Fishkeeping - Pairing up Oscars

"Adrian Delves" wrote in message ...
I have 5 juvenile oscars (in a 300 litre tank) that I bought at the same
time, all of a similar size, the idea being that a pair might form. They
have grown at different rates and now the two largest (4"?) which are almost
identical are dominating the tank hanging in mid-water at the front. The
others hide most of the time.

Before I return the other 3 to the shop can I be sure this is a pair? Have I
read somewhere about temporary alliances of sub-adult males? Should I wait?

Ade.

In your circumstance, where the Oscars are growing and developing in
identical conditions, it is 99.9% certain that the two largest are
males and the three smaller fish are female. You can confirm this if
the two larger fish are also more brightly colored.

Oscar pairs form with playing/wrestling/mouthing in addition to
hanging around each other, so it's quite possible no mating pair has
formed yet. Additionally, they will begin preparing a flat place in
the tank for egg laying. Generally (there are exceptions) pairs begin
forming at around 7 inches, which, if you are keeping them properly,
will be about 6 or 7 months from now.

--Mark

Mark Stone tractorlegs at msn dot kom
OSCAR Lovers! http://www.geocities.com/cichlidiot_2000/oscar.html
The ".Edu" meens i are smart.