Hi, I was wondering: What is the usual time for paired-off Oscars to lay eggs again, after their first successful hatching? Is this time frame predictable as with other South American Cichlids (e.g. Convicts, Angelfish)?

Note: There are no fry survivors in the tank, only two -eight days old- baby Oscars I keep (out of four I removed, two died today) in a small container. I rearranged things in the tank (cleaned that part of the tank thoroughly, added more sand).

I'm keeping the babies' water clean, well oxygenated and temp stable, might move them to a 10gal tank if they ever reach 3 weeks old.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

You are still lucky to have a survivor in your last spawning. Mine were all gone, not because of the catfish but because of angel fish. That little angle fish pick all fries that swim along regardless of mother oscar's protection.

I am now canvassing for another tank to separate them

it can be a matter of two to three weeks. Parents will look after the Fry for a short period of time, however, once they are able to find food themselves, they on their own. The Oscars will them breed again. and then any baby Oscar could become a potential meal, this is what happens in the wild. I found that you can have some Oscars that will lay eggs and then not do it for another couple of months.

The ones I've got at the moment are laying about every two weeks, although the eggs have not hatched yet. But they are definitely a male and a female, I know that for sure. In the wild, most fish will breed in the rainy season when the forest floods. At this time, there is a plentiful supply of food. Just by chance, when I first started keeping Oscars, I found out that in many cases, they would start laying eggs just after a water change. This will actually mimic heavy tropical rain storms in the wild.

at the moment mine seem to laying about every 2 months. im not sure why but it may have something to do with the amount of fish i have in my tank

necromancer4 wrote:


I would concur with this. Any disturbance can put fish off breeding successfully. breeders will just have the Oscars in the tank, no other fish.

I agree with OFL here and have been told myself by a breeder that if you are serious about breeding you need a large tank with a pair and nothing else. i once had just a pair and like necromancer, they tried to breed after about 2 to 4 wks regular but always eat the eggs after 4days. I then added a few other mates and breeding became a much longer wait 9months! again they ate the eggs but much sooner, 2nd day. then my male died recently and i guess the beeding has ended now. I really do think a pair alone in a quit place and your success is much more likely.the laying of eggs is easy and the hatching is far the hardest part. I think having the water a little on the softer side is a help too, this is something I was told by same breeder. mine is PH is 7 and he said i would need to lower it a little. but didnt say how much. he seemed to have had lots of success so could be right, but who knows with these fish.

hey fellow enthusiast! I want to share this idea on saving fries if you have enough space in your tank (Though I am not able to do it in my tank, I had designed such in my friend's Koi pond). Provide a shallow space in your tank (usually slanting 5 to 10 mm below the top of water level)where fries can go whenever big fish chase them. This principle is now working perfectly at the pond.

It is quite right that Oscars like other cichlids have a breeding cycle. When you have a good pair with the right conditions they will spawn every 11-15 days. Sometimes the Oscars will spawn when there are still fry in the tank form the previous spawning. The eggs take three days to hatch and 5 before they are free swimming so expect another spawning when the fry are 3-5 days old

i am new it this. my oscars just layed there eggs for the friat time. they eat all of them but 27. i moved them out of the tank. how often do they lay eggs. like once a month or once a year. you can e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it s andii an steve white