Possible spawning

[texascutie84]

Recently we have noticed that two of our five oscars have been becoming really close and they are beginning to test each others strength. They have even selected an area of the tank and are defending it avidly even though they have not as of yet spawned. Does any one have any suggestions as to how to increase the likelyhood of them actually spawning? We would love to have some baby O's to raise.

[bra8ndy8]

It's usually the males that test each other.....watch them, cause it can get deadly quick!

[texascutie84]

these two are all buddy buddy close though always swimming next to eachother. I caught them sweeping a flat rock with their tails a few min ago and the larger of the two will not allow any of the other fish anywhere near that part of the tank all of a sudden.

[bra8ndy8]

Hummmmm maybe?!? Keep us updated!

[texascutie84]

still no eggs but that pair is still hanging out together all the time and guarding that section of the tank somewhat, just not as much as they were.

[flamenco-t]

Put your hand in the tank, if they attack..you got a prego :)

[bra8ndy8]

LOL well that's one way!!!:D

[texascutie84]

my hand goes in the tank everyday we hand feed them and pet them daily these two have not been coming up to us like normal though and when my husband put his hand near that part of the tank the tiger did charge him.

[kSpieler]

Oooooo...do I hear stork wings flapping????

[zoohouse]

I recently had a 14 year old female o die. she would spawn sometimes anually. First thing either have another tank to put all the other fish in or a very large tank to move her and her eggs/rock into. Otherwise you will get the experience of how fast your tank goes crazy(sometimes deadly) and all the eggs will disappear in a day or so. Not to mention how scarred your female will get. I have had some of my previous o's end up with HUGE gashes from each other(2to3" long and over 1" deep, and huge chunks hanging off) Not to scare you, you could always try to divide the tank up(i know you have plenty of room) use plexiglass with big holes drilled or cut diagonal lines in it w/a cir.saw.and make sure you either route your filter returns to the other side or use a power head to tranfer adequet clean water. good luck

zoohouse added 5 Minutes and 40 Seconds later...

oh yeah took today off so as soon as i finish up my "chores" ill post some pics of some of my animals friends

[texascutie84]

So I got home from work today and checked my tank and guess what,,,,,we have oscar eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!1302

1303

1304

1305

[pam916]

Congrats! Thanks for the pics.

[ElijahTurtle]

That's awesome!

[kewlkatdady]

sweet...

are you going to move them or let nature take its coarse?

[texascutie84]

I netted the two parents and moved them to a rubbermaid tub temporarily, and moved the rock containing the eggs into my fry tank as there were no other fry in it currently. As soon as the fry are big enough they will be up for adoption.

[tsunderl]

How exciting! Keep us posted.

[bra8ndy8]

That's awesome to hear!!! HOW NEAT!!! WTG!

[ambitionz]

thats kool you havin oscar babys i like them i like going to the pet store and see how they all chase me and jump :D where did you got these oscars from? theyre selling me a pair they want like 40$ ea and i think i also got a pair my tiger and my albino well see what comes out :hehe:

[texascutie84]

Ok so none of the eggs turned out. Woke up this morning and there was fuzz over all of them.

[ambitionz]

damn that sucks! put the pair of oscars in a tank just the pair in it feed them good and see if you can get them to breed succesfull do some reading about breeding them ;)

http://www.oscarfishlover.com/index.php/Breeding-Oscars/Breeding-Oscar-Fish.html

[bra8ndy8]

That stinks hun....sorry...better luck next time!

[zoohouse]

sorry to hear that. Oscars like to breed best in just pairs pref. in a 150. The males will sometimes eat the egg so it is best to remove them. The female is an intricate part in that she hangs out near the eggs gently fanning them with fresh water and keeping debris away. Some people use powerheads to create a gentle current, but there is a chance it can cause stuff to settle in the wrong areas and you end up with the same problem you had. Good luck next time.