Will Oscar Fish Eat Goldfish? 5 Things to Consider

Oscar fish are not picky at all when it comes to smaller fish. They will eat not only the Goldfish but pretty much any other smaller fish you keep in the same aquarium. If they don’t eat the Goldfish in the tank, they are going to bully him and thus cause a lot of stress.

We are not saying that Oscars always eat them and it’s impossible to keep them together. They can live together but it’s very problematic. After all, if you love your pet, you don’t want it to live in constant stress. That would cause lots of health problems on the long term.

Getting back to the main topic, Goldfish can be a good food source for Oscars under certain circumstances. In this article, we are going to talk about the relationship between these two and how Goldfish can fit into the Oscar diet.

Should You Feed Goldfish to Oscar Fish?

Goldfish are basically feeder fish, meaning that they are often bred to be fed as live prey to predatory fish. This also means that they are cheap, easy to breed and easy to take care of. Goldfish breeders usually keep them in huge numbers.

Considering that this fish species can carry a wide range of parasites and diseases, it is not so safe to feed them to Oscar fish. It is rarely safe, unless you have bred the Goldfishes at home and in clean conditions.

Since the ones you can buy at the pet shop are not safe, you need to keep them in quarantine for a while. It is relatively easy to set up a small fish tank for a Goldfish. Once it is done, you only need to keep him there for 2 weeks before you feed them to your Oscar.

That is how long it takes for them to become completely free of diseases and parasites.

What Other Fish Will Oscars Eat?

The key thing in a balanced diet is to feed your Oscar fish various different healthy foods. Preparing some smaller fish for them to eat is actually a pretty good idea. They can definitely eat a few smaller fish every week.

If you want to bypass the risk of feeding your Oscar fish with feeder fish that can carry diseases, then you can breed your own. Many fish keepers breed Guppies at home because that is one of the cheapest and healthiest options for Oscars.

Looking for some variety? Then you can also feed them Rosy Red Minnows and home-bred Goldfish. These are the most popular choices when it comes to feeder fish. Besides these, your Oscar will probably eat most smaller fish that you put in the tank.

This is also why you need to be careful when choosing tank mates.

Will Oscar Fish Eat Dead Goldfish?

Your Oscar fish will certainly eat dead Goldfish if you drop it in the tank. However, you should not do it for the same reason that we mentioned above. You never know what type of disease or parasite it had while the Goldfish was still alive.

If your Oscar eats it, he can get sick and who knows how many health problems that Goldfish had. It is an unnecessary risk to take.

Can a Small Oscar Fish Live with Large Goldfish?

You simply can’t set up an aquarium where a small Oscar would tolerate a Goldfish as a tank mate. Even if the Oscar is smaller, he is going to bully the Goldfish by nipping on his fins. That is already a lot of stress for a fish who just wants to swim around and enjoy the view.

Fish that live under constant stress are also prone to diseases. Fin nipping can also cause a lot of damage on the long term and your Goldfish won’t have time to heal. The other problem is that an adult Oscar is always bigger than an adult Goldfish.

The Oscar is eventually going to catch up, become bigger and maybe even eat that Goldfish. Not to mention that Oscars grow particularly fast so one day you might just notice that the Goldfish is gone.

Can Oscar Fish Eat Goldfish Food?

Goldfish food is not ideal for your Oscar by all means, but he can live on it for a while. If that is the only type of fish food you can find at home, Oscars don’t think twice before eating it. The diet of a Goldfish typically consists of pellets, flakes and some greens since they are omnivores.

Oscars, on the other hand, mainly consume meat-based food. Their diet consists foods that are full of protein, including carnivore pellets, small fish and live insect larvae. Oscars need more meat therefore the Goldfish diet is too much on the herbivorous side for them.

There are plenty of commercial foods available at the pet shop that are strictly made for Goldfish. If you have Goldfish at home and you can only find one of these foods, then feel free to feed it to your Oscar.

Wrapping Up

We can conclude that it really depends on the size of your Oscar compared to the Goldfish whether he will eat it or not. But even if the Oscar is smaller and you are choosing a Goldfish as tank mate, there will be problems. Fin nipping is just going to be too stressful for the Goldfish to handle.

If you are looking to insert Goldfish into the everyday diet of your Oscar, then you need some high-quality fish. Buying the ones that you can find at the pet shop simply won’t do. They breed them in bulk and there is always a chance that they carry some parasites or diseases.

You need to be careful about that and buy it from a reputable source or breed some Goldfish at home. The latter is probably the best option since you are doing it under controlled conditions. All you need is a well-set-up tank, ideal water conditions and good care.