I finaly have gotten my oscar tank us and running...after a few years of searching for and saving for a large tank. when i was a teenager i rescued a fish from a guy i knew who was going to kill it-for mere "enjoyment" i'm sure (jerk!). i gave the 13inch fish to my dad, who named it fred. for a few years we actually thought fred was some kind of tropical pirannha (we were not "fish" people at the time). fred would eat out of our hands and let us pet his head-which was very soft. fred lived for seven years. he was the most interesting beautiful (in a homely type of way)and friendly fish i have ever some across. he was a regular member of the family!!!!!!
so i decided to get a big tank full of rescued oscars, in memory of fred. i am now 23 years old and have finaly gotten my wish! i now care for one red oscar, three tiger oscars, and two albino oscars.

Welcome to OFL.
well done for managing to get your tank but what size is this tank, because it'll need to be huge for 6 oscar fish.
do you have any pictures to share

Well done, good luck with your fish and please do post some photos

glen2009 wrote:



!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HUGE being the operative word!!!!!!! :woohoo:but well done for the rescues ..as long as the tank can cope and your rescued oscars have not become sardines

they are just juviniles right now, so it is a one hundred fifty gallon tank. i have a three hundred twent custom for them when they get bigger- i just cannot afford a stand for it right at this moment. so i figure i've bought myself a while before lugginf out the big guns!

I see that you saved an Oscar from HITH, what food did you feed him to get him back on track. Also can this food be purchased in a pet store. I have been feeding my Oscar freeze dried krill and Cichlid Gold and I still im not seeing a really big improvement, and my water has been fine.
Thanks for your help

lovemypitbulls wrote:




well done ....outstanding sounding set ups ...nice fish colection too:)

Mozzman~ when Fred had Hole-in-head we were advised to give him a mostly vegetarian diet only supplemented with the commercial pellets. we fed him peas and blanched chopped greens. we also fed him pelleted garlic. it was just slivers of garlic that was dehydrated~ you could prpbably do it in the oven. we would put the garlic pellet in the tank and feed him one at a time. he ate them right from our hand for the most part. if they sank to the bottom they would swell up, and in about two days we'd have one garlicky stinky tank!i don't know if you can buy the garlic pellets at a specialty aquatics store, but i did ask the vet about it after i saw your post. She said that they now sell a product called "garlic boost" that you can add to the water that should have the same effect- she said she reccomends it to her clients with "difficult-to treat" fishy illness and illness of seemingly unknow origin. I hope i helped. and good luck.

Thank you very much,I always thought that you would have to feed Oscars store bought food to keep them healthy, so a few questions, what is the saline rinse you mentioned in a previous post. Also what type of peas, say frozen peas, thawed and chopped greens right, plus normal pellets and this will help clear up the HITH. Also I will look into the garlic boost, I just dont want my tank to smell like garlic ya know.. so is it possible to have an oscar eat just veggies? Interesting info:cheer:

hello lovemypitbulls, welcome to the site.
it feels good to see new young members with soft and tender heart
for living creatures such as fishes and of course i feel you have
pitbulls (as you user name connote, am i right?)

I don't think you can raise an oscar striclty on veggies, due to a shortage of protein and trace minerals. i give lots of veggies but a commercial food also, just in smaller amounts. i feed haikari brand (don't know if i spelled it right). the oscars have eaten whole frozen type(but defrost them partialy)peas. you can also try chopped broccoli that is boiled for a few minutes as well as chopped collards, kale, spinach and even dark leafed lettuces. Some of the oscars i have now enjoy picking at the algea sheets that come dried and can be placed on the side of the tank using an algea clip. i have even had success feeding orange slices that have been squeezed of juice and seeds. i'm not an expert, but i think the key to good nutrition is offering a vast variety of diffrent types of food. the saline solution is simply 1tbspoon of conditioning salt that you can purchase at a pet shop mixed with approx a gallon of water. i would make this tbspoon:gallon solution and place it in a 5 gallon tank ( using 5 tablesppons of salt and 5 gallons of water) and put it in a 5 gallon bucket. i would put fred (the oscar) in this solution for about a 60 second dip. i would then return him to his tank. from what i understand: the saline solution dipping helps clear the fish's body of any parasites or harmful bacteria without damaging the protective slime coat.
I know how frusturating it is haveing a sick pet, especialy when your techniques are not working. (I currently have a rescued dog who will not gain weight no matter what i do!) But stick with it. try different things. I work with a few vets in my area (massachusetts) one for my rabbit rescue, one for my pit bull rescue, and one for my rescued reptiles and fish, and they all have different but reasonable suggestions. good luck!

well said crystal.