Well lets start off with my oscar tank, first let me say ive never even thought about breeding my oscars cuz idk what the heck id do with all the fry they have but my red oscars belly is distended and shes hanging out on the bottom again like she was the other day and this morning like last time there was a large bunch of feces? But it looked like it had eggs mixed into it?? Shes still on the bottom and still distended and I put a big flat rock in the tank but idk if shes attempting to lay eggs or whats going on, it seems like my albino who I recently moved into the tank is hovering around her quite a bit and not letting the Tiger oscar or the frogs in the tank anywhere near her. Any feedback would be appreciated
Next I think my Dempseys may be "doing the dance" lol they are rubbing on each other and just acting different than they usually do and there colors are amazingly bright, they both look more stunning than ive ever seen them, I didnt think they would even attemot to spawn since I have several african cichlids in the tank (about 22 total I believe) 5 being 4 to 5 inches and the rest an inch to 2. They are hiding more than anything but when they are swimmimg around,the tank the are like bumping into each other and rubbing against one another and when they are hiding they are most times together, ive had a few flat rocks in there for awhile tho and fig if it happens cool.
I also just grabbed 16 flowerhorn fry (they are currently in a 45 by themselves til they get bigger) these I plan on breeding in the future after I grow these ones out abd determine there sexes I was thinking id sell the males (they are all from the same mother 4 however have a diff father) & keep some females depending on how many end up being female and at some point buying a male or 2 to breed with my females. What I was wondering being fairly new to all this is if anyone had any tips or suggestions on the best way to do this?
And just when u think im done muahaha lol
I have also recently purchased a few new africans mostly small ones (red shoulders and lemon jake peacocks 1 to 2 inches) but the guy I got em from was getting rid of the majority of his fish and I decided to buy a few of his breeders since the deal was far to good to pass up, I got from him a gorgeous male blueberry ob peacock, a female ob peacock, an awesomly gorgeous male venustus, a female cobalt, and a female cobu. All of them have amazing coloration and the blueberry ob was so unique I just had to get him he is mostly orange with dark purple splotches my step son said he looks like someone threw paint on him and when he gets anywhere near the cobalt (i was told theyve spawned several times together) his dark purple splotches turn the lightest lavender right before your eyes its amazing. I currently have a plea to all my fam n friends for tanks they are not usuing and am in the process of setting up a room in the basement for breeding (idk how I ended up here lol but hey y not right?) I just wanna make sure im doing everything right ive read tons online and the guy I got all my africans from was awesome with his info but im a person who believes u can never be too prepared soooo again any info anyone wants to share (ivan ik u specialize in africans so my plea on this def goes out to u )
I appreciate all the info u have all given me on the various topics I have posted u are all awesome and definatly know ur stuff

The oscar does not really sound like spawning. Feces and eggs do not go together Keeping an eye on it is the best thing you can do for now.

The JDs don't sound like they are spawning either but they may be pairing up and getting ready to.

As far as the FHs...the best thing to do is raise the ones you have and see if any pair up. However, a 45gal tank will not be sufficient for that process IMO. Even if you narrow it down to just two.

I'll let Ivan comment on the africans as I don't have a lot of experience with them.

Good luck with the breeding!

Ive been watching the oscar and she still acting off im glad they arent spawning I really dont want oscar babies I wouldnt know what to do with em and couldnt imagine trying to find homes for em but I hope shes ok they were all 3 doing the same thing for a couple days and,ive checked the water, ph is fine, nitrates r fine, everything on the strip was in normal paramaters. I did a 50 percent water change and its been super hot here so I checked the temp and it was a lil high (82) so I turned the heater down, but would that make them all lay on the bottom for hours? The albino and,tiger oscar have resumed acting normal but my red oscar still isnt. She hasnt greeted me waiting for food like she typically does in almost a week:( she will swim for 5 seconds n then settle back down on the bottom. I thought maybe the O2 was low so I put an air pump with 2 xtra air stones in it but still she doesnt seem right. I havent seen her eat in days either and normally shes a pig eating several times a day. Ill keep watching her tho and hope whatever it is resolves itself. Idk what else to do.

Have you fed the Oscar blanched peeled peas? You should try that. Even if it isn't constipated it won't hurt the fish. The temp is a bit high but not off the charts high. Try to keep it closer to 78.

I turned the temp down a lil this morning will check it in a couple hours and yes been trying to feed em peas all week she shows no interest

You'll know if they decide to spawn; the pair will choose an area of the tank, the female will clean off a piece of rock or other substrate, and the two will beat yer third oscar to death. Yer not seein' spawning, and as DD pointed out , feces and eggs don't mix. From what you are describing, it still sounds like it's havin' trouble digesting food, and it's constipation. Try adding 2 tsps of epsom salts per 5 gallons of water, and when ya feed the regular food, try algae wafers at a 50% ratio. Get a good algae wafer that shows less than 40% protein in its content. I'd also cut back to feeding once a day. As I said before, oscars will eat until they can eat no more, and they beg. When I was in high school, I trained an oscar to ring a bell by Pavlov Conditioning, using a coupla of eye hooks, a length of 20lb. test fishing line, a bell and a smooth piece of red plastic. It grabbed the plastic, rang the bell (connected to the plastic by the fishing line, running through a hole in the hood up and through the eye hooks), and got fed. My mother started feeding it when I wasn't home, so the oscar was getting fat. I finally disconnected the bell because it was ringing constantly.

Do the feces the oscar is producing appear excessively mucus coated? If so, it may be more than simple constipation. I'd consider treating for a hexamita infection, a protozoan (primarily responsible for HLLE but which is also present in the gut and can cause excess feces and sluggishness). I recommend metronidazole, use as directed.

Yer JDs may be leading to spawning, but they'll show the same behavior as I described for the oscars. Except they'll likely find a flowerpot or other cave-like area to spawn in and won't let anything else near the area.

DD already said it 'bout the flowerhorns: yer gonna need a bigger tank, even to just to get one pair outta the group. A 90 gallon is minimum for two adults. And your fry won't even approach adulthood in a 45 with 16 of 'em in there. BTW, I also agree with what he said 'bout tryin' to get a pair outta the group ya have as yer best bet for getting a pair.

Africans, where to begin. Lake Malawi fish come in three superficial groups based on phylogeny and behavior. The mbuna (rock dwelling species like Labeotropheus, Pseudotropheus, Maylandia, Melanochromis, etc.), haplochromines (venustus, eye-biters, Copadichromis, etc.) and peacocks (Aulonocara). IME, mixing them can be done, if the mbuna are relatively peaceful, small to mid-size species. Yer labeotrophues, the cobue (Cynotilapis afra "Cobue") and the cobalt zebra (Maylandia callainos) are all mbuna. They are not extremely aggressive for mbuna, but will hold their own and will fight for their territory. Peacocks (most of the rest of yer Malawi fish) usually do not show their best color in these conditions, but do survive and stay healthy in large enough tanks. Haplochromines generally are either not aggressive enough to withstand mbuna territorialism or are too aggressive and/or are piscivorous. The venustus is a haplochromine, Nimbochromis venustus. It can reach 11", though 8"-9" is more typical. On one hand. as long as you have the venustus in the tank, you will not be able to save any fry. Anything smaller than 2" will become lunch once it matures. On the other, it is one of the species I have mixed with mbuna and peacocks long term with success. If you decide to add any more fish, which ya probably don't want to add many more, I'd stick with peaceful mbuna and peacocks.

The JDs throw a loop in the set-up, but it can be done. I would discourage trying to get them to spawn because of the potential aggressive behavior, especially with the immature Africans you have in there. I'd worry far less once the Africans mature, and at the size the JDs are at, they could do some damage to the Africans now. If ya want them to spawn ya may want to get them their own tank down the road. In the meantime, make sure ya have plenty of hiding places for everybody in the tank!

WYite

Thanks for all the info....where would I get the medicine for my oscars? & I have lots of hiding spots for the fish tons of rockscapes and such the jds r getting there own tank soon I just purchased 3 10s, a 15, 2 20s, a 45, 55 & a 60 gal with a few more im looking at this week so taking out the jds and most likely the venustus cuz hes somewhat aggressive not overly hes not hurting anyone (yet) but does alot of chasing hes about 6 inches now hes not eating any of my little guys but he sure is a greedy pig with food lol want to get him a female eventually hes def one of my faves. im going to b selling most of the FHs if not all eventually they r growing. fast n some already showing colors so I dont think its take much to get rid of em when im rdy ill admit I got over eagerwith all the diff species and such but my heart is with my africans for sure and think they will b my primary focus for now. My friend keeps telling me im a fish geek (her hubby breeds gorgeous discus) & that ive crossed over to the dark side lol but I will follow thru with my current projects and setting up my fish room in the basement I wanna get my oscars better and get the rest of em in there designated new homes I also have sponge filters ordered for all my tanks (prob have to order a few more by the end of the week at the rate im going im going to b sleeping in the basement with the fish cuz my bfs going to kill me lol )

A good LFS should carry metro. If not, an on-line aquarium supply site should have it. I use Big Al's a lot, since I don't have quick access to any fish supplies other than what Petco chooses to carry. I keep a pretty good supply of meds on hand.

I think im going to grab this stuff I seen called parasite gaurd made by tetra I believe its fizzy tabs u put in the water and has metro in it. Its a fairly new product but they carry a whole line of these fizzy tabs for ich, fungus, to clear water etc and when my water was cloudy I tried everything under the sun to clear it to no avail... seen the tabs to clear water at my LFS and for 3.50 and decided to try them used em as directed and then we left n went camping for 2 days came home to crystal clear water to my amazement so hopefully the parasite gaurd tablets will work read about using half a tab to soak thier food and think ill prob do that like it suggested and then treat the tank as directed. Ive been giving them spirulina algae wafers with thier pellets for prob 4 days now but they havent been eating like they usually do I moved them to a 55 gal temporarily and completely broke down and scrubbed thier tank and filter even tho my water quality keeps coming back spot on bf filled the tank back up but im waiting til tomorrow to return them to the 92 gal cuz I wanted to make sure the water was warm enough before I did dont wanna cause sny further problems for my poor oscars. My brother warned me bout the hole in the head disease and oscars being prone to it but it never even crossed my mind...what could have caused it? Would it effect them all the way it did? It started with my red oscar and then slowly my other 2 started acting the same way just not as severe. I just want my babies feeling better and back to normal im very attached to my fish