Oscars spawned in a community tank

[Dawnpaw]

Hello everyone Been lurking on here for a while now, but I just made this account so I could get some specific advice.
Tank in question is 200 gallons, sunsun hw302 canister filter, large fish "community" tank.
I know the folter isnr nearly enough gph, new one is on tbe way to be used alongside this one.
Fish in the tank ( probably some im forgetting) 3 one-foot long arowanas, 3 full grown oscars, 4 four inch juvenile oscars, 2 upside down catfish, 2 normal catfish of some kind ( both about 8 inches long) and 4 sand sifting fish whose name I can't think of at the moment, all about 4 inches long, 1 african knife i think its called. Sorry for all the maybes, I'm newer to the hobby and love learning all i can, but thrown in to the deep end moving in with a guy with tons of huge tanks!
I need to run to work soon so this is just a quick post, I'll be back on my lunch break with more info

Bit of a backstory - I know the tank is insanely overstocked. I basically just inherited this tank and I'm trying to sort out how to move forward (will probably involve rehoming a lot of fish)
Anyway, my roommate is kind of an impulse fish buyer, and recently realized the tank wasn't doing so well ( surprise surprise) and care fell to me to figure out the mess of what to do with everybody in the tank ( they definitely can't all stay long term)
For the past week 2 of thw oscars have been extra mean to the third, so much so that i found him torn up resting weakly on the bottom last night and decided to separate him. He is now in a 29g tank that was empty lying around (way too small I know, but it was the only option at midnight when I noticed before going to bed and I will be doing daily h2o changes). So moved the third oscar out of the main tank last night, and woke up this morning to find that the 2 remaining oscars had spawned! There are eggs covering one of the big rocks that are in the bottom of the tank.
So after some quick research this morning, I know I have less than 4 days to figure out what to do when the fry hatch. I'm assuming they shouldn't stay in the main tank or risk becoming dinner for the rest of the fish in there.

There is a 55g in the house that was a saltwater tank and we recently just took all the rock and fish out of, but its still full of sand and salt water so that's why i didnt use that for the fish i removed last night. Can I move the pair of oscars and the rock with their eggs on it to the 55 tonight after work when i have time to clean it out well? Im assuming moving eggs and the parents is a bad idea, but there really isn't anywhere to move all the other fish either, they certainly all won't fit in the 55....
Has anyone ever moved a rock with eggs on it once the parents had already spawned? Or do you think the babies would have a chance in the main tank and I should just leave it be?

 

[duanes]

I have hatched eggs artificially a number of times by moving the object with eggs, using everything from a specimen container to 20 gal tanks as a place to rear them in.
In your community it is doubtful many if any will survive.

above a specimen container that hangs in the tank, there is a hole in the bottom covered by a sponge filter, where the air line draws fresher water over the eggs to keep detritus from building up, and aerated water flowing over them.
Same after they hatch,

For a larger spawning object, I always have a hospital tank empty and ready, but on a sump, so the same water the eggs were put down in, can be directed over them for aeration.
In the spawning below, a pair of Chuco intermedia put eggs down in a PVC cap, in a community tank.


I moved the cap to the hospital tank.




They grew to about 1" in the 20 gal, before being moved to larger quarters

 

[Dawnpaw]

Thanks for the detailed post! So you think the best bet for the babies is artificially raising them without the parents, as opposed to moving tbe parents into a separate tank along with the eggs?

I've been calling around and I actually found a store that wants to take any offspring if it gets that far. Really don't have space to add more tanks to our overcrowded home unfortunately.

 

[tlindsey]

Thanks for the detailed post! So you think the best bet for the babies is artificially raising them without the parents, as opposed to moving tbe parents into a separate tank along with the eggs?

I've been calling around and I actually found a store that wants to take any offspring if it gets that far. Really don't have space to add more tanks to our overcrowded home unfortunately.

Whatever you do leave the parents in the main tank and just remove the object with the eggs on it as Duanes suggested because the parents will not tend to the eggs and it possibly would break up the bond between the male and female.

 

[duanes]

You will notice in my pics, the black bowls sitting on the hatching tank, are brine shrimp (artemis) hatcheries.
Another reason for hatching separately, in a small tank, is getting food to free swimming fry.
I use a pipette, or turkey baster to shoot the shrimp and or pureed pellets, into the school of fry (much more simple in a confined space, than in a large community tank. And fry need lots of food, I usually do multiple feedings per day, to have a reasonable amount survive.

 

[Boomer1224]

Great seeing your O's spawn good luck with the fry let us know how it works out.

 

[Travis_Bickle]

I've got a question on Oscar Breeding as well. Got a 130 US gallon tank which has a 10" pair in. I have other fish in the tank also, a 5" male Helleri, 5.5" female Texas, 3" male Sajica, 10" Bala Shark, 5" Royal Plec, 12" Decarus Syno. I've never bred Oscars before and wondered whether it's a good idea to keep the tank as is or am I risking the other fish. I do have caves either end for the others to get away but don't really want them hiding all the time anyway. If I take out the fry each time and either raise a few in another tank or cull would that help? Not sure just how agressive Oscars get in this situation? I'm wondering whether to trade the female and get a 4" spotted Severum instead that they have at one of my LFS...Just wondered what anyone thought that's experienced with breedings Oscars. They do look pretty awesome as the centre peice.