Female Oscar is bulging at the sides.

Question
I have a pair of Oscars. One Tiger male and "Albino" female. They are both over 12 inches in Length and are a proven breeder pair. Both around 3.5 years old. The female is currently bulging out the sides. At first I though perhaps see was getting ready to lay eggs (which I suppose could be the case) however her sides continue to swell and they have never been this big when she laid eggs before. It almost looks like a snake after a mouse meal. The male is fine as always and she seems to be just fine other than her huge sides. I know it's not a big feeder fish she ate or anything like that. They eat Cichald pellets everyday as well as live fish once a week. No parasite problems obvious in the tank.
Nitrate= 20
Nitrite= 0
Hardness= 75
Alkalinity= 120
PH= 7.2

No other fish, just the male & female oscar in a 75 gal tank with very little gravel and slate rock. We get our feeders straight from the hatchery not a pet store and they probably get a total of 12 a week sometimes every other week. Forgot to mention we also give them baby Crayfish from time to time but none in a couple months. We breed the Australian red claw crayfish as well. She hasn't been "bloated" very long perhaps 4 days. Yes I know the planeria is said to be a symptom of overfeeding but they are fed once a day and normally they consume all of the pellets given to them. Anyhow my question is has anyone that breeds Oscars ever had the female's side swell this noticeably before laying eggs?  Both seem to be pooping as normal. Her undersides are also more yellow tinted than normal which I have also previously noticed when she was about to lay eggs before. Another photo attached which shows her  

Answer
Hi Mandy,
 Some cichlids do get quite bloated before laying eggs but unfortunately it is pretty hard to tell how that would look differently than if she had some sort of internal problem.  Given that you say that she is eating and pooping well, I think we are going to have to assume that she is about to lay eggs though I understand your discomfort with that.  Sorry but I don't know what else to do about the situation at this point.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>