Hi,
I just got 2 oscars, 1 tiger & 1 red, both approx 5-6 inches, I was wary of feeding them colour brightening food after reading the article, the Aquarium guy recomended Hikari Cichlid Gold, it says its a complete & balanced colour enhancing daily diet containing Astaxanthin to promote rich colouration.
Can anyone tell me if this is the bad stuff [as far as dying the fish] or is it ok?
also, when I tried to feed them a few hours after putting them in the tank, one swallowed a food pellet then spat it out, would this be more likely that he didnt like the food, or do they need a certain ammount of time to get use to the new surrounds?
thanks for any help.

I use Hikari Cichlid Gold for my 10 " I mix it up with the large long pellet food, sorry i don't have the container my dog got into it..ha ha. anyway the ingredients don't show any added coloring. it is a high protein food, minerals and vitamins. if I could get my O to eat more than 2 a day I would give him more he just loves his pretzels. .hope this helps

Its the stuff i use myself.
when we mention dyed fish its mostly done by injecting the fish when young. if you stick with a good mixed diet your fish will display its full nature colour, that's what most of us strive to produce. Love the dog pic, is he/she yours??

? is that a quest for me? marcus. Lucy is new in our house. she was a long time runaway that was abuised. In the pet forum and posted a pic of her. it seems she has a dove on her chest..I don't think she had much of a family before us.

Hi Marcus,
If you were asking about my dog pic, yep she's mine, great natured dog thats getting sorely tested by my new bullmastiff pup.

Thanks for the food endorsement.
Is there anything else I can give them regularly if they decide not to eat it?

w66 wrote:

i just want to check which is your main concern.... color enhancement or good foods for the o? what ever foods formulated for the fishes had been tested and tried. i do not want to question that. now for color enhancement.... irregardless of what food you give to your o, as long as it contains crude proteins and vitamins, it will serve the purpose.... as to color enhancement.... i doubted about it. no matter what food you give to your oscvar... if the environment (water) is not good, it will remain pail, dull, and sickly. with varied food and good water condition, your fish will develop vibrant and healthy color.....

oscar usually is picky in foods. starve them in two days, they will take any food you throw in..... that is if you can tolerate their begging....

Hi,
on the suject of colour enhancement, I just wanted to make sure the food I mentioned was not the type that is warned against using in the article.
My primary concern is to give the fish the correct food for a healthy diet, I am defineately not trying to colour/dye the fish, infact i'm trying to avoid it, but I do want to find food that I can regularly feed them and that they will eat.

got your point... and for that aspect.... hikari gold is too pricey.
you can get the same nutritional value from less expensive formulated
food.

hikari is an excellent choice for a staple. other that rate with it are hbh and new life spectrum. cheaper foods usually equate to cheaper ingredients(less of the good stuff and more filler).

now to your question of colour enhancement. the best way to bring the colour out in your oscars is by feeding them seafood. shrimp and krill(frozen not freeze dried) are among the best for colour in fish.

I feed my oscar with Hikari cichlid staple, i find it good & ollie thats my oscar likes it.

My o wont take pellets so i mainly feed him krill, brine shrimp, and fruit. For some reason he wont eat hikari gold. Necro you said not to use freeze dried. Why is this?