# veggies



## anna98036 (Mar 2, 2007)

So I am trying some veggies w/ my finned friends...how long is ok to leave it in the take b4 it causes issues? I don't want to Fark up the water quality.

Fanks ahead of time for any and all input.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

24 hours should be ok, but i would aim for more like a max of 12 hours.


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## anna98036 (Mar 2, 2007)

So Qcumbers were not a big hit....so gunna try frozen peas...my pleco didn't even show any love to the Q


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## mary Thornton (Nov 12, 2008)

i just bought a oscar and i really would like to know what kind of fresh fish, i can feed him/her?


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## Artelmis (Nov 16, 2008)

i fed mine some of the smoked salmon i was eating for lunch.. he loved it.

mostly i feed mine purified goldfish (keep them in clear/clean water for about a week after buying them from the store) but minnows and earthworms go down ok too... he liked small worms, but the big ones put him in a VERY bad mood and he bit me when i tried to hand-feed him later that night.. he never bites me


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

Oscars are 100% carnivores. Why do you want them to eat veggies? Just feed them hakkari carnivore pellets, and they will do well. Feeder fish have very lttle nutrition value. Also food like insects and shrimp are good too.


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## Crazy4Fish (Nov 22, 2008)

I would feed my oscar, minnows too, but it is against the law to have feeder fish were i come from.


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## moneygetter1 (Jan 8, 2006)

> Oscars are 100% carnivores. Why do you want them to eat veggies? Just feed them hakkari carnivore pellets, and they will do well. Feeder fish have very lttle nutrition value. Also food like insects and shrimp are good too.


 8) Not exactly. They are better classified as omnivores. They require a varied diet & in the wild they are very opportunistic eaters. Some captives are very picky but can be convinced w/ time & patience to accept different foods. Dainichi is my choice pellet http://www.dainichi.com/cichlid_food_ultima.html . Supplements & treats are live earthworms, crickets & crayfish, freezedried krill, tubifex & bloodworms, frozen silversides & shrimp, fresh blanched peas & zuccini, spirulina & algae tabs soaked in VitaChem. Yes I spoil them but so far it's been worth it!! Interesting info article http://www.oscarfishlover.com/index.php ... -food.html "T"


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

moneygetter1 said:


> > Oscars are 100% carnivores. Why do you want them to eat veggies? Just feed them hakkari carnivore pellets, and they will do well. Feeder fish have very lttle nutrition value. Also food like insects and shrimp are good too.
> 
> 
> 8) Not exactly. They are better classified as omnivores. They require a varied diet & in the wild they are very opportunistic eaters. Some captives are very picky but can be convinced w/ time & patience to accept different foods. Dainichi is my choice pellet http://www.dainichi.com/cichlid_food_ultima.html . Supplements & treats are live earthworms, crickets & crayfish, freezedried krill, tubifex & bloodworms, frozen silversides & shrimp, fresh blanched peas & zuccini, spirulina & algae tabs soaked in VitaChem. Yes I spoil them but so far it's been worth it!! Interesting info article http://www.oscarfishlover.com/index.php ... -food.html "T"


Wow, then I guess the profile on this web site is wrong. Those site you listed were fish food web sites, and not info on oscars exactly. Most cichlids are omnivors, but oscars tend to eat more insects and other inverts in the wild. Pellets are really the best food, because they have all the essential vitamins they need. If oscars eat veggies, then why do so many peole have a hard time getting them to except them? I feed my oscar pellets, blood worm cubes, and shrimp and he is extremely healthy.


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## moneygetter1 (Jan 8, 2006)

phishes said:


> moneygetter1 said:
> 
> 
> > > Oscars are 100% carnivores. Why do you want them to eat veggies? Just feed them hakkari carnivore pellets, and they will do well. Feeder fish have very lttle nutrition value. Also food like insects and shrimp are good too.
> ...


 8) Well you're half right. The first site is for my pellet of choice but the second is about oscar feeding in general. Their are quite a few members here & other sites that can give you tips on fruits & veggies for your 'O'. I'm not saying you have to do it, but the more varied the diet, the healthier overall the 'O' will be. Yes there are some that accept more readily than others. A healthy Oscar will always eat, he may be very stubborn and it may take a few days, but with perseverance, you should be able to encourage him to eat other foods. "T"


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## Al'Thor (Mar 11, 2006)

moneygetter1 said:


> 8) Not exactly. They are better classified as omnivores. They require a varied diet & in the wild they are very opportunistic eaters. Some captives are very picky but can be convinced w/ time & patience to accept different foods.


'Opportunistic' is definitely the best description for Oscars. Wild Oscars stomachs have been examined and found to contain a great number of items. Insects, worms and grubs, plant matter, small fish, crustaceans, small lizards and frogs, and rarely small rodents. That being said, we are creating an artificial environment for them, and our conditions are not as ideal as in the wild. Therefore IMO, all mammalian meat should be off the menu, and high nutrition pellets should make up 75% or more of their diet. It is my opinion that healthy, quarantined, gut-loaded feeder fish are fine for treats, along with crickets, worms, shrimp, crayfish, fruits and veggies, and fresh fish. I agree with 'T' that the more varied the diet, the better for the overall health of your Oscar.


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## Artelmis (Nov 16, 2008)

i feed my oscar random things i find, he's eaten earthworms that i kept in wet-paper shreds to get the dirt out of them, a cricket my roomates lizard wouldnt eat, a moth i found in my sock drawer, the occasional tetra that i got tired of in my "community" tank (ya, cruel me. i figure its better than flushing them) and some goldfish that i get from a local breeder. that aside. i feed him hakari gold medium pellets in-between the live meals and he couldnt be healthier.. except maybe if he didnt jump into the roof of the tank and take a large chunk out of his head last night when i accidentally bumped the tank and scared the living S#!T out of him. he seems to be doin ok tho.

his only tank-buddy is a generic pleco who eats all the scraps/poop etc and while they have the occasional arguement, niether has ended up dead after 4 months.


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

Al'Thor said:


> moneygetter1 said:
> 
> 
> > 8) Not exactly. They are better classified as omnivores. They require a varied diet & in the wild they are very opportunistic eaters. Some captives are very picky but can be convinced w/ time & patience to accept different foods.
> ...


License plates, and other non-food items have been found in tiger shark stomachs too. That doesn't mean it is a good food fpor tiger sharks. 
I still think oscars should have a meat based diet. Just because they will eat anything, doesn't mean it is the best for them. They are gluttons, and will try and eat anything. My dog will eat plastic if I let her, so does that mean I should feed it to her? A oscar's mouth is designed for preddation, not for grazing. Look at p-bass, arows and other carnivorous fish, and you will see their mouths are similar. Also, the eyes are placed on the front of the head, which is typical for a preditor. It is simple evolution. 
I feed mine pellets, shrimp, krill, blood worms, and insects. I won't feed my O beef heart, feeder fish, or veggies.


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## Al'Thor (Mar 11, 2006)

phishes said:


> Al'Thor said:
> 
> 
> > 'Opportunistic' is definitely the best description for Oscars. Wild Oscars stomachs have been examined and found to contain a great number of items. Insects, worms and grubs, plant matter, small fish, crustaceans, small lizards and frogs, and rarely small rodents. That being said, we are creating an artificial environment for them, and our conditions are not as ideal as in the wild. Therefore IMO, all mammalian meat should be off the menu, and high nutrition pellets should make up 75% or more of their diet. It is my opinion that healthy, quarantined, gut-loaded feeder fish are fine for treats, along with crickets, worms, shrimp, crayfish, fruits and veggies, and fresh fish. I agree with 'T' that the more varied the diet, the better for the overall health of your Oscar.
> ...


I'm not following what you're saying....they should have a meat based diet, but you won't feed them beef heart. :-? In my post, I mentioned adding to their diet gut-loaded feeders, crickets, worms, shrimp, crayfish, fresh fish, AND fruits and veggies. I would find it likely that in the wild, the fish that they most often feed on are young fish, and many young fish feed on vegetation and algae. Therefore, my guess(and it is a guess) is that Oscars in the wild get most of their veggie nutrition through fish, insects, and worms that subsist on plant matter. But they do eat plant matter on their own as well. I will continue to feed my fish fruits and veggies because, nutritionally speaking, I believe it gives them a more rounded diet.


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## moneygetter1 (Jan 8, 2006)

8) I too am not quite following. The point I was attempting to make is that quite often folks mis-classify 'O's & as a result fail to feed them properly. Yes they are somewhat predatory but they are not true 'hunters'. They kinda eat whatever they can whenever they can. They are not true carnivores nor are they true piscivores. Omnivores is the class that best suits this cichlid. Yes they can survive on a 'meaty' based diet but they will thrive on a much more varied diet. Since they are captive, it's up to us to make the menu as broad as they would naturally encounter within reason. My fish diet is extensive, some might even say excessive but I'm somewhat anal & OCD can be a [email protected]#H. (taken from another post) 
*Dainichi is my choice pellet http://www.dainichi.com/cichlid_food_ultima.html . Supplements & treats are live earthworms, crickets & crayfish, freezedried krill, tubifex & bloodworms, frozen silversides & shrimp, fresh blanched peas & zuccini, spirulina & algae tabs soaked in VitaChem. Yes I spoil them but so far it's been worth it!! "T"*


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

Al'Thor said:


> phishes said:
> 
> 
> > Al'Thor said:
> ...


I'm saying they should have a invert diet. The mouth on an oscar is pointed up, which means it mostly feeds on the surface. The mouth would make them a poor grazer on algae or aquatic plants. Beef hart is very fatty, so I wouldn't feed that either. Look at the mouth of a texas cichlid-a cichlid that eats mostly veggie diet. 








I still think veggies may cause digestive problems in the long term. The point I am trying to make is that diegestive systems are different in every specieces of animal. Plant based foods are harder to break down in the stomach then meat. Why doesn't anyone get this???


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

Al'Thor said:


> phishes said:
> 
> 
> > Al'Thor said:
> ...


I'm saying veggie matter is hard to digest, and especially for preditorary fish. I'll beleive you if you actually post the study on plants being found in oscar's stomachs. If plants have been found in the stomach, I would think it is due to clearing out the territory. I don't feed beef hart, because it is really fatty. That is the same reason why you shouldn't feed them goldfish. All I know my oscar hasn't had any veggies, and he is 13'' and very healthy. I bought him around 5 years ago, and he was 2''. He has lots of new growth, and extremely active. 
Also it does say oscars are *carnivors* on this web site. Why do you think :-?


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## Al'Thor (Mar 11, 2006)

http://www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/art ... .asp?id=74

http://www.worldcichlids.com/fishprofil ... ofile.html

http://s10.zetaboards.com/WWFA/topic/77785/1/

These are just a few I found with very little searching. If you'd like, I could go more in depth and look a bit harder for more. I believe they were either by Kullander or Winemiller. A large number of the articles and studies I've read indicate a need for high protein diets and diets rich with ascorbic acid(vitamin C). Here's one that's a bit technical, but details this.

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/128/10/1745

Again, I'm not saying they are vegetarians or will die without eating fruits and veggies. I'm not saying in any way whatsoever that your fish is unhealthy or undernourished. All I was getting at is that in the wild they do eat fruit and plant matter, and in my opinion, indicates that it may be beneficial for me to feed them to my fish. I'm not saying everyone has to, just that I do. And I've been keeping Oscars for almost 20yrs.


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## moneygetter1 (Jan 8, 2006)

8) Great info *Al'Thor*!! 
*phishes*, I'm glad your 'O' is doing well & I'm not sayin anything negative about your fishkeeping. Like I said, OCD carries me overboard at times. The Amazon region is full of dense vegetation & flora so it stands to reason that the fish in that region would partake either directly or indirectly. (eating something that eats veg. matter) Yes, a sole veg. diet would not be benificial but to supplement that which they would acquire in some form or fashion can only enhance their growth, coloring & overall longevity. 5 yrs. is a good start but ya got 10 or more to go! "T"


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## moneygetter1 (Jan 8, 2006)

8) "T"


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

all fish benefit from vegetation, it doesnt matter whether they eat the plant itself, or if they eat a fish that eats plants, they still get the nutrition, therefore you SHOULD supplement veggie matter into there diet.


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## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

> I'm saying they should have a invert diet. The mouth on an oscar is pointed up, which means it mostly feeds on the surface. The mouth would make them a poor grazer on algae or aquatic plants. Beef hart is very fatty, so I wouldn't feed that either. Look at the mouth of a texas cichlid-a cichlid that eats mostly veggie diet.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


ok, i see your point. but, what do think is in the stomachs of all the fish & inverts they eat. :wink:

and yes, they have pointed up mouths. but most of the plant matter they consume falls from overhanging branches.

check this link out, it's a complete menu of wild oscars-
http://fishbase.org/TrophicEco/FoodItem ... =ocellatus


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