Oscars activity

[Bwanny]

Hey everyone I had a quick question. I've had one oscar for a long time and he or she is probably around 12-13 inches now. I just recently got another oscar that is around 7-8 inches. The smaller newer of the two seems to be displaying some weird activity lately. They've both been picking up rocks quiet a bit like Oscars normally do. But the smaller of the two seems to be shaking quickly its head and body as well as flaring it's gills out. Any idea if this is a mating thing or should I be worried about parasites. I see no damage at all to the smaller one displaying this activity. No visible parasites or ich. Please help! Thanks!

 

[Bwanny]

 

[Bwanny]

this Is the one with weird activity. Very obvious flaring of the gills

 

[Bwanny]

And now I just watched them both push their tail fins together and flick back and forth. This is obvious mating right?

 

[Brookster123]

Yah, Theyre either sizing each other up to fight or the other f word

 

[Bwanny]

Hahahaha yea that's what I thought. Thanks man.

 

[Andy Sager]

Oscar breeding can be a brutal thing to observe. It looks like a fight when it isn't. Typically, the spawning ritual starts when the fish lip lock. This is them testing each other for suitability for mating. Gill flaring is usually more a fighting stance than a mating dance. Tail slapping is also more fighting. Considering that there are not many hiding places in your tank, this may be the new one trying to assert it's dominance over the larger fish as a means of protecting itself.
If the 2 are preparing to spawn, you should see them both scraping the surface of the spawning site ( probably that flat rock on the right). Oscars can lay upwards of 1000 eggs so the site they choose is usually a large rock or one with a lot of surface area. If neither one is cleaning a site, I'd be prepared to separate the fish with a clear divider in the tank so that they can get used to each other being there without being able to hurt one another. Attacks to the body are more from fighting than mating. Facial injuries are more from mating than from fighting. I've had many pairs that were missing lips or were banged and bruised about the head but their bodies were perfect. As I said in the beginning, breeding oscars can be brutal. It's all about observation.

Hope this helps

 

[Bwanny]

Oscar breeding can be a brutal thing to observe. It looks like a fight when it isn't. Typically, the spawning ritual starts when the fish lip lock. This is them testing each other for suitability for mating. Gill flaring is usually more a fighting stance than a mating dance. Tail slapping is also more fighting. Considering that there are not many hiding places in your tank, this may be the new one trying to assert it's dominance over the larger fish as a means of protecting itself.
If the 2 are preparing to spawn, you should see them both scraping the surface of the spawning site ( probably that flat rock on the right). Oscars can lay upwards of 1000 eggs so the site they choose is usually a large rock or one with a lot of surface area. If neither one is cleaning a site, I'd be prepared to separate the fish with a clear divider in the tank so that they can get used to each other being there without being able to hurt one another. Attacks to the body are more from fighting than mating. Facial injuries are more from mating than from fighting. I've had many pairs that were missing lips or were banged and bruised about the head but their bodies were perfect. As I said in the beginning, breeding oscars can be brutal. It's all about observation.

Hope this helps

Wow this was extremely helpful!! Thank you so much. Yea I truly believe it's mating. They've both been digging out the gravel in the same site. They're still tail slapping and gill flaring. They've been trying to lip lock quiet a bit lately as well.
Here I have attached a picture of the gravel they've dug up.