Can you breed Oscar fish without them killing each other?

Answer 1

The short answer is yes, the problem will not be with them killing each other, but there are several other things to consider. First, a breeding pair will probably kill or at least traumatize other inhabitants of the aquarium, so they need to be by themselves. Second, it is impossible to tell if you have a male and female unless they pair off and begin mating rituals with each other. Breeders will grow 6-8 Oscars together and watch for a pair to develop and then move the pair off to their own tank for breeding. It requires a lot of space since you need at least 2 very large , 50 gal or larger, aquariums. If someone told you they could tell male and female by external appearances, they either lied to you or did not know what they were talking about.

AnswerMost Oscar's need practise at breeding and becoming new parents. A lot of the time they eat their eggs and then they may never breed again. It's all a matter of chance. My Pink Oscar and Tiger Oscar breed constantly (lock lips, shiver, move gravel, clean the slate) however I have only ever seen 1 set of eggs that were laid on a rock. The female ate them all. Ever since that (which was about 10 months ago) the male keeps cleaning the slate but I have not seen any other eggs. Fingers crossed she will decide to lay again and then the male will fertilise them before she eats them again! AnswerA wise fish breeder once told me that there is a visible difference between female and male Oscars. If it is a Male there will be 3 small black dots at the base of the spiked dorsal fin. Females have 3 large ones along the dorsal fin. Males have pionted anal fins and females have rounded anal fins.so look at your Oscars!

Whoever the above 'wise fish breeder' was is incorrect. He may well have a pair of breeders that have those differences but attempting to sex all Oscars that way is like trying to sex people by the length of their hair and colour of their skin. It just doesnt work.