i have two of the most beautiful oscars i've ever owned, and im curious how long it takes or if there is something i can do to trigger the breeding process? i acquired these two oscars at my local shop for three oscars of a younger age, equal trade. i was told they came from different homes and thought what the hell we'll see if they'll pair up. after getting accustomed to the tank they haven't left each others side. i have a 1 1/2 yr old albino and a 3yr old common tiger. it has been about 5-6 weeks and i'm seeing a lot mating behavior but no eggs as of yet. is it possible to have same sex fish perform these rituals. the albino is always knocking around the slate and making pits around it. the tiger does really nothing in the form of helping but still acts very attracted to the albino? sorry for the long thread but if anyone has any answers it would be awesome. oh the fish are housed in a 75 us gallon tank with no other fish because the albino kills everything that goes near the slate, tank temp is 78 degrees F. ph is around 6.8 anything else i can tell you so you can help me just let me know.

Yes, it is possible for the same-sex fish to go through breeding rituals and even lay eggs if you have two females.

I would say that your two fish are sexually mature. However, to actually tell you when they are going to breed is absolutely impossible. Even if you have got a male and a female, that is not a guarantee that they will breed. I'm afraid it's just a bit of a waiting game to see what happens. Try increasing the temperature of the water to around 28°C, this can sometimes help. Sometimes fish spawn after a water change as well.

i just di a 50% water change and a 7-8 degree temp jump. i know patience is a virtue and i appreciate your response i was curious if you would know, awesome sight by the way and when will we see your next video

Keeping fish in an aquarium is about as big a compromise as you could possibly get. We can all try and replicate what conditions might be like for them in the wild, but we will never get it exactly right. This is why some fish are virtually impossible to breed in captivity, such as clown Loach.. even though Oscars will breed quite easily, they won't breed on a regular basis unless they are quite happy with the conditions. Water conditions play a big part in this. Your pH sounds fine, temperature is quite important. Like I said, I think it's just a case of waiting and see what happens. What I would do is look at the fish when they are going through any kind of breeding ritual, sometimes their organs will be protruding at this time, even if they are not going to lay eggs. Doing this can sometimes be an easy way of sexing them

Oscars in the wild spawn in the rainy season when millions of gallons of freshwater flood the forest cool the temperature before the water heats back up again slowly. The rain falling washes lots of insects into the water supplying the Oscar with an abundance of insects to eat and this creates ideal conditions for spawning. In order to spawn your Oscars replicating these conditions may help. feed your fish with live food for several weeks followed by a large water change dropping the temp to around 74 then turn the heater up so the temp stabalises at 82 this should encourage your Oscars to spawn.

thanks for the comment and information, i had my temp around 74 and always feed live fish the rituals have become more frequent as of lately and i'm realizing that patience might pay off. the albino doesnt leave the slate alone constantly cleaning and digging pits around it but my tiger does nothing, maybe he/she is just plain lazy and has no interest til the time comes we'll see what happens, wish me luck~!!!

Hi i am just wondering .If both of the oscars are female can they lay eggs??Will it be fertilised??

to answer your questions, yes, two Oscars will lay eggs between them. They will also look after them exactly the same as if they were a breeding pair. I have two female Severums that do just this. It's quite sad really, they'll spend three days over the eggs oxygenating them, but obviously they never hatch which brings me on to your next question. For the eggs to hatch, you will need a fertile male present. but also remember that water conditions play a big part in breeding. eggs and young fry are very vulnerable. If the water is correct, the eggs probably won't hatch.

Oh is that so ,thanks admin..