Breeding oscars?

[Lewisc12]

I have a 6" Albino Oscar and a 5" Tiger Oscar. Never seen any aggression between the two until recently when I noticed them nudging at each other and trying to lip lock the other day. My Albino moved all the sand out of one corner of the tank til the bottom was exposed. The other one has a lump in front of its anal fin and has been "quivering" every now and then. After looking into this it seems they may be mating, but it seems like they are quite young for this behaviour? Would love to hear from anyone with experience or advice with this! Thanks

 

[bettaowner]

How big is the tank? If you've had them together for a long time they could be breeding. Oscar breeding can be dangerous for one partner so be ready to move one of them.

 

[Lewisc12]

How big is the tank? If you've had them together for a long time they could be breeding. Oscar breeding can be dangerous for one partner so be ready to move one of them.

The tank is 75 gallons. They've been together for only a month. I've already noticed some small fin damaged and can separate them at any time but would love to try my hand at breeding if that happens to be the case. Will they be this aggressive towards each other all the time now or only when breeding?

 

[HUKIT]

That's aggression, they're not sexually mature yet.

 

[Lewisc12]

That's aggression, they're not sexually mature yet.

At what age or size do they sexually mature?

 

[GBHammbone]

I believe around 14-18 months

 

[HUKIT]

I believe around 14-18 months

That's correct, normally by that time they are 8-10" easily. My male and female were both near 14" and would literally soak the hardwood floors before each spawn testing each other. The other issue is Astronotus ocellatus are monomorphic which means there are no visual differences from males to females, there are some who claim to be able to sex them but there are also some people who claim to see the future too! You will not know until they lay eggs and then those said eggs are fertilized.

 

[Lewisc12]

Your oscars are awesome! Can't wait til mine are that big. I removed them yesterday and rearranged the tank. Haven't notice any aggression happening again yet, might just have to keep mixing things up in there. My Dempsey has kind of been refereeing the fights and breaks them up on occasion so there's been no major injuries. Glad to hear they're not old enough to breed yet, my hospital tank broke yesterday and made an awful mess so it'll be a bit before I've got a spare set up. Thanks everyone for the advice!