Best food for baby oscar fish
9 Best Foods for Oscar Fish in 2022 - Reviews & Top Picks
There are plenty of great brands of Oscar fish food, and the one right for you is largely dependent on your Oscar and what type of food they like to eat. Most like floating food, but some rather pick it up off the floor. Your fish may also prefer flakes or pellets.
We’ve chosen nine different brands Oscar fish food to review for you so you can see the difference between each brand. We’ve also included a short buyer’s guide where we help you understand a little bit more about what Oscar fish like to eat and how you can enhance their color.
Join us while we discuss ingredients style floating or sinking and cloudy water to help you make an educated purchase. Here is our list of nine Oscar fish foods.
A Quick Glance at Our Favorites (2022)
| Image | Product | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Overall | Tetra Cichlid Jumbo | | Check Price | |
| Best Value | Wardley Shrimp Formula | | Check Price | |
| Premium Choice | Hikari Tropical | | Check Price | |
| Hikari | | Check Price | ||
| Fluker's River Shrimp | | Check Price |
The 9 Best Foods for Oscar Fish
1.
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Tetra Cichlid Jumbo Sticks Fish Food is our pick for the best overall food for Oscar fish. This brand is a great alternative to feeding your Oscar live fish. It’s constructed from dried krill and shrimp and fortified with vitamin C. It also contains natural chemicals that promote color enhancement. This type of food floats, so it’s more like the food in their natural habitat.
The only real downside to Tetra Cichlid Jumbo Sticks Fish Food is that if your fish don’t eat it quickly, it can cloud the water. However we think this is the best food for Oscar fish available.
- Dried krill and shrimp
- Fortified with vitamin C
- Contains natural chemicals that promote color enhancement
- Float
- Can cloud water
2. Wardley Shrimp Pellets Formula Fish Food – Best Value
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Wardley Shrimp Pellets Formula Fish Food is there a pick for the best food for Oscar fish for the money.
It contains high-quality, nutritious ingredients including shrimp, fish oil, and wheat flour. Vitamin C and other antioxidants help build a strong immune system to prevent disease and infection. It also helps maintain clear water by breaking down cleanly and doesn’t form a cloud.
The downside to Wardley Shrimp Pellets Formula Fish Food is that it breaks down very quickly, and it’s a sinking food so it can leave quite a mess on the tank floor if you don’t have bottom feeders to clean it up. With that being said, we believe this is the best food for Oscar fish for the money today.
- Nutritious ingredients including shrimp
- Vitamin C and antioxidants
- Helps maintain clear water
- Breaks down quickly
3. Hikari Tropical Food Sticks – Premium Choice
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Hikari Tropical Food Sticks Is there a premium choice food for Oscar fish. This food contains plenty of carotenoids for bright, rich colors.
Its ingredients supply a balanced diet for carnivores, and stabilized vitamin C helps boost the immune system and help ward off infection. It also helps promote faster growth. This food is a floating stick about ½-inch long and provides a natural feeding environment for your carnivore fish that usually to picks flies and other bugs off the surface.
If your fish don’t eat the Hikari Tropical Food Sticks fast enough, they do absorb water and sink to the bottom where they can breakdown and cause some cloud in the water. We also found that about one out of four of our Oscar fish didn’t care for this food.
- Carotenoids
- Balanced for carnivores
- Stabilized vitamin C
- Promotes growth
- Floats
- Some fish won’t eat them
4. Hikari Fish Food
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Hikari Fish Food Is a brand it contains floating pellets designed to keep your water clear. The pellets are high in beta carotene and will Promote brighter colors in your fish.
Stabilized vitamin C will help boost your fish’s immune system and promote longer, healthier life.
The primary downside to Hikari Fish Food is that it dissolves quickly, and once it does, the food begins to sink. While it doesn’t cloud the water, it does allow a lot of particles to float around and can make a mess on the bottom of the tank if you feed more pellets than your fish will eat. Another thing we noticed about this brand is that it no longer uses whole fish, and instead uses fish meal, which is a lower-quality ingredient.
- Floating pellets
- Doesn’t cloud water
- High in beta carotene
- Stabilized vitamin C
- Promotes long life
- Dissolve quickly
- No longer uses whole fish
5. Fluker’s Freeze-Dried River Shrimp
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Fluker’s Freeze-Dried River Shrimp Features only 100% natural freeze-dried river shrimp. There are no chemical preservatives or extra ingredients.
These impressively large treats are very high in protein and amino acids, nutrients that will promote rapid, healthy growth.
Unfortunately, it’s not a balanced meal and doesn’t provide many of the vitamins and minerals required for a strong, healthy Oscar. You will need to supplement this food with other brands to supply the necessary nutrition. Some smaller Oscar fish may have some difficulty with the tough skin on these shrimps, and they have a very bad odor. If you feed your Oscar Fluker’s Freeze-Dried River Shrimp regularly, your tank will also begin to smell like the food.
- High in protein and amino acids
- Single-ingredient
- Not a balanced meal
- Can cause your tank to have an odor
6. Aqueon Cichlid Food Pellets
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Aqueon Cichlid Food Pellets Is the unique brand of slow-sinking pellets. In our experience, what they mean by slow sinking is that some continue floating, some hover in the middle, and some will sink to the bottom.
This food delivers balanced nutrition that contains krill and squid for optimal protein intake. There are no artificial colors or preservatives in this brand.
Aqueon Cichlid Food Pellets do have a terrible smell, however, and you’ll find yourself trying to close the package very tightly. We felt that the pallets were kind of small, and we’re only about half the size of a standard pallet. We also noticed that several of our Oscars wouldn’t eat this brand.
- Slow sinking food
- Balance nutrition
- Contains krill and squid
- No artificial colors or preservatives
- Bad smell
- Some fish don’t like it
- Small pellets
7. Fluval Bug Bites Pellets for Cichlids
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Fluval Bug Bites Pellets for Cichlids Contain 40% black soldier fly larvae, which is extremely high in protein and easy for your Oscar to digest. These pellets also contain Omega fatty acids, which help with numerous internal functions.
This brand is processed in small batches to ensure quality control.
We found Fluval Bug Bites Pellets for Cichlids to have a very bad odor, and some of our Oscar fish did not like it. We also felt that it created cloudy water in two ways. First, the pellets break down quickly and leave some cloud in the water. The breakdown also leaves a film on the surface of some objects. Second, we thought our fish produced more waste while eating this food, which also leads to cloudy water.
- 40% black soldier fly larvae
- High in protein
- Contains Omega fatty acids
- Processed in small batches
- Bad odor
- Clouds water
- Some fish don’t like
8. HBH Pisces Pros Oscar Bites Color Fish Food
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HBH Pisces Pros Oscar Bites Color Fish Food provides the nutrients required for rapid growth as well as color enhancement. Floating food that will tap into your Oscar’s instinct to pull food from the water surface.
The problem with HBH Pisces Pros Oscar Bites Color Fish Food is that the ingredient quality is not very high, and there’s no whole fish. The pellets are also extremely small and better for small fish like a Beta, but it can work well while your Oscar is still small.
- Food for growth and color
- Ingredient quality not very high
- Pellets too small for bigger fish
9. TetraCichlid Floating Cichlid Sticks
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TetraCichlid Floating Cichlid Sticks Or floating sticks that encourage your Oscars instincts to feed on the surface. This food is high in protein and nutritionally balanced for rapid, healthy growth. It also contains ingredients to help enhance the color of your Oscar. Biotin helps maintain a healthy metabolism.
What we didn’t like about TetraCichlid Floating Cichlid Sticks was that it doesn’t contain any whole fish ingredients and is all fish meal. It also has a terrible smell. This food also breaks down quickly if your fish don’t eat it right up, and as they eat, the food breaks apart in small pieces, which can be very messy.
- High in protein
- Nutritionally balanced
- Enhances color
- Contains biotin
- No whole fish
- Smells bad
- Clouds water
- Messy
Buyer’s Guide – Choosing the Best Foods for Oscar Fish
Let’s discuss some of the important things to consider before power-purchasing food for Oscar fish.
DietOscar fish are omnivores, which means they need meat as well as a vegetable to survive. In the wild, Oscars eat mostly insects, crustaceans like shrimp, and water plants, so they are the primary ingredients you want to look for in your food.
High-quality cichlid flakes and pellets are the best foods to feed your Oscar. These pellets should be high in protein, and when possible, be available in different sizes to match the size of your Oscar.
PelletsWhile some Oscars like flakes, the vast majority will eat pellets. There are three types of pellets available, floating, sinking, and slow sinking.
Floating pellets stay at the surface and is the way most Oscars prefer to eat. It taps into their instinct to eat flies and mosquitoes from the surface of the water. Floating pellets can be easier to clean because you can use a net to pick up any extra.
Sinking pellets quickly sink to the bottom and rest so your Oscar can pick them up and eat them. Many Oscars may like to eat from the bottom, but this type of pellet can make a mess as it breaks down and sinks into the sand or gravel.
Slowly sinking pellets are a combination of the two and are suitable for aquariums with multiple fish. Floating pellets are slowly sinking pellets because if left in the tank long enough, they will sink.
One thing you need to look for on a case-by-case basis is how cloudy the pellets make your water. While all pellets break up, some do so much more cleanly than others.
Live FoodBesides high-quality pellets, you can also feed your Oscar the following types of live food for a treat.
Live food is the most nutritious, but it can also carry harmful bacteria that can transfer to your fish or the water in your aquarium. Too much life food can cause your Oscar should no longer eat pellets.
- Blackworms
- Bloodworms
- Crickets,
- Earthworms
- Flies
- Grasshoppers
- Mealworms
- Waxworms
You can also feed your Oscar, several fruits and vegetables from time to time. It’s important to blanch your fruits and vegetables first before adding them to the tank if you were feeding fruit with seeds, you will also need to make sure to remove all seeds before placing it in the water.
- Apple
- Banana
- Carrots
- Cucumber
- Green peas
- Lettuce
- Spinach
Ingredients including Carotenoids, Beta carotene, and Astaxanthin Can help enhance and boost the color of your Oscar fish.
These ingredients can be a fortification, and you can find them in river shrimp, Skrill, and green peas.
Conclusion
While every fish has a different taste, and yours may differ, we highly recommend our choice for the best overall. Tetra Cichlid Jumbo Sticks Fish Food contains whole fish and plenty of vitamins and minerals that will help your Oscar stay healthy. It will also help improve the color of your fish, and its floating style taps into its basic feeding instincts. Wardley Shrimp Formula Is another great choice and comes at a bargain price. This food also contains high-quality ingredients and provides antioxidants to boost your Oscar’s immune system.
We hope that you have enjoyed reading over our buyer’s guide. If we have helped you choose a fish food please share these nine best foods for Oscar fish on Facebook and Twitter.
- You may also want to read: 4 Best Tank Mates for Red Devil Cichlids (Compatibility Guide)
Featured Image Credit: Samarth Singhai, Pexels
The 4 Best Foods For Oscar Fish
| Best for | Product |
|---|---|
| Best Overall | Tetra JumboMin Large Sticks |
| Best for Affordability | Aqueon Medium Cichlid Pellet Fish Food |
| Best for Color Enhancement | Aqueon Cichlid Food Color-Enhancing Pellets |
| Best Protein-based Food | Omega One Freeze Dried Shrimp |
Introduction
Oscars are a popular species of freshwater fish from the cichlid family and originate from South America.
These fish should have a similar diet to the one they will have in the wild if you want to provide them with the optimal nutrition to keep them healthy. Without a proper diet, your Oscar fish will not be able to grow and thrive properly.
The Oscar fish is a carnivore and preys on catfish, fallen fruit, shrimp, and crawfish in the wild. The majority of these foods can be replicated in captivity where you can find either freeze-dried, frozen, or live foods to feed your Oscar. If you are looking for a staple pellet food for your Oscar, then you want to look for ones that have been specifically formulated with an Oscar fish’s dietary needs in mind.
Product reviews
1. Best Overall: Tetra JumboMin Large Sticks
The best overall food for Oscar fish in this review is the Tetra JumboMin large sticks. This food consists of large sticks with a similar texture to pellets that can easily be eaten by large fish such as the Oscar.
It is a high-protein-based and balanced fish food that is a great alternative to live foods as it is formulated with shrimp and krill.
We have found that this food can be fed to Oscars without the need for supplements because it contains a blend of vitamins, minerals, and high-quality ingredients to support an Oscar fish’s immune system to help keep them healthy.
These large sticks are suitable for medium to fully grown Oscars and the sticks do not cloud the aquarium’s water when fed in appropriate portions to the fish.
Best Overall
Tetra JumboMin Large Sticks
- High-protein-based and balanced fish food
- No need for supplements due to its balanced nutritional profile
- Sticks don't cloud the aquarium's water
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2. Best for Affordability: Aqueon Cichlid Food
The Aqueon cichlid fish food is the best for affordability because you get a large bag of high-quality fish food for an affordable price, so if you are on a budget, this is a great food to check out. This food comes in a granule form, which is quite small for Oscars, however, you can feed slightly more to make up for the food’s small size.
It contains protein-based ingredients such as shrimp and squid meal as the first few ingredients and these foods can help support your Oscars immune system while providing them with essential vitamins and minerals to support their coloration and growth. We have found that this food does not cloud the water easily like many other types of fish foods, which can help keep the water quality good.
Best for Affordability
3. Best for Color Enhancement: Aqueon Cichlid Food Color-Enhancing Pellets
This is a protein-rich cichlid fish food that has ingredients that not only encourage your Oscar to eat the pellets but are also formulated to support your fish’s immune system and bring out their true colors which can be dulled by the wrong foods and stress. This fish food has color-boosting ingredients that help enhance a fish’s bright coloration and help them maintain its vibrant coloration.
These pellets are small in size and will not water easily if it is fed correctly.
The pellets are high in protein from fish and shrimp meal, along with a variety of vitamins and minerals that help Oscar fish to grow to their full size while enhancing their colors.
Best for Color Enhancement
4. Best Protein-based Food: Omega One Freeze Dried Shrimp
The Omega One freeze-dried shrimp food is made from high-quality white shrimp that are not only high in protein at 60%, but also contain a variety of vitamins and minerals. This is a safer alternative to live foods because the freeze-dried shrimp have undergone a process that helps prevent the risk of carrying diseases and parasites that could affect your Oscar fish.
This is not considered to be a staple fish food, so it should be fed alongside a pelleted food that contains a range of different ingredients as this is only freeze-dried shrimp. The food does not shrink and can be broken up into pieces if you are wanting to feed young Oscar fish. The shrimp do not easily cloud the water or dissolve and can easily be gulped up by adult Oscar fish.
Best Protein-based Food
Omega One Freeze Dried Shrimp
- Made of freeze-dried shrimp
- Should be fed alongside a pelleted food that contains a range of different ingredients
- Shrimp do not easily cloud the water or dissolve and can easily be gulped up by adult Oscar fish
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How To Choose The Right Food For Oscar Fish
Before choosing a food for your Oscar fish, it is important to consider these three factors:
IngredientsOscar fish are obligated carnivores which means that they will eat a variety of live foods in the wild that they prey upon. In the wild and in captivity, Oscars will eat freshwater fish, shrimp, and other crustaceans that they come across. When it comes to choosing a suitable food for your Oscar, you need to look for one that has a high protein content ideally over 40%. The food should contain animal-based proteins as one of the main ingredients, which usually include fish meal and shrimp.
Vitamins and minerals are also necessary when choosing a staple food for your Oscar.
The price of the food is important if you plan to feed your Oscar that specific food for a while. Most Oscar fish foods are fairly priced, and the price of the food will vary depending on where you purchase it from. The volume of food in the bag and the quality of the food will affect the price. It is better to purchase a medium or large-size bag of fish food with good quality ingredients that will last you a long time for a slightly higher price than it is to purchase lower-quality foods.
Food SizeThe size of the food you are feeding to your Oscar fish should be considered because Oscars grow quite large and have big mouths that enables them to eat other fish. Small foods such as mini pellets and granules may be difficult for your Oscar to eat, and you may need to feed them for small-sized foods to ensure they are eating enough in comparison to foods that are large and designed for big fish like Oscars.
How To Feed Oscar Fish
Like all fish, Oscars should be fed a teaspoon of pellets, granules, or large-dried or frozen foods at least twice a day. Ideally during the morning and evening. The amount of food you feed your Oscar will depend on their size, age, and the type of food you are feeding them.
Some Oscar fish owners prefer to feed their fish a staple food such as a pellet in the morning, and then feed them live or freeze-dried worms or shrimp during the next feeding to ensure that their Oscar is getting enough protein. Oscars are not too picky about whether their food floats or sinks, so you can just place their food at the top of the aquarium and let them swim up to eat it.
The Different Types Of Oscar Fish Foods: Pros and Cons Compared
- Pellets: This is the most common and high-recommended staple food to feed Oscars. All the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals your fish needs in compacted into a uniform pellet.
- Granules: This is a very small version of pelleted foods and has a round appearance with varying colors.
It is better suited for small Oscars that have not grown to their full size yet. - Flakes: Arguably the most accessible and cheapest option of fish food, flakes come in different shapes and sizes. The only issue with flake foods is that they can be considered low-quality, and the flakes easily dissolve in the water before your fish has a chance to eat it.
- Live foods: Live foods such as baby brine shrimp, worms, shrimp, or even small feeder fish can be purchased to encourage your Oscar to prey on live food like they would in the wild. It can be bought from a pet store, but the live foods need to be stored in the appropriate environment.
- Freeze-dried foods: This includes freeze-dried shrimp, tubifex worms, and bloodworms that have no moisture content and can be stored for long periods of time because they are fully dry.
- Frozen foods: Similar to live foods, frozen foods are deceased and stored in a freezer.
These foods can include small feeder fish, shrimp, and worms, and the moisture and meaty parts of these foods are retained.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each type of Oscar fish food:
Pellets
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Affordable | Can be low in protein |
| Rich in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals for Oscar fish | |
| Easy to store and feed to your fish |
Granules
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Contains a blend of nutrients | Too small for large Oscar fish |
| Easy to store | |
| Ideal for Oscar fry (young fish) |
Flakes
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easily accessible | Dissolves quickly in water which can cause cloudiness |
| Affordable | Some nutrients may be lost once the flake starts to dissolve in the water |
| Easy to store |
Live Foods
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A natural way of feeding | Need to be kept alive in suitable conditions for the next feeding or they will die off |
| Resembles how the fish would eat in the wild | It May contain parasites and bacteria that can affect your fish |
| High in protein |
Freeze-dried Foods
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to store | Should not be fed as a staple food |
| High in protein, vitamins, and minerals | |
| Easily accessible |
Frozen Foods
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easier to store than live foods with the same nutritional value | It will need to be stored in a freezer |
| High in protein | |
| A safer alternative to live foods |
| Best for | Product |
|---|---|
| Best Overall | Tetra JumboMin Large Sticks |
| Best for Affordability | Aqueon Medium Cichlid Pellet Fish Food |
| Best for Color Enhancement | Aqueon Cichlid Food Color-Enhancing Pellets |
| Best Protein-based Food | Omega One Freeze Dried Shrimp |
care, maintenance, reproduction, compatibility, food, photo review
Large South American cichlids - astronotus - have long been favorites of aquarists around the world.
It is difficult not to express my recognition to these giants, in whose eyes real intelligence is clearly felt. Despite the fact that even the natural coloration of these fish is quite attractive, breeders do not stop, and now several color forms can be found on sale, one of which we will discuss in our article.
Table of contents
General information
Astronotus red, or red Oscar cichlid (Astronotus ocellatus var. "Red") is a breeding form of the well-known cichlid - eyed astronotus. A distinctive feature of the breed is the predominance of red-orange in color, which is evenly distributed throughout the body, does not form lines and spots.
The Thai fish farmer Charoen Pattabongzh is considered to be the creator of this variety.
The predominance of red in color makes the Astronotus very attractive. The care and maintenance of the red Oscar is no different from caring for its natural counterpart. You will need a large capacity container with a good filtration system and a minimum of decorations.
They contain astronotus, as a rule, in species aquariums, and only fish close in size are suitable as neighbors.
In the sale of red Astronotus most often can be found in the size of about 3-5 cm, but it is important to remember that they grow very quickly, and their content with medium-sized neighbors is fraught with the disappearance of the latter.
Like their natural ancestors, red oscars are highly intelligent: they are able to recognize their owner and easily learn to take food from the hands, and also allow themselves to be stroked.
Appearance
Astronotus red is a very large cichlid. If nothing restricts growth, then the length of his body will easily overcome the mark of 40 cm. It is not for nothing that astronotus are an important object of sport fishing in their natural habitats. But when kept at home, the size of the fish in most cases is more modest - 25-30 cm.
All external signs of the red oscar immediately give us a real predator.
The body is oval, with a pointed head and large eyes. The mouth is terminal with fleshy lips; on close examination, small teeth can be seen. The anal and dorsal fin are practically connected to the caudal. This streamlined body shape allows the cichlid to accelerate sharply to overtake its prey.
The predominant body color is red-orange. The head and extreme parts of the fins may remain black. There is no characteristic rounded spot at the base (a typical sign of the natural form).
Astronotuses in suitable conditions please their owners for a long time, because they are able to live for about 15 years.
Habitat
Red Astronotus is a breeding form, therefore it is found only in amateur aquariums. The unusual coloration would probably not have contributed to the survival of the cichlids in the wild. The historical ancestral home of Astronotus is the tropical rivers of South America: the Rio Negro, Paraguay, Parana and the Amazon basin as a whole.
Care and maintenance
If you want to have red oscars, then immediately count on installing an aquarium from 200 liters per pair of fish. In the case of living together with other species, aquariums from 400 liters are best suited. Be sure to include a lid that will prevent the cichlids from accidentally jumping out and splashing water. The fish are settled most often in pairs, but having a suitable volume, you can also think about group keeping.
The most suitable soil for astronotus is sand or large pebbles. Like many other cichlids, they love to dig up the ground. For the same reason, it is difficult to keep living plants in the same aquarium with red oscars - everything that is not eaten will be torn out. Therefore, when planning a design, a small number of large decorations (stones, natural snags, ceramic grottoes) and plastic plants are most often used. It is very important that the decorations are firmly fixed, because red astronotuses are incredibly strong and playful fish, by negligence they can drop decor elements, which, in a bad scenario, can lead to cracks in the glass.
Fish as large as Red Astronotus have a good appetite and create a large biological load. Therefore, the presence of a productive filter is very important. It is best to opt for a quality external filter. You will also need a powerful compressor, such as Tetra APS, and a thermostat to maintain a comfortable temperature.
To remove metabolic products, it is necessary to replace 20% of the water with fresh water weekly. Don't forget to treat your tap water with Tetra AquaSafe Conditioner. It will remove chlorine compounds and heavy metals that are dangerous for your pets, and the vitamins and natural colloids included in the composition will help reduce stress and take care of the mucous membranes of the fish.
Optimal water parameters for maintenance: Т=22-30°С, pH=6.4-7.6, GH=6-20.
Compatibility
Red Astronotus cannot be mixed with small tropical fish.
Sooner or later they will become "live food" for cichlids. Therefore, it is necessary to select only commensurate types of fish for neighbors. The Oscars most often treat them without much aggression, especially if they grew up together from a young age. Although some individuals are particularly quarrelsome, in this case they have to be kept alone.
Suitable neighbors include arowanas, black pacus, red hybrid parrots, managuan and other large cichlasos, as well as popular catfish: plecostomuses or pterygoplichts.
Red Astronotus in the general aquariumFeeding Red Astronotus
Red Astronotus are real predators, so their diet should contain a large amount of high-quality animal proteins.
Unfortunately, there is an opinion that these cichlids can be fed warm-blooded meat, earthworms and even dry cat food. Unfortunately, such a diet will not benefit the Red Oscars. This is due to the lack of enzymes for the digestion of certain types of meat, and wild-caught invertebrates can become a source of infection and parasites.
And, of course, it is impossible to call them a full-fledged food, because with such feeding, the need of astronotus for a variety of nutrients is not taken into account at all.
The best choice for red oscars is the quality dry food from the Tetra Cichlid range. They are rich in nutritious proteins, balanced, enriched with vitamins and minerals. Plus, they are convenient to store and feed to fish.
Tetra Cichlid (XL) Sticks are great for adults. They float on the surface of the water and, due to their shape, take on the form of a natural food for large fish, while fully meeting the needs of the cichlids in the consumption of proteins.
To intensify the color of bright spots on the body of the fish, you can use Tetra Cichlid Color balls with a concentrate of natural carotenoids.
For smaller red oscars, Tetra Cichlid Granules, which are medium in size, or Tetra Cichlid XL Flakes for all types of cichlids, are recommended.
It must be remembered that astronotus do not know how to measure food, so try to arrange a “fasting” day for them once a week.
Propagation and breeding
Red Astronotuses breed quite successfully at home. The pair is able to regularly spawn in the species aquarium. True, it is often difficult to distinguish a male from a female. Sexual dimorphism in fish is not pronounced, so aquarists usually wait until a pair forms on its own.
Red Astronotus breed easily at homeThe fish become sexually mature at the age of two. At the same time, they usually reach a size of 10-15 cm. During spawning, it is important not to stress the fish, this can provoke eating eggs or fry. If astronotus do not live alone, then it is worth preparing a separate spawning container with a volume of 150 liters or more. A large flat stone is placed at the bottom. Be sure to watch the behavior of the fish. If the male shows aggression towards the female, then it is better to separate them for a while with a transparent partition.
An increase in water temperature and frequent changes serve as an incentive for reproduction.
Red Astronotuses are quite caring parents. The couple chooses a spawning site together and cleans it up. After that, the female lays up to 1000 large eggs on a flat surface. Parents remove dead eggs and create a current of water with their fins.
Incubation of eggs takes 3-8 days, and after another three days, young fish begin to feed on their own. To maintain high water quality, it is necessary to change 1/5 of the water in the aquarium daily. The growth of fry is uneven, so do not forget about regular sorting to avoid cannibalism.
What do Oscar fish eat? - Other
Thinking of Oscar fish and want to know what they eat? Find out what foods are best for these popular cichlids, and how much and how often to feed them to keep them healthy and strong.
Oscar Live Food
In the wild, Oscars eat a varied diet of many insects and crustaceans. Oscars eat many types of live foods, but not all live foods are good for them. Just like pellets come in different sizes, the size of live food fed to your pet should match the size of the fish eating it.
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Featured Live Foods for Oscars
Always buy live food if you can grow your own food from a reputable pet store it's at home. Never feed insects taken from outside as they may be exposed to pesticides which can make your fish sick. Recommended live foods include:
If you choose to feed Oscar live food, you should add one or two feeders to the tank at mealtimes. Filling the aquarium with feeder fish and allowing your oscar to feed at will has certain disadvantages for him, including:
- Pampering your pet so that he refuses any other food
- An unbalanced diet that can affect the health of the fish.
- Causing him to become obese since small fish contain a lot of fat
- Causes a fatal release of ammonia by overfilling the reservoir
Disadvantages for you include:
- Recurring costs and the inconvenience of stopping at the pet store for Oscar food
- Need for more frequent water changes Possible 9095 in the treatment of your fish, because it has contracted a disease introduced into the aquarium from a lactating fish.
Precautions for feeder fish
Oscar needs a balanced diet, so small fish can be fed to them as long as you limit yourself to a few fish per week. However, there are a few import tips to keep in mind.
- Always choose exceptionally healthy feeder fish. If these fish are sick or ill, they can get sick to your oscar, such as the disease known as "hole in the head".
- If you're having trouble getting a healthy feeder, consider breeding your own. Guppies are prolific breeders and are often used as feeders.
- Feeder goldfish are not ideal fish for Oscar's diet because they are prone to disease as they are usually stored in overcrowded tanks. If you must feed your goldfish, be very selective and never buy from an aquarium that contains sick fish.
Oscar Food
When shopping for commercial foods to feed your Oscars, look for products designed for cichlids. A wide range of granular products is available, as well as frozen, freeze-dried or canned products.
The granules come in a variety of sizes and shapes to offer choices for young and adult Oscars. When choosing pellets or other food for your pet, make sure the food is smaller than the fish's mouth.
Popular Oscar-winning commercial foods
This short list features popular Oscar-worthy commercial foods:
Homemade food to complement your Oscar diet You can chop vegetables such as cucumbers and zucchini and give them to your oscar in small amounts. You can also feed them small portions of frozen peas. They may also eat shelled nuts, preferably tropical nuts, and even some fruits. Common fruits that give an Oscar include bananas, melon, oranges, and watermelon. Make sure that if you are feeding fruit, remove all seeds before feeding. Some Oscar owners may also feed them bread, which won't hurt your fish but won't add anything nutritious to his diet.
Oscar Fish for Color
One thing to note when feeding an Oscar is that certain foods can cause more of their color, especially red tones.
Look for foods with astaxanthin, which is found in krill shrimp. Peas are also known to make their color more visible.
How much to feed
Whatever food you choose to feed your oscar, it is important not to overfeed the fish. Oscars have different needs depending on their stage of development.
Feeding Minors Oscar
If your Oscar is less than four inches, it's a minor. These fish grow fast, so smaller oscars need to be eaten more often.
- For fish less than four inches long, feed at least three times a day until the fish's belly is slightly rounded. This should be no more than three minutes per feeding session. Feed about three to four pellets at a time and wait until they run out before adding pellets.
- For fish at least five inches long - Feeding can be reduced to twice a day and you can start adding live food such as insects.
Oscar for Adults
When the Oscar is one year old, it is considered an adult.
Adults should not be fed more than once a day. In fact, most adults do well if they are fed four days a week. This allows the digestive tract to be completely cleared the day before feeding is resumed.
Food quality and a balanced diet are the key to a healthy Oscar
Feeding Oscar is not as difficult as it might seem. The main thing to remember is that Oscars are carnivorous and require a diet high in proteins such as shrimp, insects and small fish. The diet of oscar fish in their environment consists mainly of larvae, insects, fish, crustaceans and plant debris. Remember to consider all of these factors when planning your Oscar diet:
- Always choose the highest quality foods.
- Use a combination of live food and commercial food to give your pet a complete diet. You should aim to feed approximately 80% pellets and 20% live foods and plants.
- Make sure your oscar is high in protein, also important for growth.
- Make sure you vary his diet as these fish will not eat the same foods every week in their natural habitat.
- Watch your pet when he eats and remove leftover food two to three minutes after feeding so that he does not pollute the aquarium.
- Monitor your pet's condition. If he looks amazing and seems active, alert and healthy, you've probably picked the right food combination and feeding schedule.
- If your oscar doesn't eat the food you give him, you may have to try different options to find what he prefers.
When your Oscar stops eating
Oscar can suddenly stop eating for several reasons, but usually it's a signal that something is wrong. These steps may help resolve the issue:
- Check the water in the tank; The pH should be between 6.0 and 8.0.
- Try other food. Oscars need variety in their diet.
- Attempt to do a 25 to 50% water change.
- If the water is okay, you've tried other food and the oscar still won't eat, stop feeding the fish for a few days. Normally, healthy fish will start eating again when food is reintroduced.
