Any Ways Of Making My Oscar Happier?

[guppy_man]

Are there any ways of making my oscar happier other than lots of food lol?

He looks happy at the moment, and has been since i got him, but i wan't to find ways of making him happier.
Ive heard of toys, what type of things can i use?

thanks

 

[Ferris]

Ping pong ball is a well known one - tried it with mine but he just ignores it.

 

[guppy_man]

lol maybe ping pong isnt his game

 

[idlefingers]

I read about someone training theirs to play tug of war with rubber tubing.

 

[ox5477]

You can make feeding more of a game (if you just normally drop the food in). Use some good sized krill or other larger sized meaty foods and dangle it in the water. If he comes right away move it away a little and make him chase after it a little like he would in nature. If he is a little skiddish try moving your hand slowly closer to him. He might braven up and take it right from your hand or he might dart away. If he darts away then try moving towards him again and right before you get to about the distance you got to him before, let the food go and this I would think would teach him to associate your hand with food. Soon he should braven up when he realizes your hand is nothing to fear and then maybe you can try doing the chase game mentioned above, just something to keep it's wild instincts in tune and get a little exercise

 

[guppy_man]

You can make feeding more of a game (if you just normally drop the food in). Use some good sized krill or other larger sized meaty foods and dangle it in the water. If he comes right away move it away a little and make him chase after it a little like he would in nature. If he is a little skiddish try moving your hand slowly closer to him. He might braven up and take it right from your hand or he might dart away. If he darts away then try moving towards him again and right before you get to about the distance you got to him before, let the food go and this I would think would teach him to associate your hand with food. Soon he should braven up when he realizes your hand is nothing to fear and then maybe you can try doing the chase game mentioned above, just something to keep it's wild instincts in tune and get a little exercise

he may also think that my hand is food lol
i tried what you suggested about the chase game, i used a worm, he chased for a while, then i thought it was a little nasty of me, he kept on looking at me with those big red beady eyes so i gave in , he loves his worms

 

[ox5477]

You can make feeding more of a game (if you just normally drop the food in). Use some good sized krill or other larger sized meaty foods and dangle it in the water. If he comes right away move it away a little and make him chase after it a little like he would in nature. If he is a little skiddish try moving your hand slowly closer to him. He might braven up and take it right from your hand or he might dart away. If he darts away then try moving towards him again and right before you get to about the distance you got to him before, let the food go and this I would think would teach him to associate your hand with food. Soon he should braven up when he realizes your hand is nothing to fear and then maybe you can try doing the chase game mentioned above, just something to keep it's wild instincts in tune and get a little exercise

he may also think that my hand is food lol
i tried what you suggested about the chase game, i used a worm, he chased for a while, then i thought it was a little nasty of me, he kept on looking at me with those big red beady eyes so i gave in , he loves his worms

Well if your reactions arnt quick enough to pull away from him then I would suggest never getting behind the wheel either

 

[DiscusAngel]

get live river shrimp. my discus love chasing aruond the tank for them just buy some from your lfs andpour the whole bag in hell have fun chasing them.

 

[guppy_man]

get live river shrimp. my discus love chasing aruond the tank for them just buy some from your lfs andpour the whole bag in hell have fun chasing them.

yeh, i bought a few of those shrimps, they were in saltwater, 10 for £1 bargain, my oscar ate them all in under half an hour im going to maidenhead again tomorrow so maybe ill buy a few more.

 

[DiscusAngel]

lol.. im sure he does!

 

[beechey]

never seen live river shrimp.

 

[DiscusAngel]

never seen live river shrimp.

its at my lfs all the time along with bloodworm and brineshrimp.