Hey guys I looked threw the forum as much as i could take lol i acquired a 30gal tank and stand with filter and am thinken of trying to do a feeder fish tank my buddy at work said to use convicts or mollys?? any opinions

Live food is always the best option if possible for Oscars. This could take the form of small fish, shrimps, mealworms, crickets. If you are going to feed fish, then I would 100% advise breeding them at home, this way you know their history and you can avoid passing on any diseases.

I think what you got to take into account is you will need a constant supply of fish, you are going to have to have more than one set of parents breeding at different intervals. If you think about it, a pair of convicts may lay 1000 eggs, let's say you get 500 surviving young, to make them a worthwhile meal, you will have to grow them on, work out how long this is going to take. In the meantime, the Convict will probably breed again. I think you're going to need more than 30 gallons if you want a constant supply of live fish.

I might add that I have never bad live fish, I am just surmising what the situation might be for you

hmm well i always hav crickets and meal worms on hand becuz i have a 4yr old bearded dragon.. i guess i could use it for more than just for feeding but what ever young may come i will use for food.im not sure but the dude whos giving the tank to me said i may half to reseal it so ill water test it in the garage for the weekend see what happens.

This is just my opinion, I personally think that there's better life food available in your back garden and also at the local pet stores, along the lines of mealworms and crickets. Setting up a dedicated tank for breeding feeder fish is a lot of hard work in my book. Save yourself a lot of money and buy a box full of mealworms that will last you a week and probably only cost £2.50, around five dollars. Oscars love them and they are full of nutrition

Sounds like a plan Ofl. like i said i always have em around. now what to do with a 30gal tank? maybe ill check out some more less agressive smaller fish or something cuz i have plenty of terreriums

i breed guppies for feeding as they never stop bonking and always have alot of babies and its no effort at all.

and its cheap

If you do feed live fish to your oscars feed them as a treat (say once a week). Oscars are not designed to eat mainly fish, if they were they would be torpedo shaped. Oscars mostly eat insect etc in the wild.

My personal opinion is that is not needed to feed live fish to oscars and its cruel as the feeder fish doesnt have any chance to escape. But if you do feed your own bred fish, One pair of convicts will breed enough fish but you will need to remove the eggs to a seperate tank (to get enough) and you will need 3 or 4 tanks to feed one full size oscar once a week. Best to do as OFL says and but some mealworms. Or you can buy maggots from a fishing tackle shop or catch or your eathworms

yea im gonna go ahead with the crickets, but i have the tank cycling right now so im not real sure but i think im gona put some african cichlids in thers till they get bigger then switch em to the 55gal since im saving to get a 120gal for the oscars not real sure yet.. but thanks for all the input and tips guyz!