Safe to feed bloodworms/feeders to oscar?

[novafishy]

Hi guys,

i have one 10" oscar and i would like to vary his diet. is it safe to feed hikari frozen bloodworm cubes to him and also feeders?
i've heard that both bloodworms and feeders have disease inhabitants, and may cause diseases such as hole in the head.

is this true? or would it be safer to feed the bloodworms over the feeders?

thanks!

 

[SoylentGrundy]

parasites do tend to come along with feeders a good deal of the time. If you wanna vary and keep safe, throw some soft-shelled live crickets in or nightcrawlers. I think they'll eat about anything that'll fit in thier mouth though... 8O

 

[spankerbob]

I was giving my oscar live feeders and he developed pop eye, so I then stopped and went for strait dry food. I did try frozen blood worm cubes for a while but they tend to be very messy when they are not all eaten.

 

[TankGirl]

Definitely vary the diet - it is a great way to keep fish healthy. I agree that feeder fish sold at the LFS are kept in sub-par condition and are a great way to introduce illness and parasites into your tank.

You could get yourself a 10-gal and grow your own feeders with guppies or another livebearer. Live blackworms would be very much appreciated, and you just have to rinse them before serving. Store in the 'fridge. There are also lots of different kinds of frozen fare available, that would be very much appreciated.

 

[BASSNMAN]

My oscar loves earth worms. I dig them out of my planters, rinse well. Nothing like fresh food. You can also buy them at Walmart or most places that sell fishing equipment.

 

[hashbaz]

You might try this link.

http://www.timberlinefisheries.com/

 

[BrianNY]

Alot of people think that it's cool to feed live fish, or that they are giving their fish a treat by doing so. IMO anytime you use feeder fish you're putting the health of your tank at risk. It isn't just from the parasites these fish might be carrying, but also from the increased waste production.

 

[novafishy]

thanks for the replies guys, i will definitely look into feeding a more varied diet, but hopefully no feeders will be in it. i tend not to be abig fan of feeders.
thanks again!