Feeder tank

[briseymo]

My Oscar is getting to the size where he can start to eat other fish, especially small goldfish. I am think of making a separate tank that has just goldfish in for the sake of feeding Grouch. Is this a lofty goal? Is breeding goldfish easy to do in a 20g? I don't want to do just regular feeders. I know they aren't great quality and can carry disease.

 

[brennae]

HI there, what about guppies? They breed prolifically and then you will have fry of different sizes to feed all the time. I have goldies and have yet to witness them spawn, but guppies can drop 30 to 50 fry every 28 to 30 days. You just need one male and 2 to 3 females and you are set. No eggs to hatch because they are live bearers, and they can take finely crushed flake food so you don't have to buy anything special.

 

[Patty1980]

I just got my first Oscar, a juvenile. All the SA/CA experts on here have told me to literally NEVER feed fish at any point. Apparently, they don't provide the correct nutrition an Oscar requires for one, but also yes, the risk of feeder fish being diseased. I feed (per expert suggestions) NLS 1mm cichlid pellets (3x daily for my baby Oscar) he gets a cricket or two 3 x a week. Then once per week an earthworm (small) and some steamed shelled/mashed peas with some fresh minced garlic. I'm still trying to get him to take fruit as they need extra vitamin C (a work in progress). I also add Boyds Vitachem supplement to his freeze dried krill which he begrudgingly takes once per day. Hope this helps

 

[Brookster123]

If you're going to do it, i agree with guppys... also keeping the staple diet like patty suggests.. all part of a balanced diet..

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[briseymo]

I just got my first Oscar, a juvenile. All the SA/CA experts on here have told me to literally NEVER feed fish at any point. Apparently, they don't provide the correct nutrition an Oscar requires for one, but also yes, the risk of feeder fish being diseased. I feed (per expert suggestions) NLS 1mm cichlid pellets (3x daily for my baby Oscar) he gets a cricket or two 3 x a week. Then once per week an earthworm (small) and some steamed shelled/mashed peas with some fresh minced garlic. I'm still trying to get him to take fruit as they need extra vitamin C (a work in progress). I also add Boyds Vitachem supplement to his freeze dried krill which he begrudgingly takes once per day. Hope this helps

So do they just eat anything? Haha

 

[emerald76]

I'd use guppies or platies.


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[bettaowner]

Ghost shrimp would be a better option but if you must use fish, guppies would be best.


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[ScotJudd]

The one food my Oscar could not resist was earth worms. I also fed him strips of whitebait. However a good quality Oscar pellet should be the base food.
I miss having an Oscar but I don't miss having my tank destroyed.


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[Patty1980]

So do they just eat anything? Haha

Well, they will but they SHOULDN'T. You might get more accurate responses from Oscar experts if you open a thread in the Cichlid section. If you want s healthy Oscar with max lifespan don't feed fish. Not sure why folks have this preoccupation with giving Oscars feeder fish. My 2 cents.

 

[Mebbid]

So do they just eat anything? Haha

Oscars are practically garbage disposals. They will eat nearly everything. However, the problem with that is they develop a fatty liver which will usually kill them at a very early age.

Live fish are one of the things that contributes to the fatty liver. They could be used occasionally, but I definitely wouldn't do it on a regular basis.

 

[Andy Sager]

First off, the question was, I believe, will a 20 gal be big enough to breed goldfish to feed the Oscar. That answer is "NO it isn't." Goldfish produce huge spawns so they need larger quarters to raise the fry.
If this helps, this comes from a page from the Florida Museum of natural History regarding the feeding habits of Oscars in the wild, This was repeated at Cichlid-Forum.com :
The natural diet of oscars consists largely of smaller fishes, crustaceans, gastropods, and aquatic insects or insect larvae. Although oscars are generally sluggish or inactive, they are capable of ambushing and capturing fleeing prey over short distances. Oscars in captivity exhibit voracious, somewhat indiscriminate feeding habits.
( Notice how fish is a part of their natural diet? It should be as well in a tank as PART of a varied diet. What fish you feed is where things come to issue. It is best to breed your own for a number of reasons but mainly so that you can almost guarantee that the fish being eaten where healthy when swallowed. Having a good source of ghost shrimp is also a good idea. )

The following is from Animal world encyclopedia regarding feeding:
The carnivorous Oscar is a hearty and uncomplaining eater. They prefer to be fed a variety of live, meaty foods, but will readily eat pelleted, dead, or frozen food if offered. They grow quite large so they should be fed a high quality pelleted food and large chunk foods such as cut up prawn and earthworms. As they grow larger, they will particularily enjoy live foodstuffs such as goldfish, guppies, and worms.

Meats from warm blooded mammals (e.g. poultry, beef hearts, pork, etc) were once considered a staple in the diet of all large cichlids. However, more recently it has been discovered that due to the high amounts and types of fats and proteins contained in these foods, (which do not occur naturally in a wild cichlid's diet) these foods should not be fed to cichlids. The fats and proteins contained in these foods can cause damage to a cichlid's organs and lead to dangerous intestinal blockages. If you find your fish enjoys these types of foods, be certain to feed them only as an occasional treat, not as a main course.


Hope this helps

 

[Mebbid]

The natural diet of oscars consists largely of smaller fishes, crustaceans, gastropods, and aquatic insects or insect larvae.

Like I said... Garbage Disposals If it can fit in their mouth it's fair game

 

[Patty1980]

I didn't answer the op question about breeding goldfish because I know nothing about it. Nor is it a part of care for an Oscar which I explained. It seemed op was focused on the Oscar not breeding but maybe they can clarify.

 

[Andy Sager]

Like I said... Garbage Disposals If it can fit in their mouth it's fair game

ABSOLUTELY The only reason I bred goldfish for mine was because I had 13 breeding pairs of them at that time and had access to a lot of various foods as well. ( It's good to have family and friends in the pet business. )