Hello everyone my name is Reese and im new to the board. I have always owned Oscars but always one at a time. well after my last one died my wife talked me into getting a few. I have 5 Oscars in a 75 Gallon tank. 2 albinos and 3 tigers.
they are about 1.5 yrs old. Well today i noticed that one of the oscars laid a batch of eggs on a flat tree stump kind of thing. the pair is all over them, fanning them and guarding them. My question is will they survive? or will the parents eat the fry?? or will the other oscars eat the fry? the parents are doing a very good job of keeping the other 3 away from the eggs but i read that the parents might eat the fry once they hatch? does that mean that none will survive? or will some make it if fed right. Also i would like some opinions on wether a 75 gallon tank is to small for 5 oscars????

all opinions and advice would be helpfull.....

thanks

REESE and Angie

welcome to the site Resse and Angie

First question: did the eggs change the color from white
to off white or beige? Fertilized eggs will change color but
no guarantee of being hatched.

2nd: the two guarding the eggs is possibly the pair. mark them
as your couple. the other three should be re-home.

3rd: 75 gallon is way to small for two full grown oscars,
much more for 5. i suggest you get bigger tank and separate
the pair if you want to push thru with breeding.

4th: about your question parents eating the eggs, yes, there is
very high probability, plus the presence of the other fish will
give them a higher chance of taking the eggs before hatching.

REESE, welcome to the site...

PAUL wrote:


X2 And welcome!!!

I read somewhere that it is good to leave your oscars alone for the first time they lay eggs.Some say this will give them a chance to learn to make a sucessful batch of fry .I did this and my first batch went bad due to not being fertilized . Like paul said ,they will turn off white or tanish as i call it if they are fertilized.Some will also get a hairy white fungus and spread to other eggs.I would remove your other 3 fish if you plan to leave the eggs in the tank .If the parents think the fry are in danger they may dispose of the eggs.

another option would be to remove the stump and put it in a smaller tank .Add some Meds to help keep the fungus down and with a bit of luck they should be hatching in about 4 days .

I house two oscars in a 75 gallon and it is really to small.But my house is to small for me also so we are all just gonna have to get by on what we got for now

Paul has you covered, as a guess I'd say that 5 O's would need at least a 250 gallon tank plus at least 3 probably 4 canister filters. Keeping them in a small tank will stunt their growth. Hope this helps