Oscar question.

[OMGjimmySaidd]

My oscar is about 4-5 inches from head to tail. What kind of food can i feed my oscar to kinda like train it to jump out of the water to get the food out of my hand. Cause my oscar been jumping at my hand already when im feeding him, so i kinda wanna turn it into a trick. ahahas ^^;;
Also another question is;
When can I start my oscar's diet on live crickets?
Please help. Thank you !!

 

[bob965]

I wouldn't encourage your oscar to jump out of the water. It's cute when they're small, but it could be disastrous. If a full grown oscar is conditioned to jump for his food, he could easily mistake a speck on the lid for a piece of food when nobody is home, smash through the lid, and be curled up and crusty on the floor by the time you get home. I occasionally hand feed mine, but I always do it below the waterline. Worms are good for this purpose.

 

[Jason_S]

it would be a cool trick but could lead to disaster. I would think at 4-5" he could go ahead and start taking crickets now...just make sure the ones you get are small enough for him to get into his mouth. some lfs sell crickets in multiple sizes so you may need to find one that sells smaller size until he puts on a little more size.

 

[OMGjimmySaidd]

OK thanks for your feedback it helped alot.
I would stop trying 2 get my O to jump out of the water for its food ;o.

 

[knicks791]

Don't crickets carry diseases?

 

[knifegill]

Now if you are a resourceful fellow, you could build a special sloped rim around a big tank so when he jumps and (if) he hits the wall he'll slide back into the water. Just throwing that out there.

 

[knifegill]

Don't crickets carry diseases?

Not commonly, and not that affect fish as far as I know. Crickets are regarded as very safe by most.