Anything unusual about two oscars growing at different rates? I have two that started out the same size but now they are markedly different. One is now about six inches and the other about at least an inch shorter. Also how fast can I expect them to grow by nine months?

I also noticed them opening their mouths as if to bite on the side of each other but they never do. They just open then touch on the side of the other fish and that's it. I saw the bigger one kind of wag its tail. Are these the first signs of them trying to mate?

Oscars won't necessarily all be the same size.

If you only have two Oscars, they may well hang around each other and become very close. However, it doesn't mean they will breed. You could possibly have two females or even two males. The only time you'll know you you have a breeding pair is where the eggs are laid and they hatch.

The behaviour you mentioned is certainly the sort of behaviour a breeding pair will show. But like I said, don't get too excited at the moment.

By the time they ask is nine months old, it should be at least 7 inches long, sometimes longer. It does of course depend on how much you have been feeding it. If you under feed, they might not grow as quickly

I had two female oscars that seemed to be mating for years eventually they laid eggs. They actually took turns laying the eggs on different occasions.

Two females won't mate

Actually, it isn't uncommon for two females to produce eggs between them. Of course they will never hatch unless God has something to do with it.

But won't it by cool to have a couple hundred Oscar Messiahs?

I vented them and "pretty" sure they're male and female since they are different. But again, I might be wrong. Sure would be nice to have albino babies swimming around though.

Also about the feeding, I give a teaspoon of baby shrimp (dried, store bought) when I come home from work and a little less than a teaspoon of Hikari staple pellets every morning. In other words, I give about two teaspoons of food every 24 hours. Is this enough or too much?

How big are your Oscars? Ask is between 2 1/2 inches and 4 inches should be fed three times a day. I normally feed them until you can see they have eaten something (belly is slightly extended) once the fish are over 4 inches, I only feed twice a day. Once again, until you can see they have eaten something.

Now, this is very important, the smaller the tank you have, the more chance you will have of water quality problems. If you are keeping two Oscars in a 55 gallon tank and feeding three times a day, that is a lot of waste going into the water. At the moment, I have got six Oscars in a 125 gallon tank and I have actually stopped feeding twice a day, I only feed once a day because they are producing too much waste. I have got a 300 gallon tank here now, that won't be ready for a few weeks so I've got to be really careful on the other tank. My Oscars are around 5 inches at the moment.

Check the water constantly when you've got new Oscars and you are feeding a lot. Once the Oscars reach adulthood, you don't have to feed them every day.

I only fed my previous oscars once a day. Im not sure this twice a day thing is necessary. However i didnt go with this feed for 3/5 mins- i just fed till they wouldnt eat any more. As for growth rates its not unusual for 2 siblings to grow at different rates