I dont want to sound stupid but, I live on a lake in Florida. There are swarms of little minnows around the shore i think they are called Pugnose Minnows. Are they safe to feed my Oscar occasionally? It would be great if they are because i have an abundance of them. I also have a lot of little freshwater shrimp in the grass. are they safe for the fish also?

lake fish are usually not infected with parasite
due to the size of the body of water, thus, i believe
they will be free of any parasite. if that is so then
you can feed them to your oscar. shrimp are also acceptable
feeds for the fish. but if they are from local fish store,
precautionary measure should be in taken to avoid problem.

personally i wouldnt bother with feeders. imho they contain very little nutritional value and might rise aggression in the tank. the freshwater shrimp on the other hand sounds like a good idea.

I really appreciate the info from everyone. Like i said before, im clueless to all this fish owning. Im learning though, little by little.

there is literally tons of information on these pages. if you have questions just ask and someone will get back to you. or if you like you can use the search feature on the top right side of the page. either way im sure you will find what you're looking for.