Doesn't want to Eat

[TehTANK]

Hey everyone. Hope all is doing well. Anyway I just wanted to see what everyone thought about this. So last night I get home from work. My large Oscar (Bubba) came up to the glass as he always does along with my newest little friend (small oscar) Lucky because they saw that it was feeding time. So I get out the food and put some in. They are pellets. So I drop some in and Lucky goes right after them and can only fit one in his mouth at a time. Bubba sucks a couple in and then spits them back out like they don't taste good or something like that. He did it a couple more times and that was it. He didn't even end up eating last night. Does anyone have any idea why? He used to love this food that I got him. It was his favorite for a long time. Do you think he is just board with it?

[Lady Hobbs]

Fish kinda go in phases where they don't eat as well but it may be fine to try him on other things, as well. He may just be tired of it.

[Fishguy2727]

What food is it exactly? A healthy oscar can go weeks without eating so it's no big deal, yet. As they get bigger they also eat less and less, so he just may know better than you how much to eat. My jaguar cichlid did this. I fed him twice a day for about three years, then all of a sudden he won't eat except for about twice a week. And even then if he sees me moving he gets distracted and won't eat, just keeps charging at me.

[jeffs99dime]

"bubba" that's a suiting name for an oscar. i agree with the others- he's probably tired of it. oscars have big-time personality. mine did anyway.lol

[TehTANK]

I had a feeling that he is just getting tired of eating the same thing every day. It used to be his favorite. In fact whenever I would switch to something new he wouldn't eat it at all but these pellets he would eat like crazy. I am not to worried. If he gets hungry enough he will eat them. I am thinking of trying other things but I always worry giving him new food because I am just like that. I don't want to hurt my Bubba! I am sure he is alright though. My other little oscar Lucky eats it all if Bubba doesn't anyway....LOL

[Fishguy2727]

What exact food are you feeding him?

[TehTANK]

I am feeding just these red pellets. I am sorry I don't know the name but they are supposed to be really good for Oscars. They are made just for them and they cost me a bundle but to me he is worth it. I am not at home to check the bag but they are red in color I know that.

[jeffs99dime]

if i remember correctly, hikari makes red pelleted oscar food.

[TehTANK]

Yeah I think that is it!!!!

[Incredulous_Ed]

Feed some other type of food and see if he'll eat it. Also, you could try to mix the pellets with other types of food and see how he likes that..

[jman]

trying to feed lots of variety to fish this big becomes a must as he grows because like you said he spits it out. If he didn't want any food he wouldn't even go for it although it does make you wonder?

[Fishguy2727]

Check out the thread on hole in the head, a big issue for oscars.

If the pellets are Hikari Cichlid and are red, they are Hikari Cichlid Gold. Step up to Hikari Cichlid Bio-Gold+. It is the only food on the market that contains live beneficial bacteria that will inhabit the digestive tract, aiding in digestion as well as outcompeting Hexamita spp. (the pathogen related to HITH). They are more expensive, but as you said, he's worth it. The other thing if you can find it and want to spend the money is New Life Spectrum. Read the testimonials about it at nlpublish.com and you will see what I mean. It is actually best when it is the only food fed, but I would not say to not feed the Hikari Bio-gold+ because it has the beneficial bacteria. I feed only NLS to my discus and peacocks and have had great results, talk about color. I plan on getting an oscar and possibly mbunas too, they will only get NLS as well. I would be very surprised if you stepped up to NLS and did not get noticable color improvement in him within a couple weeks.

[Severus]

I heard about the NLS as well i think i want to try that, im just not sure where to buy it. I havent seen it in any of the LFS around my house... maybe ill just have to look harder.Also, my JD is going through the same phase as your Oscar.

[Lady Hobbs]

I posted a thread about New Life Spectrum yesterday so it's here somewhere. Also, Oscars should be getting some blood worms and variety other than the same thing all the time, shouldn't they?

[jeffs99dime]

yes. all fish require a variety of foods.

[Fishguy2727]

No, if you read about the NLS, you actually get the best results when only it is fed. I feed only NLS to my discus, peacocks, and when I get them that's all my oscars will get, mbunas too if I do them. The color on my peacocks are unbelievable and I think the difference is the food. This is something that is mentioned repeatedly on NLS reviews and testimonials.

If the food is very high quality, there is no need to dilute the nutrition by including a variety of lower quality foods. If you want to feed more variety, include assorted high quality foods. You can include frozen, but I would not feed live to anything that will take prepared unless it needs it to trigger breeding. Other than that live food is not even close to worth the risks.

[JZ1276]

I just had the same problem with my albino oscar. I'd feed him 3-4 times a day (cichlid sticks) since I can remember and he wont stop eating until I stop feeding him then out of nowhere he decided to stop eating. After a few days went by I tried throwing 10 minnows in the tank and he ate them all within a few minutes so Ive been feeding him 10 minnows every 3-4 days. All water levels are good and he seems healthy and active.

[Fishguy2727]

You may want to reconsider the live foods. It is a fast path to parasites, disease, malnutrition, and aggression. There are really no advantages to it and there are a lot of high risks (almost guarantees).

[Abbeys_Mom]

Check out the thread on hole in the head, a big issue for oscars.

If the pellets are Hikari Cichlid and are red, they are Hikari Cichlid Gold. Step up to Hikari Cichlid Bio-Gold+. It is the only food on the market that contains live beneficial bacteria that will inhabit the digestive tract, aiding in digestion as well as outcompeting Hexamita spp. (the pathogen related to HITH). They are more expensive, but as you said, he's worth it. The other thing if you can find it and want to spend the money is New Life Spectrum. Read the testimonials about it at nlpublish.com and you will see what I mean. It is actually best when it is the only food fed, but I would not say to not feed the Hikari Bio-gold+ because it has the beneficial bacteria. I feed only NLS to my discus and peacocks and have had great results, talk about color. I plan on getting an oscar and possibly mbunas too, they will only get NLS as well. I would be very surprised if you stepped up to NLS and did not get noticable color improvement in him within a couple weeks.

When I read this post HITH is the first thing that came to mind. My Ocsar did the same thing before he got sick. It was like he wanted to eat, but his mouth hurt. We were feeding homemade beef heart blend. I would look for other signs of illness, If you catch HITH early, you'll have less scarring on your Oscar.
Here's a link to a site about HITH
http://www.flippersandfins.net/HITHarticle2.htm