posted 02-06-2004 09:02 PM         

It is not a good idea to feed them meat like beef, chicken, or pork because those have a lot of fat which oscars really can't digest properly.

It's also a good idea to avoid feeder fish for several reasons. Store bought feeders are the #1 way of introducing diseases into your tank becasue they are kept in very croweded, filthy conditions. They also have very little nutritional value. And oscars aren't really made to digest scales so they are either spit out and litter the tank (which can hurt your water parameters) or they are swallowed and can cause an intestinal blockage.

For OCCASIONAL treats you can feed them a wide variety of incects (avoid poisonous ones like spiders), earthworms, mealworms, and shrimp. You can also give them veggies like peas, but these actually act as a diuretic so don't give them very often.

But by far, the best diet for an oscar is a good quality pellet food such as Hikari Stapel or Gold, New Life Spectrum, or one of my oscars' favorites, HBH Oscar Show.