CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

I think our Albino Oscars (Oscar and Felixia) may be male/felmale and getting ready to breed. The male has even started attacking an alligator ornament that has been in the tank since we got them. (My SO is a Florida Gator fan...the whole tank is orange and blue!) Anyway, they've displayed all the signs I've read about...the quivering, locking lips, cleaning the stone off the bottom of the tank...So how long does the whole process last? They've been behaving like this on and off for a couple of weeks, now they've been pretty steady for the last 48 hours. Is there anyway to tell when she may be close? We'd like to be nosy and see the egg laying process, but I'm not sure that's possible! What to do for the expecting Mom? Is it best to leave the tank lights off for a couple of days and let them have thier privacy? Is it better to stick to their usual routine?  I'd love to hear any suggestions.

mating oscars are a topic not much is known about. As far as i've read and experienced with my own pairs, mating can take upt to several months and there can be many false starts. if you have two females they may still lay eggs! although nothing will come of it. My male tiger has recently taken to trying to eat my fingers whenever i am cleaning their tank with my python. took me off guard the first time he did it. now i watch him. Eggs take a few weeks to hatch and O's are very good parents. they will guard the nest and after the brood is born they will shuffle them around the tank into little divots in the gravel (the thought is that they are essentially bathing them) They need to stay with their parents for about the first month. until they are in the wiggler stage. then you can remove the parents as it is probably going to be easier to move two oscars than possibly a couple hundred little tiny ones. Anyway, if its going to happen you probably wont be around to see it. youll just sort of notice the eggs one day. well, good luck.

Yes your Oscars seem to be doing everything a breeding pair would do before they actually spawn but don't be disappointed if they don't right away! It might take a while for them to be comfortable enough to start laying eggs. And if they eventually do lay eggs and provided that the eggs are fertalized...the eggs will hatch in about 4 days at that time the parents will start moving the wrigglers around the tank placing them in little divots in the gravel that the parents have dug. All this will occur naturally if the conditions are well met : temp , water quality etc...But Oscars sometimes need practice with parenthood meaning that it's not unusual for parents to eat they're fry the first times they breed! all this is normal behavior for these wonderful and very intelligent fish!! good luck with your O's