hi i am new to this have just got my first oscar he is only about 10cm long how do i train him to enjoy a pat.i am very gentle n put my hand in the tank (clean of corse)but it really freaks him out.can someone please share their knowledge with me as i would like to train him from young.petshop told me to do this a couple of times a day. thanx

When I had my first pair of oscars, I raised them from about the same size as yours. I started by hand feeding them and would let them brush by my hands, until I could touch them.. Although I don't think they totally enjoyed getting petted, they didn't mind it especially when associated with food. I did teach one of those two to play with a ping pong ball with me though, and he seemed to enjoy herding it around the top of the water.

My third oscar however made my decide that petting wasn't all that fun. He was more aggressive and attacked my fingers a couple times, which didn't hurt, but did always make me jump, so we ended that game right then and there.

So if you really want to teach it.. You'll need to do some hand feeding, and be ready for a chomp here or there. They tend to enjoy their food a little too much sometimes!

thankyou so much that advice is great. i will try that also at the moment we are feeding him mornin n night about half a 1cm cube of bloodworm in split between the two feeds does that sound about right. and thanx again

I pat mine quite a lot! Sometimes he likes is, othertimes he swims away.
I fed him so I could touch him as he was eating like MN said.
I also sat for long times infront of the tank talking to him and spending time with him.
I also put my hand into the tank as he was getting to know and trust me and now after a lot of time he alows me to reach into the tank and cradle him under his belly, and tickle him on his sides. He also likes to brush his fins over my fingers.
You can also try when cleaning the tank, make sure it's a pleasurable experience, slow steady movements and a feed afterwards!

be vary careful with an aggressive O though!

They do have razor sharp teeth in their lips for grabbing prey and pulling it into the inner teeth to chomp.

It can slice you without you feeling it.

Mine hasn't done it to me, but I have been present to it happening and the O did draw blood!

Though, if your O is gentle and you spend time with it, probably not so much a problem.

I have found a slight trend to Albinos being more aggressive, and reds being more passive ... but the study group is quite limited

I wouldnt advise you train your fish to be stroked by your hand. When they get full size they have a lot of power and as said they have a hard mouth that can damage fingers. You really want them to see your hand as something to run from. I think its best that they have a healthy suspicion of your hand


Kenshin i have also found albinos to be more aggressive to other oscars but again it is only a limited experience. My friend has 2 full size red albino oscars and they are not aggresive at all

well, the albinos that I have noticed aggression in were tigers ...

so, maybe aggression runs albino tiger > tiger > albino red/red > veiltail? (I say that because I usually hear they get picked on a bit for the somewhat flowy fins )

Well I can say my O has never hurt me or had aggression towards me, only spiked and cut me once when I had to move him into his bigger tank.
But as soon as he shows aggression, or does nip then no more!!!

thankyou all so much for all this wonderful help.i have taken it all on board.just since i asked for help my dear little oscar has gone from being timmid and now tonight feed from my hand.he comes straight to the front of the tank when i look in,follows my finger on the glass n brushed his tail on my hand tonight.i am stoked.so far he has shown no aggression but ive only had him such a short time but i alwready fell the trust is starting.this is a great site i am so happy i have become a member and with time n training hopefully i will also be able to share knowledge.thanx again:)

keep putting yr hand in the tank when u feed yr oscar will soon learn that the food comes from that hand and it will respect u once they r bigger they will hopefully not bite u

Vbaby wrote:


or he will lunge at the hand hoping to get food. Depends on the oscar really. Good luck and keep us informed on how it goes over the months

thanx i certainly will