Getting My Oscar ready for a fair.

Question
QUESTION: Hello Lynda
I have a year old Oscar, his name is O'malley :D, and I thought you could give me some suggestions about getting his color up and getting him ready for the fair. ( I don't know how he'll feel about a lot of people walking past him and staring at him) SO I guess my question is what I can feed him, I heard that feeder fish can bring out their color, but I don't want to take a chance of him getting hole-in-head. Right now I'm feeding him live crikets, frozen brine shrimp, and frozen beefheart. And I don't want to buy that type of food that promotes color because O'malley is pretty enough with out fake coloration. Is there anything I can do?

Here's a bad pic of him
http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j222/OrdinaryFreak101/?action=view¤t=pen

ANSWER: Hi April,
Your Oscar is very handsome!  You are feeding him the right foods, you could also add Bloodworms, and pellets made especially for Oscars.  When feeding pellets, soak them first.  Never feed him feeder fish.  They have no nutritional value, and most of them are full of disease.  You could also feed him frozen fish that we find at the grocery store.  Make sure they are fresh water fish.  He should be fed veggies too, such as deshelled peas, lettuce, carrots, and zucchini.  Choose food that have lots of vitamins.  
I don't know how he will react at the fair.  When an Oscar is afraid, or stressed his colour fades.  Let's hope this doesn't happen.
Hope this helps.
Lynda

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QUESTION: I feed him the Chichlid ( I cant spell) Staple food pellets, and I should soak them first? And I fed him a feeder fish once or twice. And that was when he was scared, when I took the picture. He's usually a darker grey, with almost black stripes and then neon Oh-my-god that's bright orange stripes. I didnt know I could feed him veggies! That's so cool! Can I feed him the carrots that come straight from a can or should they not be cookes? And one more thing, I woke up after I asked you this question, and found O'malley had a weird bump on his side, and looked really bloated. I tried feeding him peas, but they sunk to the bottom of the tank which made him uninterested, and I tried Espom Salt and waiting to see if it has any effect. Is that the right thing to do?

ANSWER: Hi April,
Give him fresh vegetables that you have cooked for about five minutes, or buy the frozen ones at the grocery store.  There are more vitamins in the frozen, and fresh vegetables.  I buy a bag of mixed frozen vegetables, and just blanch them.  I prefer to soak the pellets before giving them to my Oscar because they are easier for him to digest.  Beef Heart is also hard for them to digest, and should only be given occasionally.
I personally do not believe in Epsom Salts seeing as I have never had any good results with them.  I find that it stresses the fish, makes him more sick, and I do not use them.  This is only my opinion.  It would be the last resort if I ever had to use Epsom Salts.  I would try teasing him with the pea, hopefully he will eat some.  Don't forget to remove the outer layer.   If he does eat the peas, feed him nothing else for a few days, he must waste.  If he does not waste, you will have to buy him antibiotics.  "Kanamycin" is very good for Swim Bladder Disease, but it is very hard to find.  "Tetracycline" or "Furan 2" may also be used.  Follow the directions carefully, and never overdose.
You didn't mention what size tank O'malley is in.  I hope he is in a 55 gallon tank or bigger.  I am saying this because Oscars who are kept in smaller tanks get very sick.  Bumps appear on their bodies, and they is no cure.  What happens is that their growth is stunted, and the organs have no room to grow.  They get sick, and die.  I hope this is not the case, and that he will get well soon.
Lynda

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QUESTION: I would never keep him in a small tank! Him nor any fish! That's not right. He's in a 55, but I am buying him a 400 gallon in a month or so. But I used the salt stuff. . . and I havent been feeding him. I can't loose him, I just can't. He is MY BABY!!! I bought a bag of dried peas. . . that are cut up will those do?

Answer
Hi!
If you mean a bag of frozen peas, yes they will do.  If you are talking about dry peas that you must cook a long time, no, this isn't the right peas for now.  You find the frozen peas at the Market in the same place where they keep frozen veggies.   Can peas are too salty for fish.  Cook the "Frozen" peas a little, and remove the outer skin.  He should eat them.    When we suspect Swim Bladder, it is not good to put aquarium salt.  Don't add aquarium salt to your water until he is better.
I'm happy to know that he is in a big tank.  Too many Oscars are kept in small tanks through no fault of the owner, but the vendor who gives the wrong information.
I hope he feels better soon, as I know how attached we are to our Oscars.  They are members of the family, and we love them.
Lynda