My Oscar couple

Question
Ron
Few weeks before I bought my black Oscar fish a white friend of his/her own size because I felt she/he is so alone . unexpectedly , soon they paired and now they are moving stones day and night and the black one has evolved a big belly . I know they are gonna lay eggs soon . but they just don't like the flat stone I have put in the tank for them for laying eggs . they seem to be afraid of that and they noticeably prefer those small stones and the placed they have prepared . Just wondering can they lay eggs on stones without any problem ? will the fries be just OK ?
Also I would be so thankful if you tell me how often an Oscar couple tends to lay egg in a year ? I am, not going to separate the eggs from the parent simply because I don't have any other tank and some breeders tell me they are good parents . however , I do know that they happen to ear the fries sometimes . but I have no other choice .
I would also like to know how often can I feed snails to my Oscar couple ? I have so many of them in my garden . I tend to feed chicken and beef to them mostly though .
Thank you so much
Soheil

Answer
Hi Soheil,
  Many times oscars will dig down to the bottom of the tank and lay their eggs on the glass and this workds perfectly fine.  

  They can lay eggs every few weeks, but seldom do.  Keep in mind that part of the reason why cichlids lay so many eggs is because so few of the kids survive.  So I wouldn't worry about an overpopulation of oscars quite yet.

  If they will eat the snails, then that is great.  BUT, a dead snail will quickly pollute the water so be sure to quickly remove a snail if they don't eat it

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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