CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

Well,, We have had our pair of Oscars for about 18 months,, They were about 2 inches long at purchase,, Tonight, we came home, (with the idea of doing a tank cleaning), My wife asked me what these round things were in the tank, on the bottom,, I said they were eggs,, I have never had a mated pair, So I was very happy,, There were no eggs in the tank when we left,,, So we figure they were layed around 3pm..The only other fish in the tank are 2 algie eaters<(about 5 in. long), Just wanted to know if we have to worry about them getting to the eggs,, the parents seem to run them away, if they get to close,, This is a 55 gal. tank, with a bio filtration system,,Also,, the female seemed to turn a darker color,,They are both albino oscars,,,Any thoughts would be appreciated,,, Sure would like to save as many as we can.. We even have a 25 gal. tank set up and ready to transfer them,,, Need to know what to look for,, or should we leave them alone, with the parents ,,, Thanks every one

The parents may eat the eggs as well. Sometimes it helps to keep some kind of light on 24hrs to reduce risk of parents eating the eggs or other fish getting to them. If after several spawnings eggs are still eaten you should try removing eggs to hatch them separately, in well oxygenated water with some current flowing over the eggs and maybe some methylene blue to dissuade fungal growth.

Well... They ate that batch of eggs,, and 8 days later, They spawned again,, and ate those too... Guess ill have to remove some of the eggs next time, and try to save a few,,, Thanks for the info cichlidfish

Well, hope you have better luck next time, they do learn from mistakes so even if you let the eggs in with them after a couple spawning they might not eat them but hatching separate is the only sure way to prevent that.

Looks like my eggs
So you think they ate them?
How do I know they are fertilized.
The only cure is to take them out?

If the eggs looked like that they were probably fertilized and it would appear they were eaten if they're not anywhere else in the tank or filter and yes the only 'sure' way is to hatch them separately although preferred method would of course be to have the parents hatch and raise the fry.

oscar eggs
tiger has a breeding tube exsposed slate has eggs covering it cant tell if theres a male 2albinos get bunted by female tries to mouth lock but seem scared shes much bigger neither of the albinos have a breeding tube exsposed still hopefull