Oscars eating habit.

Question
I have an oscar about 9 inches long in a 40 gallon tank. Now ive fed it silver sides before and that was all it ate for a long time. When i ran out of those i gave it pellets until i got more fish. He ate them again and now it wont eat them, but instead plays with them. Takes a bite and then ignores it. Why would that be?

Answer
Hi Monique,

I'm afraid I don't understand which he's not eating - the fish or the pellets? Anyways, I've included both answers.

Not eating PELLETS:

Many Cichlids don't really like pellets. He may have eaten some in the beginning because he was really hungry. There's also a possibility that you are feeding him a bit too much, and so he can't eat it all. Switching back to fish may be a better option because he's used to that diet already.

Not eating FISH:
Again, this may be a problem with the appetite- he may be full already. However, perhaps he liked the pellets, and has gotten used to that.

In any case, perhaps try to feed a combination of Fish AND Pellets. See what happens. If he still doesn't eat, then try not feeding him for 3 whole days. Then, feed him on the fourth day - I'm sure he'll be hungry. Don't worry about the possibility of starvation - freshwater aquarium fish can easily survive over a week without food.

Good Luck!