Hi guys, I am needing some advice on how to go about saving whatever fry if any that hatch in my tank.

I discovered tonight hundreds of little eggs on top of the rocks in the corner of the tank. It was a very big surprise for me, but I want to try and at least help give these little guys a fighting chance -- just unsure how!

I live in a very tiny guest home/efficiency type apartment, and have just the one tank (155 gal) and there literally is just no room for an additional tank to be placed in here to separate the fry from the 155.

In the tank is the 2 Oscars (8in & 11in), 1 Green Terror (5 inches), and 3 Plecos (13in, 7in, & 6in).

When reading the breeding article on OFL, it mentioned removing the eggs and placing them in a container until they hatch, but the eggs have been spread out over a large area of river pebble rocks, and removing them doesn't appear to be an option because of that.

I realize that I may have to wait it out and see if any fry come from all of this, but if some do hatch, what in the world can I do to help them if I can't separate them from the tank? Do I immediately try to place a divider in the tank, and leave them with their parents or do the parents have to be separated from the fry as well? What about the intakes? Do I need to try and place a mesh over them? I've had my fish for a very long time, and I had no idea that I even had a female and male until now after experiencing all this. I admit my ignorance for not learning a bit more about my fish than what I already knew -- and I've learned a very important lesson from all this, but right now my concern is to help the little guys out in anyway I can, if I even can.

I appreciate everyone's advice, and happy as heck to know there was a forum on the net to hopefully get some much needed help for my fish!

Thanks again, you guys!!!

bet it was a nice discovery and it won't be long before the experts on fish-breeding will come with advice!
Good luck!

first, we have to determine who laid those eggs?
if it was your oscar, the eggs should be stick to the slate.

2nd, what is the color of the eggs? white ? brownish?
if it is white, then possibly not fertilized. leave them alone,
other fishes including the parents will take care of them.

3rd. in case some of the eggs hatched, the Gt will handle all the
hatchling...it will be gone the moment it wiggle the tails...or the plecos
will not allow the eggs to hatch at all.

There wasn't a slate in the tank. The eggs are sitting on top of small river pebble rocks right now. And, I'm pretty sure it was the Oscars, as I watched them swimming around and hovering over the eggs last night as well as was able to see their sexual organs protruding over the eggs.

The eggs look a brownish color to me. However, I noticed last night the male is eating some of the eggs, and being very protective of others while the mom hovers to one side keeping the other fish out of the area.

I understand the Green Terror will look at the fry like they are a buffet and he's just gone to Heaven, but when you're in a situation like mine, what options are there to at least try to help them? Is it safe to just use a divider and put the Oscars all to one side, or must I separate the parents from the fry, and try to isolate them with the divider? I do at least want to try to help them out if I can, but I'm at a loss as this was totally unexpected and was not prepared for it.

Thanks.

Hi and Welcome! CONGRATS!!!

Ok in my opinion, I would just leave them alone... If you truly don't have room for another tank, I would let nature take it's course.. That doesn't mean you wont end up with fry in the end. But you really don't have the space to put another tank, and your tank really isn't big enough to divide..

Let us know how things develop!

Don't worry about the oscars eating them one at a time. they will clean away any that are going bad to stop fungus spreading to the rest, its natural for them to do this. assuming they are fertilized (brown)my main concern would be the other fish. chance is they will hassle the parents so much that the parents will eat them.( as the oscars are hoovering over them and protecting them, you can say for sure they are theirs or they would all be gone. if you have a spare tank to move the other fish to for a short time the oscars may do the job. but most of the time they fail many times first time round. you could just wait and see. moving the eggs is another option and only needs a small tank.A high dose of met blue and good water circulation is needed to fan the eggs. don't get too excited yet. i don't mean to be a party poo-per but coming home to find them gone is very common. best of luck

That's some good advice.
And I know plecos are know to like eggs very much, so much even that they will risk getting their fins nipped or destroyed, just to get to them.
Do you have some shelter for lil'fish.like some plants?
If small fish survive in my tank, they have to be able to hide.
Let's hope they get that big!

I have never had a breeding pair, however if you want to breed them then you will need to put a divider in. Put the oscars in one side and the other fish the other side. If you have one filter then put the intake on one side of the divider and the outlet on the other

The question you have to ask yourself is, what are you going to do with all the babies?

Hey everyone, thanks for the valuable input!! Apparently no one in town carries dividers for my size tank, so for now I've just set a large breeder's net aside in case some fry do show up.

There are a significant amount of eggs gone -- only about maybe 100 remaining in there right now. Some I've personally seen eaten by the Oscars, but I think the Plecos have a bit to do with it as well.

Attempting to leave them all in the same tank, I know is not the best option, but right now, it's what I got.

Someone asked what was I going to do with the fry.... I spoke to one specialty shop today that said that when they get a little bigger they would be willing to take and house them until at a time when they can be sold and go to their own new little homes.

I'm not jumping up and down for joy just yet, but it is cool to know that all the fighting I had been seeing the two do lately was in fact them just umm... being extra nice to one another

You guys are awesome, and I certainly will keep everyone up to date.

Gen

if you need to make a divider there other options than glass. perspex can be cut slowly with a normal hand saw. also wire mesh made from plastic. perspex would be my choice you can drill holes in it too to help water circulate better.

A divider is easy to get. Measure the inside width of the tank and how high you want it to be and go to a glaziers and buy a piece of glass. Use suckers to hold in it place

Or as marcus says you can use perspex or wire mesh. Wire mesh wont be suitable for you as the babies might be able to swim through the holes, and then they would be very quickly someones lunch

Hey guys, promised I would drop a line when something happened. Well, short version.... all the eggs are gone Long version.... some WERE indeed fertile, as I actually saw two emerge, but they were gone shortly thereafter. And the father had eaten all the other eggs that hadn't hatched.

Maybe they will try again... and whether they do or not, dividers, container, etc won't be far!

However, I did get some plexi to put in the tank, and it worked great for keeping the plecos and the terror out.

Thanks again for all the advice. And if they try again, I'm sure you'll be the first to know

Everyone have a great remainder of their weekend!