I need help with oscar cichlids .they refuse to eat ?

Question

i got 2 5 inch albino red/tiger oscars and i have them in a 90 gallon tank ( they are only with 2 plecos)

they refuse to eat anythign that ive tried

i gave them flake food ( they will take it but after a few second they will spit it up) also i tried frozen baby shrimp but they didnt even came close to try it

so what to do now??? what foods should i offer them ??? what kind of food will bring out their "redness" ,show their color

Answer 1

If the oxygen is not high enough(saturated)in the water, then the metabolism of the fish will be low and hence the fish don't need to eat.  Is the PH level correct for that species of fish?  Is the tank well aerated?  Do you overfeed the fish?  Have you collected all the uneaten food when it is not eaten(important)?  Do you have a big enough filter system for the tank?  At 90 gallons you should have at least two high flow filters.  Are you cleaning the filters correctly?  Do you use activated carbon in conjunction with the filter system.   Are the fish acting normally otherwise?  Remember that the most important thing in raising fish in a home is the quality of the water.  And don't forget that having the right kinds of bacteria present is very important as well.

Answer 2

A couple of things come to mind , one is what kind of foods were they eating before yo got them?What kind of water conditions were they in and is it much different than what they are in now?  A 5 inch oscar (if it is in good heath) can go for several weeks with out eating and remain healthy. You might wish to get some cichlid pellets and soak them in fresh squeezed garlic juice. Th garlic juice help to get rid of any internal parasites in the digestive tract. You might even wish to get some earthworms (from a place that has not been sprayed) (I grow my own in containers so that i know that they are clean).

Answer 3

Go get feeder fish that the pet store will have. Also look for cichlid food. I love the Oscar fish. When you get your feeder fish to your house do not dump their water into your tank. Get them acclimated to the temperature of your tank while they are in their holding bag. In fifteen minutes or twenty get a bucket and your net dump the feeder fish into the net while holding the net over the bucket. (this may take two people but the net should be able to straddle the bucket). Your Oscars will love you.

I love those fish and wish I had never gotten rid of my tank.  

Answer 4

Don't focus too much on foods to bring out colors.  Keeping ideal and near perfect water conditions will do far more to promote that then the foods.  How long ago did you get these Oscars?  There is a certain amount of time fish need to acclimate to their new home, and sometimes they won't eat foods.  What water conditions do you have them in?  I'm big on keeping any cichlid in the proper water parameters they originate from.  South Americans do well in lower PH and softer waters.  You might want to investigate that.  

You do have the proper sized tank for a pair, so tank size shouldn't be an issue.  Like the second poster said, maybe your O2 levels are too low.  DO NOT and I say again, DO NOT even think of feeder fish.  That issue is so irresponsible and foolish the person saying that should be feed a bowl of cyanide.  Feeder fish is a sure fire way to bring pathogens into your tank as well as promote hole in the head.

Finally you just might have some bad fish.  I've tried raising Oscars from younger ages, and they just didn't seem to do very well for me.  Oscars already at a size of around 5-6 inches did better for me. I don't know why but my smaller Oscars always had close to this issue too, just didn't seem to eat much.  I guess it happens sometimes in this species.