So I have had Bob for a week now. For 3 days I fed him just pellets 3 times a day (Wardley's Advanced). On day 4 he ate his pellets in the morning then I gave him some Blood worms mid day and tryed to give him pellets again that evening. He will not eat his pellets now. All he wants is Blood worms. So he has not eaten for 2 days now. What do I do?

Think he's spoiled allready.
Nothing wrong with bloodworms, though...
I combined them with ciclids stick in the beginning but my O only took bloodworms at some time.
The frozen-goodies-section at your LFS may have artemia and waterfleas(or get those live)
And add that to his diet.
My O still does not eat pallets and eats live mealworms and worms and bugs.
But I keep trying now and then.

It's difficult sometimes to get Oscars to eat pellets after they've eaten live or frozen foods, don't be afraid to withhold feeding for a few days.....he'll soon get hungry.
I, however, havn't had such luck with mine, so i feed them mussel's with pellets shoved in them, a trick akin to conning a dog or cat to take their medicine.

markybruv wrote:


I gotto try that one day!lol

hey try feeding your o some sun dried gammarus shrimp. if he dont go after that, then something is wrong with your o lol. ive yet to meet an oscar that wont go nuts for that stuff.

Will he be ok if he never eats pellets? Will he get the nutrition he needs from these other foods? Thanks for the replies.

you can always just not feed him for a few days, then try pellets. hunger will win in the end.

ok. So am I gonna have this problem everytime I try to give him something other than pellets? Or do I just get him back on them and not anything else?

you should always keep your o fed with a well varied diet. it ensures proper nutrition, and also helps prevent the fish from getting bored with its food and going off its meals for a while.

the only time you should really have this problem is if your are constantly feeding him the bloodworms.... if you use them for an occasional snack you shouldnt have this problem ---- well atleast i dont with my oscar

Well he's going on four days now. Still spitting out the pellets. I guess I'll give him some worms for now and try pellets again later. I don't want him starving to death. Thanks for all the replies.

Heres what to do. Only feed pellets, if he dont eat them, take them out. If he hasnt eaten after 6 days feed him bloodworm for one day. Then repeat. He should be eating pellets after 1 week but almost certaintly after 2 weeks.

Once he is eating pellets them start on a varied diet. Try prawns, maggots, worms, mealworms, insects and different cichlid pellets