# how to tell when Os have paired up



## gus211 (Sep 21, 2009)

Hello everyone hopefully someone can help I have two tiger oscars one is 10in and the other is 9in I got both of them at about 2in from a smiley faced store anyway both of my Os are always together one of them got ick a while back and was always at the bottom of the tank hiding in a cave the other oscar never left his side even putting itself infront of the opening of the cave when anyother fish swam by. Now they do have there spats from time to time with lip locking but it never last very long and as soon as its over there right back together side by side so do I have a pair


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## Blu-ray (Apr 28, 2008)

Hi,

Well you can't tell till you see they spawn then you still can't say anything :lol: because you have to witness some fry to make sure one of them is a male. 

One of the signs that shows they tend to spawn is that they dig a hole somewhere, clean and guard the area.


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## johncl (Mar 10, 2010)

Could be a pair could be two females probably not two males. Only one way to tell for sure and that is to see them spawn.


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## gus211 (Sep 21, 2009)

Ok thanks one more questions will the Os breed like oscars in terms of where ever and not caring what else is in the tank with them or are they more on the private side as you can see in my sig I have plenty of other fish in with my oscars


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## gus211 (Sep 21, 2009)

Sorry I meant will they breed like convicts


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## johncl (Mar 10, 2010)

O's prefer a flat rock or slate to lay eggs on they will defend and care for their eggs and offspring the same as other cichlids tho it does take some pairs two or three tries before they get it right. They will breed with other fish in the tank.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

they will certainly breed with other fish in the tank but 90% of the time they will not succed as they are not able to fend of smaller fish in tight quarters. They tend to give up and eat the eggs to protect them.


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## gus211 (Sep 21, 2009)

Hey fish guy I have a question for you since you are the master and a hero when it comes to Os and all other CA cichlids are my tank dimensions good for the stocklist I have in my sig its a 150 gal tank dimensions are 4'long by 30" tall and 24" wide what do you think and what advise would you give in fixing my stocklist if its not proper for Os


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Quickly I'd say get rid of the con pairs and either the jds or gts.

I'd also get those fin nipping yellow labs out of the one 55 with the fronts in it, or get yourself four or five more fronts and put them all into your empty 100.

Keep an eye on that midas, one day down the road it could just decide to wake up and kill everything in the tank... They're known for that... Usually when they get a bit older though.

You could also keep the red zebras with the yellow labs and free yourself up one of those 55's. Just stack rocks to the top, they love reefs and the fry will survive without a problem.


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## kmuda (Nov 27, 2009)

At a minimum, I'd certainly bring up the empty 100 and rearrange a bit. But chances are you will need to do some serious reassessment. As far as biomass is concerned, the 150 has about 400 gallons worth of fish in it (at least when full grown).

Oscars = 50 gallons each
JDs = 40 gallons each
GTs = 40 gallons each
Red Devil = 50 gallons
Firemouths = 15 gallons each
Convicts = 15 gallons each

I would assume the fish are still at the Juvie stage, otherwise it is likely a full on war would be occuring. You have some very aggressive and territorial fish without enough territory. Future aggression issues are basically a certainty.


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## gus211 (Sep 21, 2009)

Fish guy thanks for the advice on the fish I tend to keep the cons in this tank just for the endless supply of fry my oscars eat from them but ill probably set up a 20 long for each pair also I'm currently looking for a deal on a 240g for the frontosas the yellow labs don't seem to mess with them and there fins are still in place.also the midas was just impulse so finding a new home for him soon, finally icant mix yellow labs and zebras due to crossbreeding and I'm already selling fry from both of those to my lfs.
Kmuda these fish are actually pretty much adult fish all but the midas oscars are 9" and 10" gt's are 7" and 6" jd's 8" and 5" the firemouths are about 3 to 4" and the cons are about the same as the firemouths and no deaths or illness as of yet. Also my filtration is 3 emperor 400's and weekly 50 to 70 percent water changes any other advice would be great and appreciated thank you


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

the labs and zebras shouldn't hybridize when breeding groups are established. I never had a problem atleast...


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## gus211 (Sep 21, 2009)

Fish guy I've just read all the stories in the african section of this site but ill try it down the line and see what happens so other than the cons and the red devil everything else should be ok
And kmuda would you consider the sizes of my fish to make them adults or do they still have some growing to do I mean this tank is pretty big and even with all those fish it still looks empty and none of them are ever hiding except for the cons when there breeding oh and I also forgot to mention that I have a large pleco and some sun cats in there as well. Would the 100ga 5 foot tank be better for these fish or should I just keep them in the 150 sorry for all the questions just want to make them happier(the fish I mean)


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