[file] Hi,
I have heard and read that people train their Oscars to do tricks such as jump through hoops etc.
can any one enlighten me on how one would go about training an Oscar.

I have Rex, an albino tiger who is about 10cm from nose to tail. I have had him a couple of months, he eats out of my hands (or fingers), and doesnt mind if I touch him.

anyway, any suggestions would be great

cheers for now
L

Teaching Oscars to do tricks is something that I've never really been interested in. I would imagine that food has got a lot to do with getting Oscars to do what you want. Check this website out, it might give you a few tips. I do hope that the person in the video upgraded their tank at some stage.

www.graspr.com/videos/The-Learning-Ability-of-the-Tiger-Oscar-1

I have managed too touch (stroke)and hand feed, also for one to jump about 2ft out of water and take food from my hand. BEWARE This i wish I never had done as water changing was almost impossable and I could never open the lid without a lot of care. it made even feeding hard work cos I had to watch it at all times. If you really want to train this way you need a large tank, and a wider one would be better. Start hand feeding prawns,meat,fish, anything large that the fish can see. then move hand to top of water,moving food on surface. then out of water over time. increase distance (slowly) when fish is taking food ok at that range. i guess if you want it to jump trough a loop you just put that between your hand and fish.

you will need room for the fish to land so removing lid to feed may be best. it would be a bad idea to try it through a small opening. All said I would really consider if its worth it as a fish on the floor is very hard to get back in water and the damage is worst.

Thats really neat! Mine seems to be turning into a playful one he likes to chase after fingers and follows me around in his tank. He's been such a joy I think I want to work with him more like that be neat.