Anybody know how long a 10" oscar can live without eating?My mum got 2,3weeks ago.One of them is ok he now comes to eat the other is really shy,when ever she goes near the tank the o hides and wont eat,even when it comes out it hides behind the other oscar.But it's now painfully thin,i don't think it will last another week.Any advice welcome.thanks

i sugest trying them with the light off on the tank normaly they only go a few days without eating.
post you water condition test result up if you can also any sighns of illness?
have you seen anything strange?
is its stool normal?

That is really hard to figure out. Like Drew said some water readings would be helpful. I have never had an oscar that wouldn't eat for more then a day but I can imagine your concerne. What are you feeding them? You could try some feeder fish it may just eat it out of aggresion but at least it will have some food. I'd risk possible infection rather then watch it starve to-death. Just make sure you buy them from a reputable seller.

Not to long ago Chopper, my O, went off his food for about 5 days. He's around the 9.5-10 inch mark. He had a bad spot of HITH right behind his jaw. Fortunately he came around! I got him to start eating by dropping in a night-crawler, he literally shot up from the bottom of the tank and inhaled it!

Recently I started feeding him crickets once or twice a week as a treat and he really seems to like them.

Good Luck! I hope your Oscar gets better!

-Az

Ive got 4 oscars of my own and are all perfectly ok.Its my mothers that wont eat.She text this morn to tell me it had a couple of mealworms i think its just shy and taking a while to adjust.

My tiger used to eat a lot when he was 3", but as he is growing he eats less, i mean he still eats a lot but doesn't stuff himself like he used to do before, one large meal everyday is enough for him now, but i used to feed him thrice a day when he was tiny!
They can be very moody when they r adult and i think it's difficult to tame them as well, that's why i like to buy baby oscars.

Glad he is eating! Tell her to try other foods but if he will only eat mealworms keep feeding him those to build him up then you can move him on to other foods. Check out some previous post on hoe to wean a fish onto other food

Oscars are notorious for getting hooked on one particular food if thats all they have been fed. This creates a problem when you buy a large oscar which has been fed on the same thing for long periods of time. This is very detrimental to a fishes health just the same as it would be for ours. An oscar fixed on food must be broken form this habit for its good health and although painful to watch in the long run it will be good for the fish. Oscars will last weeks without eating. In the wild they are predatory fish eating only when food is available. You should try feeding him live food to encourage him to eat,try earthworms and river shrimps. If he doesnt eat then stop feeding altogether for a few days and then try again.

My O was given grubs for a long time and pellets because I wasn't aware of other food, so now it's just a lot harder to get him to eat anything else!!

Starve them when they get hungry they will eat,trust me the wont die