Need some facts on Oscars please.

[themikeyman]

Hi im new to this forum and i've been reading other posts and have found them both very interesting and helpful.thumbs2:
But my question is what size do Oscars have to be to breed and also what age?
I have a pair of Oscars myself and recently they have been concentrating on a flat rock which i put there intentionally to try to incourage them to breed. Cause ive bred many other fish before mainly the all to easy Convict Cichlid and thats been heaps fun to watch i just wanted to try something a bit different and much more interesting. Also I'm not sure if i have male and female but they certainly have been doing some things which i believe is courting but as i've said i'm not sure. Heres a link to a video i posted on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpJD2iunzH4. Just if you have time can you please check it out and tell me what you think.
Sorry bout the long post.

any help would be much appreciated thanks in advance. :thumb:

Mike.

[Drumachine09]

I did alittle reaserch and found that they should be able to breed by the time they are 6 months old or so. They are also capable of spawning every couple of weeks. How big is your tank?

[themikeyman]

Oh thanks heaps for your help.
I'm not exact on the measurements of my tank and also im from Australia so again i'm not so accurate on the convertion but its around 45 to 50 gallons. Is that an okay size?
They are both around 8inch, but they also share this tank with:
-6inch Barred Midas
-4inch GT Green Terror
-4inch Convict

Oh sorry this also brings me to another question is a Gold Saum the same as a Green Terror?
Because i bought my GT at around 2inch and was told it was a gold saum.
thanks again. Mike.

[jman]

i thought so but then again they have pics saying this is a gold saum:

http://www.geocities.com/bluespeacock/gourami.jpg

[crackatinny]

Here is a link to a site dedicated to oscars
http://www.oscarfish.com/portal.php

[Severus]

For two oscars and the tankmates you have listed i would have at least a 125 gallon. 55 gallons is recommended for 1 oscar alone. Oscars are usually sexually mature by the time they hit 5 inches. So your pair should be ready to breed if they are accepting of eachother. Good luck with everything and try to get a bigger tank!

[themikeyman]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'll see what i can do with the tank.. Is it possible that i just move the others to another tank and give the Oscars their space. Cause getting a new tank isnt easy. But thanks again.

[Severus]

For two Oscars 100 gallons is recommended.

[deckard_wa]

i'd be incredibly surprised if you managed to get them to breed in that tank. It's too small for them pure and simple. And I'm surprised to hear that they are sexually mature so young. I've never heard of an Oscar mating before 12 months old, not saying they don't, just that I've not heard of it.

You might have two males or females anyway so all this could be moot. You do need a bigger tanks though, something like 500 litres for all those guys

[themikeyman]

Yeah i was actually thinking about that.. i mean having two of the same sex. Either way im glad they get along fine.. like neither of the two wish to kill eachother.
Is it possible to have two males acting liek that though? Like as some have said females tend to pair up and lay unfertilized eggs.. But is it possible for two males to do so? Isn't there too much testosterone with two males around.
Well i definately wish to breed these awesome fish one day so ill look into getting a bigger tank.
Just a few factors get in the way.
Space to put such a huge tank and the ability to dig into shallow pockets
(if you know what i mean).
Don't get me wrong, i understand where you are all comming from i've always wanted a bigger tank.
Bigger tank means more opportunities and happier fish, its just very hard.

Thanks for all the advise people its been much appreciated. Thats what i like about AC everyone takes everything seriously and they know what they are talking about. :22: :thumb:

[Severus]

If you are a little short on the $$$. You might have to save for a little while. It would be worth it though once your Oscars are happily living with roughly 50gallons a piece. You might be able to get some fry then! Good luck with everything!

[themikeyman]

Yeah definately thanks for the advice

[Abbeys_Mom]

I recommend more then 50g per Oscar. My Oscar got to be 12" long in his 55g. I ended up giving him to a fish rescue, because he was unhappy in his small space. I would not keep an Oscar in less the 75g, 2 Oscars no less the 100g.

[Fishguy2727]

I think Aquarium Fish magazine recently had an article where a guy was breeding his oscars in a 55. It is very possible, under the very proper care. These were big guys too, not just barely big enough to breed, I think they were 10-12" each. A 12" wide tank and a 12" long fish is minimum, but not bad. The important issue here is water quality. That is where a 55 will cause problems with big fish. They end up putting off tons of waste, nitrates shoot up, you need huge water changes and massive filtration with very efficient biological filtration and well maintained mechanical media. Breeding ability usually has more to do with size than exact age. There are a couple things that will contribute to breeding success. One is an actual pair. These guys are kind of liek birds in that if the proper gender isn't around, the same will have to do. So they may act like a pair but still be the same sex. The best way to get a true pair is to get a group of about 6 small ones, let them grow up together, and let them pair off on their own. The other thing is that they will probably only breed successfully if they are by themselves.

[theamazonian]

Mine were courting at about 8 months but I would agree 5-12 months...
Around 6in:thumb:

[themikeyman]

Ohh thats heaps cool.. i do hope i have a real pair tho. But yeah either way im still going to look into getting a bigger tank one day.