how to tell if i have a breeding pair of fish.

Question
I have 2 ocsars both about 9in long one red and one tiger.I have seen both digging a hole in the gravel it is also holding a blackbelt an texas i came home from to find tiny tan like pellets not much bigger the tip of a pen. Both got more aggrisve so i turned of the light  and when i woke the next day most of the pellets where gone and the the ocsars were less aggrisve.is it possible that they laid eggs and the other fish got a hold of them? if they were eggs how could i tell if thay were fertilized and would they try to breed again if the other fish did get to the eggs. thay are housed in a 90 gallon tank and both blackbelt and texas are about 6in  

Answer
Hi Scott,
  It sounds like they might have been eggs.  If they are eggs, the parents will probably do it again in a few weeks.  Note however, that just because they laid eggs doesn't mean that you have a male and a female.  It means you have at least one female.  If there are only two female oscars in a tank, they will sometimes lay eggs.  The eggs cannot be fertilized and so do not develop, but female cichlids will do this all the time.

 You can tell if they were fertilized if they start to develop -- you will see the eggs get darker with a little black streak inside -- that is the developing embryo.  They would hatch in about 4 days.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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