I'll defer to the experienced O keepers here...wanted to get some krill for my baby O Brick. Currently he can wolf down 1/8" pellets with no problem.
Is Krill too large to feed to a baby oscar?
- Thread starter FINWIN
- Start date
If he can eat it, it shouldn't be too big, and you could always break it up into smaller pieces if it is too big.
A few extracts from a study on the digestive tract and diet of oscars. They have small delicate stomachs which can be damaged if too large an item is eaten.
Hoplias malabaricus, verified that this species has a
siphon-type stomach that can be greatly distended
and in which entire fish were found. This was also
quite different from the stomachs observed in this
study. The not very rigid or muscular structure
and the sacular format, and the absence of gastric
caecae suggest an adaptation for items in the diet
that are small and not very rigid
The stomachs are not muscular, but sacular
and delicate, pointing to a greater importance for
small items, such as insects
Hoplias malabaricus, verified that this species has a
siphon-type stomach that can be greatly distended
and in which entire fish were found. This was also
quite different from the stomachs observed in this
study. The not very rigid or muscular structure
and the sacular format, and the absence of gastric
caecae suggest an adaptation for items in the diet
that are small and not very rigid
The stomachs are not muscular, but sacular
and delicate, pointing to a greater importance for
small items, such as insects
For my baby O, I break large food items up into tiny pieces. Ive also found that krill grinds well in a coffee grinder so i mix that in with the gel food i use. Haven't had issues with these methods thus far and I seem to be getting good growth rates. 6 month old is 6 inches, 2 month old is almost 2 and a half inches. Both feed aggressively.
I'm not sure how old my baby O Brick is...I purchased him on 12/15 at 2 inches. As of today (1/1) he is now 3 inches and eats medium pellets with no problem. I have smaller spirulina pellets but it takes too many to fill him up so I was looking for a better sized protein source. I plan to mix all varieties of medium Hikari size pellets...easier to feed this bottomless pit and my big parrots like them as well.
Thats what I like about gel foods. I can customize them how ever I like, mix in meds easily if needed, and cut to just the right size.