495181; said:
True, but think about what is contained in the guts of lots of the animals (I use animals as they eat fish, insects, and crustaceans) oscars would eat in the wild. Most all of the insects and crustaceans feed on plant matter, as do a large part of the food fish, which the "omnivorous" fish will then utilize.

Fishbase also has a good bit on their natural diet here

They eat crayfish, finfish, insects larvae, planktonic invertebrates, benthic algae/weeds (Lemna spp., Echinochloa polystachya, Oryza spp. Paspalum spp.) terrestrial plants (fruits, flowers and seeds), terrestrial insects and worms (non-annelids).

So go ahead and feed them fruits and veggies if they'll eat them, I see no problem with it.


Tom_cullen;2498963; said:
Hey modest man, i live on the southcoast of england Right on the harbour. round the boat docking bays, inside the float tyres live these little salt water shrimp about 1" at the very most. would these be suitable to feed to oscar fish? because they are saltwater I couldn't tell if they could possiblely carry some sort of infection or disease that the oscars unprepared imune system could handle. dont wanna go hurting my little friends. :barf:

BUMP!
can anyone pleaseee answer this question :)
 
Yes,if they will eat it then by all means,they do eat their share of plant material in the wild as stated by Twisted,but please keep in mind-if you don't take out the uneaten fruits and veggies(check under the decor if small pieces)there is a chance for mold to grow in your tank,and on your fish.this can devastate your fish.
 
Tom_cullen;2498963; said:
Hey modest man, i live on the southcoast of england Right on the harbour. round the boat docking bays, inside the float tyres live these little salt water shrimp about 1" at the very most. would these be suitable to feed to oscar fish? because they are saltwater I couldn't tell if they could possiblely carry some sort of infection or disease that the oscars unprepared imune system could handle. dont wanna go hurting my little friends. :barf:

chances are their ghost/grass shrimp. while i dont think taking them from the wild is a good idea, you can usually get them in pet shops or form a vendor here on MFK. not filled with a ton of nutrition, but it is fun to watch large fish catch tiny little shrimp :)

as for feeding other saltwater fish, its fine. ive fed striped bass and bluefish trimmings after fishing to my tank with no ill effects. other people feed tilapia, pollock, among other fish. krill and plankton come fom saltwater too.
 
Tom_cullen;2501843; said:
BUMP!
can anyone pleaseee answer this question :)

Sorry I missed it. It's practically impossible to transmit a disease from crustaceans to fish (or vice versa), so I'd feel fine feeding them one's from the wild. I tend to catch a lot of crayfish out here that hold for a week or so then throw in the tanks.
 
It seems like I may have the most picky oscar known to man. She refused Hikari Staple when she was 2.5" after I raised her with it from 1", moved on to Wardley's Shrimp Pellets, when she outgrew them (too large to feed such a small food to, she still likes them) I switched to TetraCichlid Jumbo Sticks. She would never eat pond pellets, ate fresh fish and shrimp growing up but would not touch it nowadays, ALWAYS loved insects fresh or freeze dried, and recently started taking Hikari Gold. I also feed her plain Cheerios for vitamins and roughage every once in a while which she takes readily but is not as enthusiastic for as other foods, freeze dried krill and tubifex worms are also on the menu. She also refused Hikari Tropical Food Sticks until recently. :screwy:
 
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