Oscar Feedings

[reef3]

Well, I have 5 oscars, 4 pacus, and 5 sharks in a 55, and i do plan to take some out as they get bigger, and tend to pick on the weaker more. but as i feed my fish (which is a lot of food) sometimes my oscars will have the pellets actually hanging out of their mouths, and you can see more go all the way back, are they just over stuffing?! ha because they eat a lot of them and sometimes when they open their mouths after feeding i can see them in their throwt, sometimes even 10 mins after feeding, should i make sure they digest it all before i give them more? or should i have nothing to worry about

 

[CFC]

Well, I have 5 oscars, 4 pacus, and 5 sharks in a 55, and i do plan to take some out as they get bigger, and tend to pick on the weaker more.



A 55g is barely big enough for one oscar let alone anything else and pacu really should be left for zoos as they get HUGE.Also what sharks do you have?IME very few non cichlid species live long with oscars so if they are balas then you need to reconsider them as well.

 

[cichlidmaster]

I agree with CFC..................

The pacus will all but outgrow this tank in a very short time. Red pacu attain an adult size of 24" and the black pacu can get up to 3FT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please consider taking the pacu back to the shop you got them from. An adult pacu (1) should be housed in nothing smaller than a 180 gallon tank for it to remain healthy and happy!!!

Although I also agree that the 55 is really to small for 1 oscar, it would do alright as long as bi-weekly water changes were done and you had adequate filtration on the tank!!!

Please let us know what type of "sharks" are in the tank as well.

CM

 

[thetim6]

my red devil did that when i first got him. everything in the tank was bigger than him, so i think he was trying to eat fast and grow fast, or she was, and she did. she would have three or four pellets in a line in her mouth and throat. it was crazy. i dont think there is any harm in it, there wasnt for me. even if they are juvies though, that tank is way overcrowded. 14 fish in a 55 is like whoa dude.

 

[reef3]

ok i know they will outgrow quickly , do you think im stupid? i have many other tanks, im hoping 2 of the 5 oscars will make a pair, which i can breed, and they will be moved to a 200 gallon, and my pacus will be moved to my friends pet store. and the tank is not over crouded, it will be, but i will be taking fish out. the pacus are no bigger than 3 inches, and the oscars are probably 3 also, as they will soon n ot be, i DO plan to make the changes, i was just simply making sure that the feeding thing wasnt a concern. and i have white tip sharks with them

 

[reef3]

Pacus can in fact grow to 24" and even bigger in the wild, but they rarely grow bigger than 12" in an aquarium.

 

[cichlidmaster]

No one called you stupid!!!!

You failed to post this extra information in your original post. When someone...ANYONE comes here and post only they have this many fish of this species in this size tank without explining in further detail, we assume they don't have other tanks!!

I am glad to hear you have other tanks for these fish!!!!!!

One thing tho...whoever told you that pacus rarely grow more than 12" in an aquarium is sadly mistaken!!

I kept a red pacu before and it grew to almost a full 2ft in it's tank before I donated it to a pet shop that had a 1500 gallon display tank!!

Again...sorry you took offense at the members of this board looking out for the welfare of your fish, but in the future you really need to post all the details so this doesn't happen again!!

CM

 

[reef3]

i know nobody called me stupid, but i find it very hard to beleive that someone would have fish of this size and not know how big they are to get. u should not jump to conclusions.

i disagree with you and saying that a RED BELLY pacus will grow to 24 inches out of the wild without premium care , and food from the wild. i have seen plenty of full grown pacus that were very many years old and were under 16"

i would like you to visit www.aquariumfish.net . that is where i received my information on pacus, simply go there and click on wild fish to the left, and find the pacus and click more information. these people are elder and have been breeding fish for many many years. i trust them on all of their information and have never found them to be wrong. i do not think somebody with this much experience with fish would be wrong.

thank you

 

[cichlidmaster]

i know nobody called me stupid, but i find it very hard to beleive that someone would have fish of this size and not know how big they are to get. u should not jump to conclusions.

Tell ya what reef3...............

You listen to what you want and I'll continue to post the way I see fit!!!!!

You would be suprised how many people are misled by shops and end up with an oscar or pacu or redtail cat and not know how big they get!!

Not everyone is as dedicated as you and don't research the fish before buying them....that's is one of the reason's they come to these forums.

i disagree with you and saying that a RED BELLY pacus will grow to 24 inches out of the wild without premium care , and food from the wild. i have seen plenty of full grown pacus that were very many years old and were under 16"

As for ANY fish growing to it's potential...I agree with you!!!! NO fish will attain optimum growth without excellant care and a good/varied diet!!! What's your point? Are you saying it's impossible to grow a fish to it's full potential in an aquarium???

The only reason a pacu would NOT grow to it's full size in an aquarium is if it's not given good care, a good diet and a proper size tank.

I have seen many full grown red (24") and black (36") pacu's in public aquariums!! So I guess it's safe to say if one can't provide the proper size tank for these fish....then they have no business keeping them!!!

Actually it is more common for fish to grow LARGER in an aquarium than in the wild!! This is made possible by the simple fact that in the wild fish have to scavenge for their food where as in an aquarium they can be fed several times per day!! This coupled with good fish husbandry makes it possible!!

Ever see a 6-7" Aulonocara species??? In the wild most of these species do not grow larger than 4-5"!!!!!!

This is why in fish shows certain fish are passed over due to being larger than their natural size in the wild!!!!

i would like you to visit www.aquariumfish.net . that is where i received my information on pacus, simply go there and click on wild fish to the left, and find the pacus and click more information. these people are elder and have been breeding fish for many many years. i trust them on all of their information and have never found them to be wrong. i do not think somebody with this much experience with fish would be wrong.

As far as going to another site where there's "elders" who have been "breeding" fish for many years...well maybe I should!!!!

I would fit right in since I have been keeping fish for over 20 years and bred fish professionally for 10 years before venturing into what I do now which is importing and resale!!!

As for disagreeing with me....well that's your perogative!!

thank you

No....Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CM

 

[reef3]

thats nothing, these guys have been breeding professionally for 40 years. Im not saying its impossible to grow a fish to its full potential in an aquarium. I just doubt that it will happen. In fishes Natural Inviroment, where they have been for a very long time, everything is a lot more stable, less stress, and I think that where a fish is born is the best place for them to grow up because when they are born, and grow up a little, thats what they are used to (of course) but when they change aquariums or major locations they never get fully used to it. And also chemical levels in an aquarium are not always stable, as they usually would be in lakes.

 

[reef3]

nooo THANK YOUUUUUUUUU

 

[William]

thats nothing, these guys have been breeding professionally for 40 years. Im not saying its impossible to grow a fish to its full potential in an aquarium. I just doubt that it will happen. In fishes Natural Inviroment, where they have been for a very long time, everything is a lot more stable, less stress, and I think that where a fish is born is the best place for them to grow up because when they are born, and grow up a little, thats what they are used to (of course) but when they change aquariums or major locations they never get fully used to it. And also chemical levels in an aquarium are not always stable, as they usually would be in lakes.

If thats your feelings sell up your aquariums and start digging a lake

Besides since you claim to be so knowledgeable on the subject why did you feel the need to ask a simple question as to what to feed oscars? Surely a person with your attention to detail and love of research would have found out before you purchased the fish?

I just think that when people give advice which most other people would gladly accept with open arms you reject it and attempt throw it back, CM has been keeping cichlids for years and if there is something he doesn't know about it it's probably not worth knowing

 

[CFC]

Go William!

CM im with you fully if he dosent want advise and opinions then why ask?

 

[cichlidmaster]

thats nothing, these guys have been breeding professionally for 40 years.

Well ya got me there!!!!!!!!!!!

Im not saying its impossible to grow a fish to its full potential in an aquarium. I just doubt that it will happen.

Does this come from personal experiance or from advice you recieved from the "elders"??

In fishes Natural Inviroment, where they have been for a very long time, everything is a lot more stable, less stress, and I think that where a fish is born is the best place for them to grow up because when they are born, and grow up a little, thats what they are used to (of course) but when they change aquariums or major locations they never get fully used to it. And also chemical levels in an aquarium are not always stable, as they usually would be in lakes.

Obviously you feel very strongly about this....so why ARE you subjecting fish to the stress and ill health of your aquariums??

Someone who feels this way should be advocating AGAINST the aquarium hobby....don't you think!!!!


reef3,

I'm curious as to why you came here with your question about feeding instead of going to the "elders" with it??

I mean individuals with "40 years" of breeding experiance could surely have given you the answer...could they not?

Maybe you felt they are "above" such a simple question!! Then again....maybe you don't know them as well or at all like you say you do!!

Then again could it be you REALLY did not know the answer to your question and did not want to "blow your cover" with them??

You see.....I believe you really don't know as much as you try to let on and maybe...just maybe you have built yourself up at this other forum to make them think your knowlegable, or maybe you just don't know the people their as well as you say you do and felt that by "name dropping" (although "elders" really is not name dropping)this would give you some "credibility" here!!

We here at FishForum.net give our time and help freely to whoever asks for it. Please don't waste our time with frivolous attempts at starting flame wars as this only takes time away from those who really need it and are sincere in their questions.

We would hope that you continue to post here and not take this personally, but if not then good luck and good fishkeeping.

CM

 

[reg2k2]

Ran across that site today, not a forum(that I saw); they sell fish. The owners have been in the fish business for 30yrs, nothing to scoff at, but I didn't see any mention of breeding. And tho they do seem to try to be helpful by providing info, obv. their main concern is selling fish.
See this customer comment re: another very large fish. The response explained that 16" was listed as this was the largest he had seen personally, and subsequently changed the chart to read 30"+. I suspect the same could be true of the pacu...perhaps he hasn't *seen* any larger in aquaria.


Anyway, did you get the answer to your fishie-food question???


p.s. CM, don't worry...I still consider u an elder...