Hi, this is my first post here but I'm both a reasonably experienced aquarist and very experienced forum poster, so I think I know what to expect.
Recently we rescued 3 Oscars full-grown from the local LFS who had come from various places but been in the same tank a long time. We took them home to go in our 150 which was currently only holding a red tail Cat which is somewhere between 12-18". They're getting along great w/the cat and the few smaller fish in there (one feeder goldie no one ate, one Convict cichlid, one yo yo loach, 2 smaller plecos) ... plus with the 60-gal sump I'm at about 200 gal of water.
Well today I came home to see this...
oh dear that's tiny. uh, well, he or she looks like guarding a nice nest of eggs. The larger partner, a regular Red Oscar (not albino) also seems to be guarding and keeping #3 Oscar away from the nest.
I REALLY did not expect them to spawn... guess they like the tank & their tank mates, water quality, etc and diet really well!!! (we feed them human-grade fillets thawed and chopped up from Safeway, or shell-on raw shrimp most of the time with occasional feeder treats).
SO .... uh, help??? how long till they hatch and what care and feeding to the fry need???
I am an experienced betta breeder so quite used to hatching out BBS and VERY VERY TINY fry foods.... I have itty bitty cichlid pellets.... will these do??
Super happy babies may be coming (if they're fertilized? is there a way to tell?? other than behavior?) but just want to know what to do to help them reach 3-4" size to trade to my LFS!
(if they don't eat them all first I guess!)
Looks like about 100 eggs -ish so that's small for an Oscar spawn - I THINK - but have read very little.
We've only had them about 2 months.
Waterchanging right now to make sure everything's nice and pristine for them...
I also keep a freshwater "refugium" sump with both bioballs, sponge filters and mucho live plants, with livebearers to help provide healthier feeders here & there
LMK what you think.... happy to be here... advice is welcome, flaming is not we wanted to help these 3 fish have happier lives and LOVE baby Oscars -- they're terribly cute!!!
Just didn't know we were adopting 100+ of them! haha!!!
Linda
Recently we rescued 3 Oscars full-grown from the local LFS who had come from various places but been in the same tank a long time. We took them home to go in our 150 which was currently only holding a red tail Cat which is somewhere between 12-18". They're getting along great w/the cat and the few smaller fish in there (one feeder goldie no one ate, one Convict cichlid, one yo yo loach, 2 smaller plecos) ... plus with the 60-gal sump I'm at about 200 gal of water.
Well today I came home to see this...
oh dear that's tiny. uh, well, he or she looks like guarding a nice nest of eggs. The larger partner, a regular Red Oscar (not albino) also seems to be guarding and keeping #3 Oscar away from the nest.
I REALLY did not expect them to spawn... guess they like the tank & their tank mates, water quality, etc and diet really well!!! (we feed them human-grade fillets thawed and chopped up from Safeway, or shell-on raw shrimp most of the time with occasional feeder treats).
SO .... uh, help??? how long till they hatch and what care and feeding to the fry need???
I am an experienced betta breeder so quite used to hatching out BBS and VERY VERY TINY fry foods.... I have itty bitty cichlid pellets.... will these do??
Super happy babies may be coming (if they're fertilized? is there a way to tell?? other than behavior?) but just want to know what to do to help them reach 3-4" size to trade to my LFS!
(if they don't eat them all first I guess!)
Looks like about 100 eggs -ish so that's small for an Oscar spawn - I THINK - but have read very little.
We've only had them about 2 months.
Waterchanging right now to make sure everything's nice and pristine for them...
I also keep a freshwater "refugium" sump with both bioballs, sponge filters and mucho live plants, with livebearers to help provide healthier feeders here & there
LMK what you think.... happy to be here... advice is welcome, flaming is not
we wanted to help these 3 fish have happier lives and LOVE baby Oscars -- they're terribly cute!!! Just didn't know we were adopting 100+ of them! haha!!!
Linda
