Hello new friends, I have a breeding pair of veil-fin Oscars that laid eggs 2 1/2 days ago. Everything was going great this time except the fungus that has appeared today. Up until this point the parents always guarded the eggs for one day then ate them. The egg laying has become closer together, last week they laid eggs only to eat them the second night. I am very surprised to see that they have lasted this long and thought that they might be successful this time only to see the fungus. How long will they guard these eggs? They are becoming increasingly aggressive, should I just remove the eggs?

hello and welcome.............i think paul is you man on breeding ,sorry i dont keep breeding oscars but if you just be paitient the members here will have the answers for you

In many cases you do get fungus forming on the eggs. There are various ways to stop it happening, one way is to add methylene blue which will stop fungus growing on the eggs. However, methylene blue will destroy your biological filter so you'd need to remove the eggs and put them in a reciprocal on their own and hatch them artificially.

Having said this, if the eggs haven't turned brown within a few hours, they are not fertilised and will grow fungus

They're probably just culling them because they have fungus... i would prevent it in the first place as penn is mentioning...

as OFL had explain, newly laid eggs are susceptible to fungi
attack. if the eggs will not change the colors within 6 hours
after laying, chances are they are not fertilized and will be
consumed in two days. if they changes color, then they are
fertilized but still no assurance of being hatch. parent will
guard the area at all cost, no food but keep on fanning the area
using their pectoral fins. there are time they do hatched but will
not last long (weak wigglers),,, and there are times you will have
a load of wigglers.

don't worry, a healthy pair will spawn regularly..... just wait and
be prepared for the next spawning.

Thankyou, I have not really been interested in raising the fry myself (done it before with Jewels) and expected fungus if the eggs were not fertilized since everything I have read says it will happen basicly the first day. I also do not want to destroy my biological filter so does this mean there is no hope of my oscars ever being successful raising their own fry? I never intended to get a breeding pair, it just happened and I have let nature take it's course. As of now the eggs are still there (WOW!). Are they just going to continue to do this over and over? Also, what is culling?

if you are not interested in breeding, okey then.... same with me.
let the nature takes it toll... allow the parent takes care of their
eggs, whever they hatch let them to be there... if they grow, bring
them to the lfs or give them as gift to some friends.

in this case culling means the fish are choosing the eggs to destroy themselves as they are not fertilised or damaged in some way .

Matt

it usually takes oscars a few tries before they get the reproduction thing right. i know my breeding pair had spawned many times before they actually succeeded in hatching fry on their own. if after a week there are no wigglers in your tank i would remove the eggs and wait for them to try again.
if you are interested in hatching the eggs however you should remove them and do it artificially with meth blue.