Oscar's eating habits

[itis]

I feed my Oscar those orange food sticks, and he really likes them. But, he will suck one of them into his mouth, and in about 3 seconds it looks like he's burping, and a bunch of little crushed up pieces of it will come back out of his mouth and his gills. Then, he just grabs another one and does the same thing. It almost looks like he's just crushing it up and spitting it out. And the bottom of his tank always looks like I've been overfeeding him when I haven't been. Is this how Oscar's eat? Why does he spit everything back out again?

[kevkoi]

Messy oscars, that's just the way they are.... That's why the advice with oscars is 'copious amount of filtration'.

.. Oscars are PIGS.

[deep_end]

Itis,

If the oscar eventually finishes off those crushed food pellets within the next few hours or by the next morning, it's usually not a cause for worry. Otherwise, you might want to

1) change the food
2) remove all uneaten food particles - they really pollute the water

[Indy]

My Oscar seems to fill his mouth too full then he holds it in his mouth for several minutes. He looks like he is trying to chew but has his mouth too full. Finally he will spit part of his food out and start over again. Do they have teeth and if so where are they, front or back.

[cminghan]

try to feed them in smaller amount and increace the time of feeding,but do not over feed.

[pauline]

Oscars are MESSY eaters. Mine used to do the same; some even came out through the gills! But they really have character. I've since given them to a friend as 5 semi adult oscars in a 2.5' tank is really crowded.

[dom]

i mixed my brother oscar with 1 flowerhorn, 4 parrots, 2 bichirs and 1 koi... my dad always feed them just like a soup spoon of koi/goldfish pellet only. They grab and just swallow. nvr see the oscar eating like what u said.

perhaps, yr oscar hv good life n playing with the pellet.

[dharvieux]

I had the same trouble try feeding him freeze dried shrimp they love them and they are not messy.