breeding tiger oscars

Question
Hi. I just recently received 2 tiger oscars. When we got them, we thought that they were fighting. Well, it turns out, they were actually doing a 'mating ritual'. They have been at this for about 2 weeks now. They have never bred before, and I've got a couple questions on mind. How long would it take for these fish to lay and fertilize eggs? If they haven't done so by now, should I expect them to lay their eggs? And lastly, if they do lay eggs, since they are first-time parents, should I leave them in the tank or put them in another? Because I've heard that some fish eat their young and I really would like my oscars to breed and to raise the fry. I would greatly appreciate your help on this. Thank you so much.
Kayla

Answer
Hi Kayla,
  It could be that they are mating but as the saying goes, "don't count your chickens before they hatch".  In this case, it is cichlids that you must be careful with.  They might be courting, but they might not be and there is no way to tell the difference.  They might court for a day or for two years.  Oscars are notoriously difficult to figure out.  One piece of advice: as long as they are doing this fighting business face to face then all is well. That means that they are evenly matched.  If, however, one of them is constantly swimming away from the other, then you have big problems because the weaker fish could easily be killed.  

 I encourage you to leave the eggs with the parents. They might not take care of them properly, but they need to learn.  If you take the eggs away, they won't learn and then they won't do better next time.  On top of that, watching the parents take care of the kids is the absolute best part of keeping cichlids.  Too many people get fixated on thinking they are going to sell the babies for a ton of money -- you won't.  Enjoy watching the parents; that is worth far more than any money you might make selling the babies.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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