Oscar cichlids breeding

[medrano7]

How do you breed Oscar cichlids? How can you tell apart male from female?

 

[toddnbecka]

The best way is to grow out 5-6 juvies together and swap off the extras after you have an established pair. A large tank is necessary, 150 gallons or larger for a pair. Sexing is tough, venting them is the only reliable method, but simply putting a random male and female together isn't likely to work.

 

[DA fisherman]

How do you breed Oscar cichlids? How can you tell apart male from female?

I've read where they have to be at least a year old.

And you can't tell male/female with Oscar cichlids... Some might say that right above the dorsal fin the male might look darker ......but I've heard that oscars male/female are identical, for got the proper meaning for fish that the sexes looks identical .

 

[Phranque]

My grandfather used to breed oscars, and there is no way to tell the sexes from appearance. TNB is correct.... very large tank (talking 200+ gallons) with a school of about 6-8 young oscars, and it will be apparent at apprx 8-10 months of age when two of them pair up & begin defending one end of the tank. Then it's time to re-locate the others.....immediately. Meaning you will need either more large tanks, friends who are willing to take them, or LFS's willing to take them off your hands. It can be up to 2-3 years before you get eggs, though the female may begin digging as young as 10 months for "practice".
It's a very rewarding experience, but it's something you really need to be dedicated to for the love of it, not just for making money.... as messy as Oscars are, if you break down all the time it takes for the maintenance & care, the return is pennies/hour.

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

there IS a way to tell them apart... she will lay eggs he will fertilize them
but thats waaaay later in the game and sexing them is not a skill, it is dumb luck if you get a male and a female.
males should have a thorn like thing where their... thorn should be lol, while females are supposed to have a white volcano like thing.
i have some oscars about 2.5 and 3.5ins, the bigger i assume is female because it behaves the quietest and follows the smaller like a lamb and has been known to bring pellets to a RZ juvie lol. the other is im guessing male because it has more of a thorn like thing going on down there and it like to be the first out to explore and come to see me. leads the other around everywhere. but this is guess work!
oscars are stunning and the babies are gorgeous, but remember that a single batch can produce 1000+ eggs that can ALL hatch. and then how do u get rid of them? who do u sell them to? that is a LOT of oscars. so id stick to as a cute pet, not for breeding unless u have the facilities x x

 

[DA fisherman]

Ones and for all-
Oscars are what we call monomorphic. This means that males and females look the same. Unfortunately, you won't be able to go into a shop and choose a male and a female like you can with other species of fish such as guppies. You will normally only know the sex of your Oscars when they start laying eggs. There are various ways you can increase your chances of obtaining a male and a female. Probably the easiest way is to find somebody who is willing to let you have a known mating pair of Oscars. Most people would prefer to get their Oscars at a young age so the best way to make sure you get a pair is to buy several Oscars at a very young age and wait for them to pair off. Obviously, the more you get, the more chances are that you will have a pair. The downside of doing this is that you have to make sure there is someone who will take the Oscars you are left with when you have finally got your pair.

Only when Oscars start laying eggs will you know for sure that you have got a male and a female. The females egg tube is overall in the shape, not unlike the pointed end of an egg. The males sexual organ is pointed and looks rather like a thorn.
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