One of the most common queries and questions on forums relates to Oscars suddenly going off their food. If your Oscar does do this then there is a procedure that every Oscar owner should know how to do. Get your water tested for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Wouldn't hurt to check the pH at the same time. If there's something wrong, that could be the reason for the lack of appetite. Anyway, we're not going to talk about health issues.

If all your water readings are perfectly okay and your Oscar is showing no signs of ill-health and looks perfectly okay, it can be extremely frustrating because I can tell you from experience, it is virtually impossible to fathom why they do this.

One thing that a lot of people don't realise is that Oscars from 8 inches upwards don't need to eat a lot of food, unlike babies. I would suggest that you only feed an adult Oscar once a day. Once they reach 9-10 inches, it wouldn't even hurt to feed them every other day. And you certainly don't need to give them a lot. What you could do is feed them a reasonable amount just to keep them happy and then maybe once a week give them a little more food. You could make this something different. Maybe foods such as Lance fish, shrimps, krill, something different than just pellets. You could even give them a nice chunk of beef heart if you want.

Oscars can be very fussy about food. I have found them to be unlike any other fish I have kept. For instance, my Jade Eyed Cichlid will eat whatever she's given. There is no fussiness and never any food left behind. Oscars are a little like little children. One day they can't get enough of Hikari pellets, the next day they treat them like it's the worst food they had ever tasted. If your Oscar turns his nose up to a certain kind of food, don't go out and buy some more. If he won't eat his dinner, let him go hungry. This may sound excessive, and even cruel but you sometimes have to force Oscars into submission by starving them. Believe me, I have done quite a few times before and nine times out of 10 it works. If he's healthy, he will eat .

Because Oscars have a tendency of becoming bored with food, it is actually a very good idea to keep various types of food and try and rotate them. Oscars can become hooked on one food and when you try and feed them on something else, they just won't have it.

If you buy your Oscars at a very young age (2 1/2 inches upwards), start them off on all kinds of different food. My Oscars are a little over 3 inches and I rotate their food. Their main diet is two types of pellets three times a day. Two or three times a week I give them frozen Lance fish (thawed out thoroughly). Because I feed my other fish on frozen blood worm, they get that as well. As they get older, I will introduce them to a few more types of food and I will keep doing this into adulthood. I must just mention that if your Oscars are extremely small, 2 inches or under, don't feed them on hard pellets too much. Give them flake food, shrimp, krill.

Oscars are always going to look as though they are starving, don't let them make you feel guilty. You will not do them any good by overfeeding. My philosophy is, keep your Oscar on the hungry side, and he should eat okay. Having said all this, an Oscar may still refuse food for no reason at all so just bear that in mind.

I purchased two new oscars yesterday. They are about two inches long. I am having problems with them eating. They are my first oscars, and was under the impression that they should pretty much always be hungry. Both of mine will not eat anything. I purchased mini sized cichlid pellets for them to eat. Also I tired to feed them some flake food as your suggested above... Can I get some advise here?

Thanks

Hello and welcome.

First thing you need to do like OLF said is to test the water.
If the water is alright then from my experience your fish may not eating because they are in a new environment and are still getting used to it. One of my O's is still afraid to come to the top for food and i have had him for a month. He will swim to the surface get a pellet and as fast as he can swims right down to the bottom and hides. So if the water is good I would give them another day before becoming to worried.
hope i helped

Ok, I just tested the water and this is what showed up...

PH
between 7.6 and 7.2

Nitrite
between 0 and .25 ppm

Ammonia
Between .5 and 1 ppm

Nitrate
Between 0 and 5 ppm

These are my first finicky fish so I am worried. All of mine up until now have been tropical community fish. SO thank everyone for taking the time to help me out.

When you first get oscars they tend to be very shy, hiding in a corner or under decorations. This is completely normal. I would say out of my 7 oscars 5 of them would not eat for at least a day or 2. I would not begin to worry quite yet. If they don't start eating in 3-5 days then you may have cause for concerne but for now just try to make them as comfortable as possible and give them time to get use to their new surroundings.

So those water levels seem ok?

The two just seem to hide between and rock and a plant all day and not really move. Every once in a whole one of them will go and swim around... but only for a moment and then go right back. They just seem to lay there all day. But it is now only going on 24 hours in the tank.