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13 Best Oscar Fish Food 2022 (Incl. Printable Weekly Schedule)

Oscar fish can grow pretty fast. They can grow as much as 1 inch per month. And to support their growth, you’ll need to provide them with high-quality food. 

In this article, I’m going to show you the best oscar fish food for faster growth and to enhance the color of your oscar fish. 

Keep reading…

Best oscar fish foods (Table)

Fish foodKey FeaturesEditor’s commentPrice
Omega One Super Color Sinking Cichlid Pellets– Contains all the essential ingredients
– Whole ingredients
Overall the best food for Oscar fishCheck the latest price at Amazon here
Aqueon cichlid food– Contains all the essential nutrients
– Doesn’t cloud the water
– Floating pellets
– Comes in different sizes
Good for all sizes of oscar fishCheck the latest price at Amazon here
TetraCichlid Cichlid Flakes– Flake Food
– Protein-rich ingredients
– Cheap
Best flake food for oscar fishCheck the latest price at Amazon here
New Life Spectrum Thera A– Whole ingredients
– High-quality ingredients
– Contains all the essential ingredients
Best oscar fish supplementCheck the latest price at Amazon here
New Life Spectrum Naturox Series Cichlid Formula Supplement– Whole ingredients
– High-quality ingredients
– Enhances color
– Contains all the essential ingredients
Best color enhancing supplementCheck the latest price at Amazon here
Tetra JumboMin Large Floating Sticks– Protein-rich
– Enhances color
– Floating
– Large sticks form
Ideal fish food size and for large oscar fishCheck the latest price at Amazon here
Hikari Tropical Food Sticks– Protein-rich
– Enhances coloration 
– Doesn’t foul the water
– Floating
– Large sticks form
Affordable and quality fish food for oscar fishCheck the latest price at Amazon here
Fluval Bug Bites Cichlid Fish Food– High-quality ingredients
– Doesn’t contain a lot of filler ingredients
– Doesn’t contain preservatives and artificial colors
Very good fish food for faster growth of oscar fishCheck the latest price at Amazon here
Hikari Cichlid Gold Floating Pellets– Contains all the essential nutrients
– Helps to enhance the coloration
– Does not cloud water
Affordable
An affordable and good quality color enhancing fish foodCheck the latest price at Amazon here
Aqueon Monster Fish Medley– Protein-rich
– Floating fish food
– Doesn’t cloud the water if fed properly
– No filler ingredients
Very good fish food for faster growth of oscar fishCheck the latest price at Amazon here
Tetra BabyShrimp– Protein-rich
– Contains natural color enhancer
– Floating food
– Doesn’t cloud the water
Affordable fish food option for faster growth of oscar fishCheck the latest price at Amazon here
Pisces Pros HBH Oscar Bites– Ideal for juvenile oscar fish
– Floating
– Protein-rich
– Contains color enhancing ingredients
Fish food specially made for juvenile oscar fishCheck the latest price at Amazon here
San Francisco Bay Brand Freeze Dried Mysis Shrimp– Protein-rich ingredients
– High-quality ingredients
– Ideal for baby oscar fish
Provides high-quality protein for faster growth of baby oscar fishCheck the latest price at Amazon here

Best oscar fish foods Overall

oscar fish

The foods mentioned in this section are overall best for your oscar fish because these foods contain all the essential nutrients that oscar fish needs for their proper growth and coloration. 

As oscar fish can grow pretty fast and large they need a lot of protein to support their growth. The foods mentioned below contain a lot of protein for the fast growth of your oscar fish. 

Besides, these foods also contain all the other essential nutrients that Oscars need to carry out various functions such as digestion. 

Also, these fish foods contain color-enhancing ingredients so they’ll improve the coloration of your oscar. 

Providing all the nutrients in sufficient quantity will help with the coloration of oscar fish as well. 

These fish foods also contain vitamins. Oscar fish needs vitamins especially vitamin C for better immunity. Lack of vitamin C weakens the immunity of oscar fish which leads to diseases. 

Overall if you want the fish food for proper growth, coloration, and immunity of your oscar fish you can choose the following foods. 

1. Omega One Super Color Sinking Cichlid Pellets

Pros

  • High-quality ingredients
  • Colour enhancing ingredients
  • Protein-rich ingredients

Cons

  • Sinking pellets
  • Relatively small size

Check the latest price on Amazon here

If you are looking for fish food for better coloration, faster growth, and better immunity of your Oscar fish then Omega one super color sinking cichlid pellets is for you.

The best part about this fish food is that it contains whole ingredients.

Many fish foods contain meals like fish meal, shrimp meal, which doesn’t contain the whole fish or shrimp. But it’s basically the leftover part of the fish or shrimp. 

This fish food contains whole ingredients like whole fish, whole shrimp so it contains the good stuff and not just leftover!

This pellet food contains color-enhancing ingredients such as astaxanthin, kelp, canthaxanthin, etc so it will help to improve the coloration of your Oscar fish.

It also contains high-quality whole meaty ingredients such as Salman, Whole Herring, Whole Shrimp, which will help for faster growth of your Oscar fish.

It also contains a plant-based ingredient- Kelp, which is basically algae. Oscar fish needs some plant-based food for digestion. 

Also, plant-based foods help to improve the coloration of oscar fish. 

This fish food also contains vitamins so it will help to improve the immunity of your oscar fish. 

The size of the pellets is relatively smaller for large Oscar fish and they are sinking pellets so sometimes your Oscar fish may not notice them and the pellets will settle down at the bottom of your fish tank.

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

2. Aqueon cichlid food

Pros

  • Contains all the essential nutrients
  • Doesn’t cloud the water
  • Floating pellets
  • Comes in different sizes

Cons

  • Does not contain whole ingredients

Check the latest price on Amazon here

Aqueon cichlid food is pellet fish food. The pellets float on the surface of your aquarium water so your Oscar fish can easily eat them.

The pellets come in different sizes viz. small and medium-size pellets. And the granules of the medium size pellets are approximately around 3 mm.

If you have small Oscar fish then you can go for the small size pellets and if you have larger Oscar fish then you can go for medium granule pellets.

This fish food contains both meaty ingredients as well as plant-based ingredients so it can be used as a whole diet for your Oscar fish.

This fish food contains meaty protein-rich ingredients such as fish meal, shrimp meal, squid meal, etc. These ingredients will provide protein to your Oscar fish and help it with faster growth.

It also contains plant-based ingredients such as spirulina which is a type of green algae. And it helps with the digestion and coloration of your Oscar fish.

Besides, it also contains color-enhancing ingredients such as astaxanthin.

It also contains essential vitamins such as vitamin C which will help to improve the immune system of your Oscar fish.

You should pre-soak these pellets before feeding it to your Oscar fish to avoid clouding your aquarium water.

And you should feed the amount of pellet your Oscar fish can consume within a few minutes.

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

3. TetraCichlid Cichlid Flakes

Pros

  • Flake Food
  • Protein-rich ingredients
  • Affordable

Cons

  • Clouds water
  • Does not contain whole ingredients

Check the latest price on Amazon here

TetraCichlid Cichlid Flakes is, as the name suggests, a flake fish food so it floats on the surface of your aquarium water.

You can easily feed this flake food to your large Oscar fish.

If you have smaller Oscar fish then you can crush the flakes so it can fit into their mouths.

This fish food is a whole diet for your oscar fish because it contains both protein-rich meaty ingredients as well as veggies so it contains all the essential nutrients that your Oscar fish need for its proper growth and digestion. 

This fish food contains meaty ingredients such as fish meal and shrimp meal which provides protein for the faster growth of your Oscar fish.

It also contains algae meal which will fulfill the plant-based diet needs of your Oscar fish and help with digestion.

Besides, it also contains vitamin C for better immunity of your Oscar fish.

Though it contains protein-rich ingredients, it doesn’t contain whole ingredients.

Besides, I didn’t find any color-enhancing ingredients in the fish food. And it also has some artificial colors and preservatives.

This fish food also clouds the water a little bit.

Overall, if you are looking for protein-rich flake food then TetraCichlid Cichlid Flakes is a good option for you. 

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

4. New Life Spectrum Thera A (Naturox Series)

Pros

  • Whole ingredients
  • All-natural
  • Contains all the essential ingredients

Cons

  • Sinking pellets

Check the latest price on Amazon here

If you are looking for fish food that contains high-quality ingredients for faster growth and better coloration of your baby oscar fish then New Life Spectrum Thera A is for you.

This is a pellet fish food. The size of the pellet is very small i.e. 1 mm so your baby Oscars can easily consume it.

This fish food contains sinking pellets. However, the pellets will float on your aquarium water for a while and it will start to sink as it absorbs the water.

This fish food contains both whole meaty ingredients as well as plant-based ingredients so you can use this fish food as a complete diet for your baby Oscars.

It contains meaty ingredients such as whole antarctic krill, giant squid, whole menhaden fish which will provide high-quality protein to your Oscar for its faster growth.

It also contains plant-based ingredients like kelp, ulwa seaweed, chlorella seaweed, spirulina which will help with better coloration and digestion of your Oscar fish.

Besides, this fish food also contains vitamin C, D, E, and garlic which will help to improve the immunity of your baby Oscars.

The best part about this fish food is that it contains whole ingredients and it doesn’t contain any artificial preservatives, flavoring, or colors.

You should feed this fish food a couple of times every day to your baby Oscar. And every time you should feed the amount of food they can consume within a few minutes.

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

Best Oscar fish food for color enhancement

oscar fish with vibrant color

Now we are going to talk about the best Oscar fish food that is particularly good if you want to improve your Oscar fish color.

Basically, these fish food contains color-enhancing nutrients such as astaxanthin. 

They also contain plant-based ingredients such as spirulina. Plant-based ingredients help to improve the coloration of Oscar fish.

5. New Life Spectrum Naturox Series Cichlid Formula Supplement

Pros

  • High-quality ingredients
  • Small amount of filler ingredients
  • Contents varied ingredients

Cons

  • Sinking pellets
  • Very small size

Check the latest price on Amazon here

New life spectrum naturox series cichlid formula supplement is one of the best fish food supplements you can feed to your Oscar for better coloration.

The best part about this fish food is that it contains all the natural ingredients and it doesn’t contain any preservatives, flavors, or colors.

This fish food contains natural color-enhancing ingredients such as whole antarctic krill, seaweed, kelp, astaxanthin, spirulina.

Besides, it also contains meaty ingredients such as whole fish, giant squid, etc. 

And it also contains vitamins for better immunity.

Overall, the New life spectrum naturox series cichlid formula supplement is great for enhancing the color of your Oscar and for better immunity and growth as well.

The only problem I can find with this fish food is that it is not floating fish food and the size of the pellets is very small.

So sometimes your Oscars may not even notice this fish food before it settles down in your fish tank.

If you have a Juvenile Oscar fish then it is a perfect diet for your Oscars. But for large Oscar fish, it is probably not enough to fulfill their stomach.

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

6. Tetra JumboMin Large Floating Sticks

Pros

  • Protein-rich
  • Enhances color
  • Floating
  • Large sticks form

Cons

  • Fauls the water
  • Contains a lot of filler ingredients

Check the latest price on Amazon here

If you’re looking for fish food that contains color-enhancing nutrients and contains all the other essential nutrients that your oscar fish needs then Tetra JumboMin Large Floating Sticks are for you. 

Tetra JumboMin Large Floating Sticks contains all the nutrients that oscar fish need for their growth and development. 

In the wild, oscar fish mostly eat meaty foods such as whole fish, shrimp, insects, etc. And this fish food contains meaty ingredients such as dried fish, shrimp meal, krill meal, etc. So this fish food matches the meaty diet of oscar fish. 

Along with meaty foods, oscar fish also need some plant-based food for digestion. These foods also help to enhance the coloration of your oscar fish. 

Tetra JumboMin Large Floating Sticks contains algae meal to fulfill the plant-based diet need of oscar fish. 

Besides, this fish food also contains ingredients that enhance the color of your oscar fish such as Paprika Oleoresin which specifically helps to enhance the red coloration in a fish. 

Though this fish food contains all the essential nutrients, it seems like it also contains a lot of filler ingredients such as Wheat Gluten, Wheat Starch, etc. 

Every fish food is going to have some filler ingredients because these ingredients work as a binding agent in the fish food recipe. 

But as the filler ingredients are at the beginning of the ingredients list in this fish food, I assume they form a good portion of the fish food recipe. 

Oscar fish makes a lot of mess while eating. 

Actually, the chewing of the food produces a lot of small fish food particles in the water of the fish tank.

As this fish food is in a form of large sticks, large oscar fish will gulp the whole stick. This will help to avoid any water fouling issues.

However, once the fish food is swallowed by the fish the fish food breaks down very quickly and you’ll notice red dust coming out through the gills of the fish. 

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

7. Hikari Tropical Food Sticks

Pros

  • Protein-rich
  • Enhances coloration 
  • Doesn’t foul the water
  • Floating
  • Large sticks form

Cons

  • Doesn’t contain plant-based ingredients
  • Doesn’t contain whole ingredients

Check the latest price on Amazon here

If you’re looking for balanced fish food to feed on a daily basis to your oscar fish then Hikari Tropical Food Sticks are for you. 

This fish food contains a  good amount of meaty ingredients such as Fish Meal and Krill Meal. These meaty ingredients provide protein to your oscar fish which helps with their growth. 

Besides, this fish food contains all the essential vitamins especially vitamin C for better immunity of your oscar fish. 

Also, this fish food contains a lot of carotenoids which helps to enhance the coloration of your oscar fish. 

It also contains garlic which will help to get your picky oscar to eat the food and garlic also improves the immunity of a fish. 

This is a floating fish food sticks. So once you added them in your tank they will float on the surface of the water of your tank.

This fish food doesn’t cause any water fouling issues because it doesn’t break down once you put it in your tank. 

Overall, Hikari Tropical Food Sticks contain most of the ingredients that your oscar fish need for their proper growth. 

Also, it will help to enhance the coloration of your fish and will not foul your aquarium water. 

However, from the ingredients list, it seems like this fish does not contain any real plant-based ingredients which are required in small quantities to oscar fish. 

So you’ll need to supplement your oscar fish with vegetables such as green peas to fulfill their plant-based diet need. 

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

Best Oscar fish food for faster growth

big oscar fish

In this section, we are going to cover the best fish food for Oscar fish that will help with the faster growth of your Oscar fish.

Basically, these fish food contains a lot of protein-rich meaty ingredients that helps to grow your Oscar fish much faster.

These fish foods are great to feed your Oscars when they are in their growth stage i.e. when they are not fully grown up.

Besides protein-rich ingredients, some of these fish foods will also contain other nutrients that will help your Oscar fish with coloration and immunity.

8. Fluval Bug Bites Cichlid Fish Food

Pros

  • High-quality ingredients
  • Contains almost all the essential ingredients
  • Doesn’t contain a lot of filler ingredients
  • Doesn’t contain preservatives and artificial colors

Cons

  • Doesn’t contain vitamin c

Check the latest price on Amazon here

Fluval bug bites is the best fish food you can feed to your Oscar fish for their faster growth.

This fish food comes in different forms such as micro-granules, granules pellets, and sticks so you can choose the size and form of the fish food according to the size of your Oscar fish.

Generally, for Oscar fish, you should go for pellets or sticks.

For large Oscar fish, you should go for sticks, and for Juvenile Oscars you can go with pellets granule.

This is a slow sinking fish food so your Oscar fish will eat most of the food before it settles down on the substrate of your fish tank.

If you are keeping some other bottom feeder fish with your Oscar fish then as some of the fish food may settle down on the substrate of your fish tank, they can eat the food. 

This fish food contains high-quality meaty ingredients which will provide protein for the faster growth of your Oscar fish.

It also contains veggies such as green peas which will help with the better digestion of your Oscar fish.

The fish food contains salmon which is a great source of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. And it is good for the skin and the coloration of your oscar fish.

It also contains several vitamins which are good for the immunity of your Oscar fish. 

However, I didn’t find anywhere mentioned that fish food contains vitamin C which is one of the most important vitamins that your Oscar fish needs for its immunity.

The great part about this fish food is that it doesn’t contain a lot of filler ingredients and preservatives and artificial colors.

Also, it doesn’t cloud the water.

As this fish food contains almost all the ingredients that your Oscar fish needs for its proper growth you can use it as a whole diet for your Oscar fish.

Overall, Fluval bug bites cichlid fish food is a great protein-rich fish food for faster growth of your Oscar fish.

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

9. Hikari Cichlid Gold Floating Pellets

Pros

  • Contains all the essential nutrients
  • Helps to enhance the coloration
  • Does not cloud water
  • Affordable

Cons

  • Contains a lot of filler ingredients
  • Doesn’t contain whole ingredients

Check the latest price on Amazon here

If you are looking for fish food that contains all the essential nutrients that your Oscar fish need for its growth. And if you want to improve the coloration of your Oscar then Hikari cichlid gold floating pellets are for you.

The first ingredient in this fish food is fish meal which is great because in the wild oscar fish feed mostly on fish. Also, in fish foods, generally, the first ingredient constitutes a bigger portion of the fish food recipe. 

Besides it also contains spirulina which fulfills the plant-based diet need of Oscar fish.

This fish food also contains various vitamins especially vitamin C which helps to improve the immunity of oscar fish.

Besides, this fish food also contains color-enhancing ingredients such as astaxanthin which will enhance the coloration of your Oscar fish.

This fish food also contains garlic. Garlic makes the food appetizing for the fish so if you have any picky Oscar in your tank then this will help encourage them to eat the food.

Besides, garlic also helps in improving the immunity of your fish.

Oscar fish are very messy eaters. As this fish food is in the form of pellets and it is floating fish food, the Oscars will gulp the pellets one by one and will not make a mess in your fish tank.

Another good thing about this fish food is that it comes in different sizes so you can choose the pellet size according to the size of your Oscar fish.

Though this fish food contains all the essential nutrients for Oscar fish, it seems like it also contains a lot of filler ingredients such as wheat flour, yeast, etc.

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

10. Aqueon Monster Fish Medley

Pros

  • Protein-rich
  • Floating fish food
  • Doesn’t cloud the water if fed properly
  • No filler ingredients

Cons

  • Contains more mealworms than shrimp
  • Doesn’t contain any plant-based ingredients

Check the latest price on Amazon here

If you are looking for wholesome fish food that contains only real ingredients and no filler ingredients then Aqueon monster fish medley is for you.

This fish food contains only wholesome ingredients viz. dehydrated river shrimp and mealworms.

This is a floating fish food so it will float on the surface of your aquarium water. Your oscar fish can easily notice it on the surface of your fish tank water and consume all the fish food.

As the shrimps and mealworms are dehydrated they are crisp which is good if you want to feed it do small fish because you can easily crush it so it can fit into their mouth.

As Oscar fish are large so you don’t need to crush the fish food before feeding it to your Oscars.

If you directly put the fish food in your tank then as this fish food is crisp, the munching of Oscar fish will cloud your aquarium water

To avoid clouding your aquarium water you can soak this fish food in water from your fish tank for a few minutes and then add it in your fish tank.

As this fish food contains only two meaty ingredients viz. Mealworms and shrimps, it will provide a lot of protein to your Oscar fish for its faster growth.

However, as Oscar fish are omnivorous they also need some plant-based food for digestion and 

better coloration. So you will need to supplement your oscar with plant-based fish food or you can also feed vegetables to you are Oscar fish to fulfill their plant-based diet needs.

The snag with this fish food is that the ratio of shrimp to mealworms is 20 to 80.

It contains around 20% mealworms and 80% shrimp.

Now Oscar fish can happily eat frozen or live mealworms but some Oscars may not like dried mealworms.

This can be a problem if you have picky Oscars as Oscars may only eat the shrimps and leave mealworms altogether.

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

11. Tetra BabyShrimp

Pros

  • Protein-rich
  • Contains natural color enhancer
  • Floating food
  • Doesn’t cloud the water

Cons

  • Doesn’t contain all the nutrients essential nutrients

Check the latest price on Amazon here

Tetra baby shrimp is a great treat for your oscar fish. 

This fish food is not a whole diet for your Oscar fish because it will not provide all the nutrients that Oscar fish need.

But it is a great supplement for your Oscar fish along with other whole fish food.

As the name suggests, the main ingredient of this fish food is baby shrimp.

Shrimp produces carotene which is a natural color enhancer. And it improves the red, orange, and pink coloration of your Oscar fish.

As this treat contains shrimp with shells it will help with the digestion of your Oscar fish.

The baby shrimp will also provide high-quality protein for the faster growth of your Oscar fish.

Besides, the size of the baby shrimp is large enough for your Oscar fish so they can gulp them one at a time.

The dried baby shrimps float on the surface of your aquarium water so your Oscar fish can easily see and eat it so no food will go waste and settle down in your fish tank.

Besides, Tetra baby shrimp doesn’t cloud your aquarium water.

You should feed this fish food around 2 to 3 times per week to your Oscar fish. And every time you should feed the amount of food they can consume within a few minutes.

Overall, Tetra baby shrimp is a great diet supplement to enhance the coloration and for faster growth of your Oscar fish.

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

Best fish food for baby Oscar fish

baby oscar fish

In this section, I am going to cover the fish food that is particularly good for baby Oscar fish.

These fish food are small enough in size so it can fit into the mouth of small baby Oscar fish.

Besides, this fish food contains protein-rich ingredients which will help to support the growth of the baby Oscar fish.

12. Pisces Pros HBH Oscar Bites

Pros

  • Ideal for juvenile oscar fish
  • Floating
  • Protein-rich
  • Contains color enhancing ingredients

Cons

  • Doesn’t contain any plant-based ingredients
  • Contains a good amount of filler ingredients

Check the latest price on Amazon here

This fish food is specifically made for Juvenile Oscar fish.

It is a pallet fish food and the size of the pellets is small enough to easily fit into the mouth of Juvenile Oscar fish.

The pellets also float on the surface of the water of your fish tank so the Oscars can easily notice and consume it.

This fish food contains meaty protein-rich ingredients as well as color-enhancing ingredients.

However, this fish food doesn’t contain plant-based ingredients so you will need to supplement you are baby Oscar fish with vegetables to fulfill their plant-based diet need.

This fish food contains meaty protein-rich ingredients such as fish meal, shrimp meal, squid meal, etc so it will help for the faster growth of your Oscar fish.

Besides, it contains vitamin C and E sources as well as calcium sources which will help with the immunity of your baby Oscar fish.

Though this fish food contains meaty ingredients such as fish meal and shrimp meal as the first two ingredients then it also contains filler ingredients like wheat flour, yeast corn, gluten, etc.

So overall it seems like this fish food does contain a good amount of filler ingredients.

Besides, it doesn’t contain whole ingredients.

You should feed this fish food maximum of a couple of times per day to your baby Oscar fish. And each time you should feed the amount of food the Oscars can consume within 3 minutes.

If you follow these instructions and don’t overfeed your Oscars then this fish food will not cloud your aquarium water.

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

13. San Francisco Bay Brand Freeze Dried Mysis Shrimp

Pros

  • Protein-rich ingredients
  • High-quality ingredients
  • Ideal for baby oscar fish

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Doesn’t provide all the nutrients

Check the latest price on Amazon here

If you want to treat your baby Oscars with a protein-rich diet then this fish food is for you.

This fish food contains natural Mysis shrimp which provides high-quality protein to Oscars for faster growth and better coloration.

Mysis shrimp are very tiny in size and it will float on the water surface so your baby Oscars can easily consume it.

You can use this fish food to treat your baby Oscars and feed it two to three times every week. And each time you should feed the amount of food they can consume within a few minutes

Check reviews and the latest price on Amazon here

How to choose the best Oscar fish food? (Buyers guide)

oscar fish

Choosing the best fish food for your Oscar fish is not rocket science.

You just need to keep in mind a few things while deciding on the fish food you should feed your Oscar fish.

Feed a variety of food

Just like us, Oscar fish will get bored if you are feeding them only one type of food.

That’s why you should feed a variety of high-quality foods to your Oscar fish.

This includes different forms of fish food like pellets, flakes, live food, frozen food, etc. This also includes the fish food containing different ingredients.

Essential nutrients for Oscar fish

Oscar fish is a fast growing fish that’s why they need high-quality protein-rich food to support their fast growth.

So whichever food you are feeding your Oscar fish make sure it contains a good amount of high-quality proteins.

Meaty ingredients such as shrimp, fish, squid, etc contain a good amount of protein.

Besides meaty ingredients, you should also feed fish food containing plant-based ingredients such as kelp, spirulina, algae, etc.

These plant-based ingredients are essential for the digestion of your oscar fish. Besides, these fish food also helps to improve the coloration of your Oscar fish.

Besides, Oscar fish food also should also contain vitamins, especially vitamin C.

Vitamin C is one of the most important nutrients that Oscar fish needs in their diet. If Oscar fish didn’t get vitamin C for a long time then this can affect their immunity.

Types of fish food for Oscar fish

different types of fish food

Now you know what you should look for in the fish food while choosing fish food for your Oscar fish.

Now let’s talk about different types of fish food you can feed your Oscar fish.

Pellets and sticks

Oscar fish can grow pretty large that’s why generally you will need to feed pellets and large sticks to your Oscar fish.

Ideally, you should choose a floating or at least slow sinking pellet food for your Oscar fish. 

This is important because in the wild Oscar fish generally catches insects from the surface of the water so they are used to eating food from the surface of the water.

As far as ingredients are concerned you should make sure that the pellet food contains high-quality protein-rich ingredients such as whole fish male, whole squid meal, and whole shrimp meal.

Besides, the pellet food should also contain some plant-based ingredients such as whole algae, spirulina, and kelp.

While choosing fish food for oscar fish make sure to choose a fish food that contains vitamin C. Vitamin C is the most important nutrient that oscar fish need for immunity. 

Now when it comes to choosing pellet food for your Oscar fish either you can choose a pellet food that contains all the nutrients for example Omega one super color sinking cichlid pellets

Or you can choose a pellet food that contains only protein-rich meaty ingredients and supplement your oscar fish with veggies like green peas to fulfill their plant-based diet needs. 

Live food

In the wild Oscar fish mostly feeds on live food.

Live food is probably the most nutritious food you can feed to your Oscar fish.

That’s why you should try to feed live food to your Oscar fish such as feeder fish like Goldfish or guppies.

Feeding feeder fish once or twice a week is a good idea.

The risk involved with feeding live food like feeder or guppies is that these feeder fish can have diseases. So there is always a possibility that your Oscar fish will also catch the disease.

That’s why it is very important to choose live feeder fish from a reputed source. 

Plant-based foods

As I mentioned earlier, Oscar fish needs plant-based foods for digestion.

Besides, plant-based foods also help to improve the coloration of your Oscar fish.

You can feed vegetables such as green peas, spinach, and lettuce to your Oscar fish to fulfill their plant-based diet.

Make sure to boil and blanched the vegetables before feeding it to your Oscar fish.

Though Oscar fish need plant-based food, their diet should contain mostly protein and not plant-based ingredients.

You should feed plant-based food such as vegetables in moderation to your oscar fish. 

Feeding veggies once or twice a week is sufficient.

Besides, you can choose pellet or stick food for your Oscar fish that already contains some plant-based ingredients such as kelp, spirulina, etc so you don’t have to feed vegetables to your Oscar fish separately.

Oscar fish feeding weekly schedule (Printable)

Here’s a link to download the printable oscar fish weekly feeding schedule.

FAQ

How often to feed your Oscar fish?

You should feed juvenile oscar fish of up to 3 inches at least twice a day. If you have Oscar fish between 4 to 7 inches in size then you should feed once a day to the fish.

If you have large Oscars i.e. more than 7 inches in size then feeding them twice or a maximum of thrice a week is sufficient.

How much food should I feed to my Oscar fish?

You should feed the amount of food your Oscar fish can consume within 2 to 3 minutes.

You should not dump all the food at once. Instead, put a little food at a time and wait for a while until your Oscar finishes the food and then again put a little food in your fish tank and so wait and so on…

Can you overfeed an Oscar fish?

It is very easy to overfeed an Oscar fish. Especially because of their dog-like behavior they will always seem hungry.

However, you should feed the amount of food they can consume within 2 to 3 minutes, and depending on the size you should feed twice a day or week. 

For example, you should feed juvenile oscar fish twice a day. And you should feed twice a week to larger oscar fish (more than 7 inches in size)

Can Oscar fish eat feeder fish?

In the wild, Oscar fish mostly feeds on other small fish. In your fish tank, oscar fish will happily eat feeder fish. You can feed feeder fish such as puppies Goldfish and minnows to your Oscar fish.

Feeder fish is one of the most nutritious foods for oscar fish. However, there’s also a risk of your oscar fish catching a disease from the feeder fish. 

What is the best food to feed a tiger Oscar?

The best food for Oscar fish is the food that contains all the essential nutrients that Oscar fish need. The fish food should contain meaty ingredients that provide protein and plant-based foods and vitamins for proper growth and development and coloration of your Oscar fish.

Can Oscars eat chicken?

You can feed chicken to your Oscar fish. However, it should not be their primary diet and you should feed chicken very sparingly and in moderation.

Chicken contains saturated fat and Oscar fish are not good at processing such fat. So it can cause issues with digestion.

How do I feed Oscar fish when I’m going on vacation?

You can use an automatic fish feeder to feed your Oscar fish when you are on vacation.

You can also tell your friends or neighbor to feed your Oscar fish when you are away.

If you are going to tell your friends or neighbor to feed your Oscar fish then make sure to tell them exactly how much they should feed your Oscar fish. This is important because it is very easy to overfeed oscar fish.

How long can Oscar fish live without food?

How long can Oscar fish go without food depends on their size.

Small juvenile oscar fish can go up to two weeks without food. On the other hand, adult Oscars can go up to four weeks without eating.

I’ve written a blog post on this topic. You can read the blog post here.

Conclusion

So these are the best fish foods you can feed to your Oscar fish for faster growth and better coloration.

I hope you found the fish food that suits particularly your needs.

And I hope you found all the information helpful to make an informed decision.

I’ve already written another blog post about oscar fish food where I tell you the foods you can feed your oscar fish besides fish food such as the vegetables you can feed to your oscar fish. And I’ve also included a homemade recipe you can prepare for your oscar fish.

You can check out the article here.

Besides, here are some oscar fish related blog posts that might interest you.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments down below.

Also, feel free to add anything to the topic in the comments down below.

Happy fishkeeping!

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Author
Prathmesh Gawai
He is the main author and editor at Aquagoodness.com. And he loves to share helpful information on aquarium and/or fishkeeping hobby. Prathmesh has over five years of aquarium and/or fishkeeping experience. Currently, he has a Betta fish tank. He has written hundreds of articles on various aquarium fish species and on fish tank maintenance over the last five years. Connect with him on YouTube here. Learn more about him here.

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