The Trouble with Oscar

Neal Pronek writes that "Oscars can make fine pets. They have been known to seek out friendly hands placed into their tanks, languorously brushing themselves against the hands much in the same way that a dog approaches to be petted, and it has often been claimed that they can differentiate between their owners and other people."

The previous owners talked of his "personality" as well: How he would arrange the rocks in his tank, how he would eat from your hand, and how he would look at you with a sense of awareness. This was all well and good for the owners that had watched him grow from a five inch juvenile into this twelve inch behemoth.

All he gave us was trouble. First of all, he wouldn't eat. We tried the cichlid sticks that the owners gave us. He wouldn't touch them. We tried hot dogs and coldcut ham that the owners said he loved. He wouldn't eat either. We tried cooked and raw shrimp. What kind of self-respecting fish doesn't eat shrimp?

This was one stubborn fish. By about the fifth day we were really afraid he was going to starve himself to death. So we did what you might expect and bought him some live food. The nearest pet store had only three minnows left and did not expect a new supply soon, so I also got him three goldfish for good measure.

Good news: He ate two of the three minnows right away, but never touched any of the goldfish. The third minnow remained elusive for several weeks. But at least we finally saw him eat and discovered his taste for live fish. Now I have a plan. Being a DIY kind-of-guy, I bought a dip net and set off to catch him some local flavor.

We first explored Shoal Creek which runs through Pease Park in Austin. We easily caught tons of little fish that with minimal research we found out are called mosquitofish -- the most numerous freshwater fish in the world. We brought them to Oscar and you won't believe what he did! He'd suck them in his mouth and spit them right back out -- dead. Mosquitofish must taste much worse than minnows.

Trying to please this picky fish, we set of to explore other creeks. It's in attempting to catch something appetizing for this old oscar that led to a minor obsession with naive fish and a pastime we call creekin'. We've discovered a lot about local waterways. I had no idea there were native tetras, cichlids, and platys in Austin -- but we'll get to all that later. Right now, back to this oscar.

Not only was this fish extremely hard to feed, he was also a downright nuisance. He'd pick up the rocks and loudly drop them, he'd charge the glass as if trying to break it, and he'd try to jump out and end up knocking off the lights and covers. He was always splashing about and making some kind of ruckus. He'd kill any kind of fish we put in there -- and not eat it. Plus, he'd give you this look... this evil look that just told you that if he had been born a piranha or barracuda he'd bite off your face. What a pugnacious fish!

Of course we felt sorry for him. His whole life had been upturned. We put him back up for adoption after only a three week stay at the loft. The new owners gleefully took him away and
I wonder if he's given them as much trouble. We haven't been able to get in touch with them, but hopefully they've brought out a more pleasing disposition in this big, interesting fish.


"Oscars have personality, and from the standpoint of maintaining their popularity, it's a good thing they do, because they don't have much else going for them. They're not especially colorful or graceful, they're too big for most hobbyists' tanks, they're bullies, they're fairly tough to feed, they're messy eaters and even greater messer-uppers of tank arrangements..." -Neal Pronek