A very popular question on many forums is what kind of things to use as "toys for Oscars". I suppose the first question we need to ask ourselves is do Oscars actually play to amuse themselves? This is an extremely contentious issue on many Oscarfish forums. I have had many a debate about this subject and I have probably annoyed quite a few people with my views and opinions on the subject. People often refer to fish as "enjoying themselves". This is where I actually disagree with a lot of people. I do not believe fish actually enjoys itself. I don't believe a fish will play like a dog does. What I believe a fish will do is investigate any foreign object that he may not have come across before. Fish are still primitive and have not evolved to the extent of knowing what "enjoyment" actually is.
Oscars will often investigate anything that takes their fancy inside the tank. My Oscars seem to take pleasure in bashing the hell out of one of the heaters. Why they do it is something I cannot answer, probably because it is not nailed down and moves around slightly. This following video shows an Oscar investigating a ping-pong ball that has been put into the tank. Oscars aren't the only fish that will investigate things that they can see floating on the surface, I have observed carp mouthing at floating objects, once they realise it isn't food, or a threat, they normally leave it alone
Fish can be trained to a certain extent to carry out simple tasks such as swimming through loops, even knocking balls into little nets. I think this is probably more enjoyable for the fish's owner, rather than the fish itself so at the end of the day have fun with your fish but don't actually kid yourself into thinking that the fish is actually having a giggle itself.
