african tiger oscar cichlids

Question
I have tiger oscar cichlids, and i was wondering how i would be able to tell them apart. Male or Female. Because The larger one is constantly chasing the smaller one around the tank and moving rocks around. Is this courtsmanship because i want to be able to tell if they are breeding. and necessarily just curious when they say they change color during breeding how so do they change color?

Answer
Hi Alana,
You cannot tell the difference between male, and female.  The only way to know is when they spawn.  Oscars grow quite big, and need big tanks.  One Oscar needs at least 60 gallons of water all to himself, two Oscars, you must double this, and so on.  Oscars kept in tanks too small for them will eventually make them die.  When a tank is too small, their growth is stunted, their internal organs have no place to grow, and they die a horrible death.    Once you have a breeding pair, they will attack, and kill any other fish in the tank.  They are good parents, and care for their young.  Oscars will rearranged your tank.  They do push rocks around, so this is normal.  They must have varied diets.  Now, and then buy them minnows at the bait store (regular) kind, and worms that you will clean before feeding them.  To clean the worms put them is oats for about one week.  Frozen fish that come from rivers, and lakes that you buy at the market are also a good source of food for them.  Cut off a piece, let it unfreeze and feed the pieces to your Oscars.  The fish that you buy must be frozen first.  Never feed them fish from salty waters.  They should have veggies once a week.  I buy a frozen bag of veggies at the market, blanch them, and let them cool, then feed the veggies to my Oscar.  Peas, broccoli, green beans are a good source of food for them.  When you feed them veggies, feed them nothing else on that day, so that they can clean out their system, and avoid Swim Bladder Disease.  You may also feed them spinach, and boston salade.  Crickets that you buy at the pet store are also very good for Oscars.  Fruit such as mangoes, and bananas should also be part of their diet.  Never citrus fruits.  Pellets, a good quality flake, and Bloodworms are important to their diet.
All fish change colour when they are breeding.  Their colour is more colourful.  Some fish change colour completely.
The Oscar is a cichlid.  All south american cichlids must be of equal force if they form a pair.  If they are not of equal force the stronger one will kill the weaker one.  To know if they are of equal force, they do what is called the Nuptial Dance.  They grab each other by the mouth, and waltz all over the tank.  This may go on for 20 -30 minutes.  
I hope this information helps.
Lynda