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Severums breeding without eggs? 4/7/19 Electric Blue Acara Fry 1/26/19
American Cichlid Egg Fertilization /Bob
11/25/15 Cichlids; conditioning for spawning, use of unwanted fry
12/18/13 Thorichthys maculipinnis breeding 4/24/13
Festae Breeding Question 5/26/12 Green Terror Breeding Rainbow cichlid breeding
3/7/11
Eggs, neotrop. cichlids... 6/13/10 Firemouth pair hatched babies in community tank --
2/5/10 Cichlids, neotrop. cross repro. & Crenicichla sys.
-- 02/02/10 Cichlid (cross, neo-trop.) Breeding and Puffer (indet. sp.
beh.) Questions. 9/2/09 re: Cichlid Breeding and Puffer
Questions. 9/2/09 cichlid eggs. 9/28/08 Hello, I found out this morning that my t-bar cichlids have bred so i separated the eggs, male and female away from the other fish. I was wondering is it normal for the male and female to fight every now and then if the male gets to close to the pipe were there eggs are <Yes, sometimes pairs of cichlids will fight, even where that species is known to be a biparental spawner. To some degree depends on the environment; do see Paul Loiselle re: the importance of target fish in maintaining strong pair bonds.> and how long will it take before i can sell them to a fish shop? <Assuming the fry are moved to a big, clean tank where they can grow quickly (i.e., nitrate levels are low) then you can expect virtually all cichlids to reach sellable size in 3-4 months. It is of course virtually impossible to rear them adequately in the tank with the parents. Normally people remove the parents to the community tank.> Thanks <Cheers, Neale.> Re: cichlid eggs. -- 09/28/08 Re: cichlid eggs. 9/29/08 Guianacara geayi, sexing -08/27/08 Hello <Ave,> I have 2 Bandit Cichlids (Guianacara geayi) and they are around 1 inch big. <Still babies.> How long does it take for them to grow to a size they can be sexed? <I'd expect these to become sexually mature at 4-6 months, the males before the females. They'd need to be about half-adult size, in other words at least 3-4 inches in length. Maximum size for this species is about 15 cm/6" for males, slightly less for females. Sexing is otherwise difficult. Quite a challenging species, be careful not to keep them too warm! 22-25 degrees C is ample, anything above that likely to stress them.> Thanks <Many aquarium books list this species as Acaricthys geayi or Aequidens geayi; use these names when doing your research. It is of course a harem spawner, so you will need multiple females if you want to avoid problems with male aggression. Cheers, Neale.> T-bar cichlid problem Spawning T-Bar Cichlids 8/13/08 Hello, I have bred T-bar's < Archocentrus sajica> many times but when I take the fry away the male and female die. The last time they bred and I did this the female was fine but the male wont eat. He still got his breeding colours, has his fins down and it has been like this for 2 months. What could I do to prevent this from happening again and how can I make my male healthy again? Thank you for your time. < Spawning takes a lot of energy. I suspect that the pair were not properly conditioned prior to spawning. After spawning they are weak an vulnerable to diseases. Separate the pair and heat them up to 82 F. Feed them lots of live or frozen food to build up their fat reserves. Keep the water clean with lots of water changes and clean the filter often. When they are very active and looking good you can reintroduce them together. If the female is not ready top spawn then the male may kill her so be ready to spit them up if things aren't going well. If they spawn then continue to feed them well with quality food. When the fry become free swimming then I would separate them from the parents. Clamped fins could be a sign of a bacterial infection. I would recommend treating him in a hospital tank with Nitrofuranace.-Chuck>
Breeding Green Terrors Hey Chuck, I got a pair of Green Terrors which I'm pretty sure were compatible and ready to breed. So I got a large bucket to separate them both from the other fishes in my tank, supplied a sponge filter, air bubbles, heater and everything necessary for them to survive and setup an environment that they can adapt to while laying eggs. Couple of days went by and I thought I notice some eggs, about 100eggs, very small and brown in color. It was laid in a barrel I put in there for them so it was a bit hard to see but was still noticeable. Three days later it was still there and some turned white which I thought was normal still because unfertile eggs will turn white. Day after I went to check again and they were nowhere to be seen. I've looked everywhere and cant seem to find them at all. I don't see anything swimming around nor any eggs, but the 2 still remain in the barrel. Could there be a chance that they could of eaten them all? How long does it take to hatch? Is it the usual 3 days? What should I do? <The eggs should of hatched after three days at 80 F. The fry could have been moved to a safe place by their parents. After an additional three days the fry become free swimming and start to swim around looking for food. If they are still around then you will know it then.-Chuck> Red Devil Fry Eat The Scales off the Female Parent... 12/20/07 Hello Guys... <Howdy> My Red Devils recently had a successful batch of fry. The fry are now about 1 month old, and are growing at a good pace. I just recently separated the 2 parents, by putting the crate divider back in (he was getting overly aggressive). <Good technique> The fry swim freely to either side. She had so many, I took alot <No such word> of the fry out and moved them to a separate tank (they are doing great). There are still quite a few fry in the tank wit the parents.. <Good> My question is: Is it normal for the fry to eat the scales off of the female down to the "white meat" it appears to be getting infected. <No... not normal, or healthy> I know the parents produce a mucus for the fry to eat.. "should they still be eating the mucus at the one month mark". Do I need to remove all the fry? <I would, yes> I feed the fry good also.. But they still are constantly peeking at the female heavily. I don't want the Female to become sick. I would appreciate any advice thanks KD <Move the young... start looking for customers... stores that will buy, give you good credit for them. Bob Fenner> Sajica fry 11/12/07 hello, my sajica's bred 3 months ago and the fry are only 1 cm long. is this normal because they seem to be taking longer than any other cichlid fry to grow? thanks <Growth rate of baby fish depends on many factors. Check them all: Nitrates inhibit growth, so water changes need to be frequent, 50% weekly, minimum. Overcrowding causes stunting in many fish (again, water changes help here). Diet needs to be varied, ideally a mix of animal and plant foods. For baby cichlids, algae taken from a clean pond works extremely well. Meals must be frequent but small: their energy demands are high, but their ability to process food in one go is small. Four to six meals per day, but each one small, seems to work best for the first couple of months. Segregating fry according to size is critical after a couple of months; male cichlids grow faster than female cichlids and will dominate the food supply. A simple tank divider works well here, letting you keep small fish one side and larger ones on the other. Temperature and water chemistry are additional factors. In the case of Sajica, a nice moderate temperature around 25 C couple with moderately hard, neutral to slightly basic chemistry is what you're after. Lovely fish you have there, by the way. Cheers, Neale.> thank you for your help <You're welcome! Neale> Cichlid Breeding For Rookies - 03/25/07 Hello Crew, I am thinking about trying to breed cichlids but I am having a hard time finding one to breed. I have a spare 37 gallon tank that I would like to use for housing them. I set it up with a lot of rock, and a few live plants here and there, nothing special, if the fish eat them it's fine. I was going to get a pair of Cryptoheros sajica but I cannot find them anywhere, except Jeff Rapps but shipping is a killer! Is there any small, pretty, easy to keep/breed, substrate/cave spawning (preferably not a mouthbrooder) cichlids you can give me the name to, so I have something to build off of. I am really bummed because I cannot find the sajica, they seem like the perfect fish. A few names is fine, nothing elaborate. Thanks a lot! < Lots to work with here until you find your sajica. You can start with convicts, firemouths, rainbow cichlids, salvini, or jewelfish to get you started. Get six small fish and let them grow up together. Males will be larger with longer fins. Keep water clean around 82 F. Keep fish well fed and you should have cichlids breeding in no time at all.-Chuck> Re: Breeding Cichlids For Rookies 03/25/07 Thank you for your response, but I cannot keep 6 of the same fish in a 37 gallon can I? I hear Salvinis get around 7 inches. Thanks < You get six of whatever species you want to breed. When you get six fish you have almost 100% chance of getting a pair. As the fish quickly grow they will soon start to pair up. The male and female will start to flair and begin to lip lock with each other. Soon they will clear an area and drive all the other fish away. At this time you should remove all the other fish and trade them in at the local fish store. In about a week you will have a pair with 1000 eggs covering a rock. The eggs will hatch in three days and then the fry will become free swimming in another three. Now they need to be fed baby brine shrimp. The babies now need to be removed in about a week or they will be eaten by the parents. Adult males will get up to seven inches but breeding females will only grow to about half that size. Both can easily be housed in a 37 gallon tank.-Chuck> Convict Cichlid Egg Color - 03/25/07 Hi again guys and thank you for the info before my convicts now have little white eggs on a seashell in my tank. I was wondering if the eggs are supposed to be this color <Dead eggs turn white, live eggs are a translucent brown color.> and I was wondering if after the fry is born will my male convict go back to swimming with my Oscar fish? they did before. < After spawning the male convict should be grading the fry. Once the fry are gone the pair bond could be gone too and the male convict might not pair up again.-Chuck> Keeping Cichlid Eggs Viable 03/26/07 Thank You yet again but I have one more question. What can I do to keep the eggs brown? And I swear this is the last email for a while. <When cichlid eggs are first laid they tend to be a translucent clear brown color. If the eggs are not fertilized in 24 hours they will turn white and begin to be taken over by a white water mold. This use to be commonly referred to as a fungus but recent work at Sacramento State have shown this to be actually a water mold. The adults should be able to stay with the eggs and remove and dead or diseased ones. Clean warm water goes a long way to keep eggs healthy. The addition of some methylene blue helps retard the water mold. If you continuously get no eggs to hatch then you could have a male that is not fertilizing the eggs.-Chuck> Removing Cichlid Eggs - 02/22/07 Love the site BTW! I have a male convict and a female Texas cichlid that are constantly breeding. I was just wondering if it's inhumane or unethical to remove the eggs before they hatch?? I've done this for the last few batches, as I don't want to contaminate the hobby with half breed fish, but they always seem very upset and distraught. I kept their first spawn they're about 4 months old and are all different sizes and colors. I know I won't be able to give them to a LFS and i certainly don't have the space available to accommodate all the offspring so removing the eggs is my only option. BTW I do plan on separating the parents when i get a male Texas, Tanks for your help guys! Michael < By not promoting the cross you are helping the hobby. They get over having their eggs removed in a few days. Try to match them up so you can keep the fry.-Chuck> Red devil breeding 2/6/07 I have a male and female red devil. Their eggs hatched about 1 1/2 weeks ago but she laid more about 3 days ago and now I can't find any of their babies from the first batch, I think they killed them. <Happens> Why would they have so many babies, and why would they kill them? <Mmm, survival value... many young lost in the wild... and an abundance of young (as with our species) in propitious circumstances... And "stress", adaptive behavior from being in small confines in captivity. Bob Fenner> Bumps On FW Keyholes... Fish 1/21/07 Hello, and thanks for volunteering your time to help those of us with less experience. I've searched the site and the web for hours and have been unable to determine what's going on with my keyhole cichlids. Please bear with me, I would rather give you too much information than not enough. I have a 20 gal tank, with two keyhole cichlids, one bronze Cory, three marble hatchets, and two neon tetras. I feed them flakes, Ocean Bay frozen bloodworms, emerald entree and "cichlid delight", algae wafers, and put a few ghost shrimp in there for the keyholes to chase and eat every now and then. My tank is well established, with ammonia/nitrites zero, and nitrates hovering around 10. I do a 20% water change every five to seven days with a gravel vac. I thought I was keeping my tank water very clean. :( About a week ago, I noticed my Cory catfish had a small ball of what looked like fungus on the tip of his left fin. At the same time, I noticed my keyhole cichlids had some kind of tiny growths (?) on their tail fins only, about the size of a grain of sand. One keyhole had around three to five, and the other had more, around ten to fifteen. They also were acting skittish, were not coming to the top of the tank to eat, and spending a lot of time on the bottom of the tank hiding in the plants. My first thought was ich (with the Cory's fungus being secondary), even though the grains on the cichlids look nothing like salt. They look more like uniform grains of tan sand, or small round sesame seeds. That size and color. Not bright white crystals like the fish with ich I've seen in the local fish store (yuk) or in pictures on the web. Over the next few days (had a short trip out of town) I did two good sized water changes, the second being a 50% water change and thorough gravel vac. I did notice my gravel vac stirred up a lot of detritus around and behind my plants, which doesn't get vacced as well, and which is a popular hangout for the cichlids and the Cory. With the second water change I added a teaspoon of kosher salt per gallon slowly, and the following day added another ten teaspoons, to a total of a teaspoon and a half per gallon (I was leery of adding more salt because of the Cory, and I did not raise the temp in the tank because in the colder weather, my heater works full time to keep a steady 78*.). The keyholes immediately seemed to perk up, became more active and regained their appetite. But now, five days later, the tiny bumps are unchanged, as is the cottony ball on the tip of the Cory's fins. There are just as many bumps, no more, no less, and they are in the same places. They aren't white like salt - they appear to be the same color as the fin, but opaque, and attached to the surface of the fin. My larger keyhole has also developed a small, slightly raised, white fuzzy patch on his tail fin that appears to be fungus. When I realized the fungus had spread to the keyhole I added two Jungle Fungus Clear Tank Buddies tablets. I don't know if I should have done that, but I felt like I needed to treat the fungus before it spread any further. I'm at a loss as to treating the fin bumps, since I have no idea what they could be. I would greatly appreciate it if one of you could help me and my fish out with your advice! Thanks so much for your patience. The hatchets and Neons seem completely normal. This is probably completely unrelated but I did recently add some fertilizers to give my java fern and moss a boost - a tablet for the fern, and dosed the water with Flourish. Jessica < Sounds like you may have fish lice. Do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. Treat with either Fluke-Tabs or Clout and follow the directions on the package. The fungus may be a secondary infection from the lice attacking the fish. Place infected fish in a quarantine tank and treat with Nitrofurazone.-Chuck> Angel and Discus Cross 12/24/06 Can angelfish and discus crossbreed? If so, are there any special conditions needed for crossbreeding them? < The strangest cross I have seen is with an angelfish and a convict cichlid. Anything is possible with cichlids but no cross of this type has ever been documented.-Chuck> Oscar Crossed With A Jack Dempsey 12/18/06 Hi, This is probably gonna sound nuts, but here goes. I have roughly a 9 inch Oscar in a 55 gallon tank, and 3 weeks ago introduced a 6 inch Jack Dempsey. They hit it off the very first night and seem to be fast friends. However, now they are starting to act as tho they want to mate. The Oscar has dug a huge pit in one side of the tank,<and yes. I know they love to dig and this is normal>, but the Jack is right there with him, rubbing against the Oscar.. quivering.. etc. The Oscar seems to try to keep the Jacks interest. I don't know if I should stop this.. some have told me that they WILL breed.. but may have infertile eggs.. or may actually produce live eggs. What is your opinion on this? Thanks for a great site! Styler < When fish are properly conditioned they want to reproduce. When a suitable partner is not available they tend to lower their standards and reproduce with whatever will reproduce with them. Cichlids are very easy to cross. I have never heard of this particular cross but I suppose it is possible. Oscars originally come from South America while Jack Dempsey's come from Mexico. We will just have to wait and see if the eggs are fertile.-Chuck> Breeding Keyhole Cichlids - 12/06/06 Hello, I'm a novice and have learned a lot from your answers - thanks for this valuable resource! I have never had egg layers breed in my tank(s) and currently have a pair of beautiful keyholes who have been flirting for a while and were, I'm pretty sure, spawning two nights ago. They dug a "cave" between a tank ornament and a large ball of java moss and spent the whole night circling back and forth through their nest, shaking at each other, their coloration became vivid and pronounced, and the female's ovipositor was extruding. The next morning I expected to see eggs somewhere in the "nest" they had made, but since I didn't see anything that looked like an egg I assumed they had either not succeeded, or got nervous and ate the eggs (since I'm afraid I had a hard time leaving them alone, I was so excited). However, now one of the keyholes has taken up residence in the "cave", while the other lurks just outside, checking in on occasion. Is it possible there are still some eggs I'm not aware of? Would the keyholes still be paying so much attention to the site if there were no eggs? I have been looking all over the net for some detailed spawning info specific to keyholes, as I don't have a clue what to expect (what the eggs look like, how many, how long before hatching, etc). I really love these sweet and graceful fish and would enjoy seeing them raise their young. Jessica <How can I refuse to answer a question from someone with the same last name as me? The keyholes are peaceful medium sized cichlids from South America. They are substrate spawners and usually lay their eggs on horizontal flat surfaces. From the way they are acting I think they spawned on the roof of the cave. The eggs will hatch in three days and the fry will absorb the egg sack in another three days. When the egg sack is absorbed the fry will need to be fed baby brine shrimp, micro worms and finely crushed flake food. They fish are very shy and are well known to eat their eggs.-Chuck> Neotrop. cichlid crosses, sales of young 11/27/06 I have a Parrot fish and a Jack Dempsey that have successfully bred. The fry are now fish (2 in" long). Have you ever heard of the pair breeding. <Mmm... don't think so> I can't find anything on the internet. What could they be sold for? <Mmm... whatever the market will bear... Best to raise some up to an inch or more... take about local shops and offer in bags of ten, twelve... For credit if you can use this (will likely get appreciably more)> they are the only two fish in the tank and me and my wife watched them spawn. They are ready to spawn again, so what do we do? <Will likely spawn again... once the young are separated... every two-three weeks or so... Do keep an eye on the adults, as "things can go sideways" in their relations in a short while. Bob Fenner> Jack Dempsey And Green Terror Mating - 10/18/06 Hi there, I have a 75 gallon tank with 1 green terror and 3 Jack Dempseys. My green terror and a Jack Dempsey that were locking lips. The green Terror just laid lots of eggs, have you heard of these fish breeding? Thanks TB < These two fish never come in contact with each other in nature. It is possible for them to mate but only time will tell if the eggs are any good.-Chuck> Green Severum has laid eggs 9/21/06 Hello, <Hi there> In one of my tanks, (55 gal.) I have 2-4" Green Severums, 1-3" Bala Shark, 1-5" Silver Dollar "Ike"-my favorite fish, 1-3" Pictus Catfish, 1-4" Electric Blue Cichlid (Yes, I know he shouldn't be here but he gets along better with the fish in this tank than in my African Cichlid tank), <Ah, yes. Many tank-bred Aulonocaras are quite mild> 1-6" Common Pleco, 1-2" Moonlight Gourami, 1-1" Gold Gourami, 1-1" Opaline Gourami. (My Son wanted Gourami's, and I plan to transfer these fish to a different tank eventually.) With some mild aggression at times, the fish are getting along just fine. No Fish is over-harassing any other fish too much. The 2 Severums were purchased from different fish stores. They look alike except for coloration. 1 was sold as a "Turquoise" Severum and the other as a "Green" Severum. <Mmm, same species...> My wife insisted at first that they were different fish. I told her that they are the same species, and so are Gold Severums. Am I correct? <Yes> Anyway, our 7 year-old daughter spotted eggs laying on some of the rocks at the bottom. We immediately could see that they were fish eggs. The eggs are light brown in color. I removed the rocks with the eggs from the tank and placed them in a breeding net. From all the reading I can tell with some certainty that this wasn't the right thing to do. Will these eggs hatch? How will the fry do afterwards? Thanks for your help, Del <Mmm, might hatch... better left with the parents though... the fry, raised in either way will have to be fed once free-swimming... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/severumreprofaq.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Breeding Convict
cichlids 9/15/06 Hey, I have two convicts in a 29
gal tank with neon tetras, swordtails and a painted glassfish.
Well. I asking if you could help me with helping them to
breed. All the male does is chase the female around until
she hides. Well if you can help me thanks < Do a 50%
water change and clean the filter. Make sure the water temp is up
around 80 F. Feed them lots of live foods. Females usually
have yellow on the body so make sure you have a pair.-Chuck> Red Terror Cichlid repro., beh. 8/11/06 Hi, I have a festae Cichlid, around 6-8 inches long, in a 120 gallon long tank. My question is; is there any way to tell if it is a male or female? <Mmm, maybe... like classic neotropical cichlids of all sorts, the unpaired fins on the males ar a bit longer, more pointed/attenuated at the tips... Hard to tell w/o a female/comparison though> It is living (relatively peacefully with 2 juvenile cichlids, a Green Terror, and a Salvini, and 2 baby cichlids, a Firemouth, and a Convict, and has not really been overall aggressive (any more an any other average American cichlid) to any of the other fish. The fish is colorful, but not overly so, and constantly "digs" pots, as though getting ready to spawn, but has no mate, nor any other unrelated cichlid in the tank of breeding age/size. In light of the relatively peaceful temperament, and the digging, do you think I have a male or a female, also, can this arrangement work long-term? What about if I add an Oscar? Thanks in advance, <Good question... Not able to say though... could be either from the behavior, looks described. It isn't impossible to "mate" with other cichlids... Bob Fenner> Firemouth cichlids, sexing 8/4/06 We have two firemouth cichlids and are finding it impossible to sex them. <Mmm, not an easy cichlid to do so, particularly when small, of not-great genetic make-up, development> The smaller, darker one often does a vertical dance to attract the other which makes me think it might be male, while I've never seen the other one do anything but chase the smaller, and beaten up one, around. My brother tells me that one laid eggs at one point on the side of an aquarium decoration, but nothing hatched. <Might be two females...> Do only males do this little dance? Aside from unreliable things like color and fins, is there a better way to determine the sex of these cichlid? <Mmm, the unpaired finnage, color, size, behavior, anal vent appearance... is about it> Any help would be appreciated. We've exhausted our internet searches trying to find an answer. If we have two of the same, we'd like to get the opposite to try and breed these beautiful fish. Wendy <Have you read here: Re: Laetacara Curviceps - split tail fin. Repro. 8/3/06 Hi Crew/Bob <Tim> Unfortunately, the male did not make it. However, I bought a replacement male, and before you know it, the newlyweds have taken over a piece of rock, gone really dark and now chasing everyone else away! <Wow! "Out with the old, in with the new!"... Unusual to have new matchings occur so quickly, easily> So, my question has now changed to a completely different topic! Since this is a community tank, I want to move the fry (if the spawning is successful) to their very own fry tank. At what point would it be safe for the fry to net out to the fry tank - at wriggler stage or free-swimming stage? Or do you recommend a different method to achieve this separation? Thanks Tim <Mmm, please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/neotropcichreprofaqs.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Breeding Severums 7/6/06 Hello, I have 4 Severums in 55 gallon tank 3 golds and 1 green. It would appear that the 2 larger Severums have spawned and now I have eggs. There are 3 Catfish in this tank 1 Cory, 1 spotted Raphael and 1 Striped Raphael, also in the tank is a Pleco. I figure I have to remove the cat fish and pleco, but can I use a tank divider to separate momma Severum and eggs from the rest?? If so should I leave the male with the female and eggs or separate him to? Thanks for any info. Guy Clemency < Leave the parents with the eggs. The pleco will be a problem but the parents should be able to keep the others away. The eggs will hatch in three days and the fry will become free swimming in three more. When they begin to swim I would recommend that you use some airline tubing and siphon out the babies and put them in a tank of their own. In another week the parents may eat the eggs themselves and get ready to spawn again. When the fry are free swimming they need to be fed baby brine shrimp and crushed flake food.-Chuck> Convict fry 6/11/06 Hi, First just want to say your website is so informative but I need to know this one question PLEASE help. We have three black convicts 2 male 1 female. Two have paired off and spawned quite a few times. Over Easter 2006 we removed quite a few babies (approx 1.5 to 2 weeks old) and put into a smaller tank we did lose quite a few as I think the new tank wasn't conditioned enough but we have managed to keep approx 20 babies. My question is this "Out of the 20 approx 4 have their stripes already and the rest are still a whitish colour the majority of all the babies are about 1cm long. Is the fact that some are stripy and the rest not an indication of whether they are male or female? < There is a white form of convict that has been going around for at least 40 years. I suspect that your convicts are genetically linked to these and some of your fry are showing those white color characteristics. It has no bearing on which ones are male and which ones are female.-Chuck> We also have in the babies tank 2 different lots of baby bristle nosed cat fish. The first lot transferred into the same tank a couple of days after the baby convicts and the second batch were put in there on 7th June 2006. The same parents of catfish bred both those batches. Anyway would just love an answer about the convicts with/without stripes Thanks for reading my email Tracie Sunshine Coast Australia Raising Flowerhorn Fry 6/3/06 Hello! My female Flowerhorn laid eggs and my male Flowerhorn got to fertilize it in time. Now the eggs are hatched it's been a week since the eggs have been laid. What are the factors that will aid the growth of my Flowerhorn fry? thanks < Clean water, good food and reasonable temperatures. Ammonia will definitely impede growth. So will nitrites and nitrates but not to the same extent. With lots of fry it is easy to overcrowd a tank. You will need very good filtration and lots of water changes. You will need a food that is high in protein. The water temp should be at least 80 F for good fast growth. Too much higher than that really starts to impede the waters ability to hold oxygen.-Chuck> Breeding Convict Cichlids 6/3/06 WHASSUP WWM! I have to thank you guys and your site! your site is soooo useful! Thanks for helping people out with their pets! Back to my question, I have a twenty gallon that has two convict cichlids and two dojo loaches. I'm trying to breed my two convicts. It says on the topic about convicts that the male has longer fins and a little hump on the forehead. While the female has orange on its belly and gets more color at breed season. Well I tried many methods for these small creatures to breed, I tried raisin the temp to 82 degrees, and keeping the tank crystal clean, and it said on one site to feed the convicts four times a day. Not much but only a few pellets or sticks or whatever food that the owner feeds the fish. And it also said to fit in some blood worms or shrimp. I tried it and nothing happened, the convicts just became more fatter when they eat. I got them one week ago. Do you think it's just because they're just getting used to their new surroundings? Or do I just wait a few days longer? I hope you can really help me one this problem! THANK YOU! Xavier <Give you cichlids at least a couple of weeks to spawn. If they are a pair then you should see something by then. Ideally you should have gotten six fish. This almost always guarantees you a compatible pair.-Chuck> Breeding Red Devil Cichlids 6/3/06 Hi Bob, I have a large female red devil who lays eggs often. None of the eggs have hatched yet. She had paired up with a Pacu at first. We replaced the Pacu with a male red devil. She stopped laying and tried to kill the male. We moved him out and it took about three months and she has started laying again. This time she has paired up with a Jack Dempsey. They killed a smaller Jack that was in the tank with them. We moved the male devil back in and are wondering how to tell if the eggs are going to be viable or not. They started out almost clear and some have turned opaque white???? How can we increase the chance of actually having babies? Aurelia <Ideally you would want to pick six small red devils and let them grow up together. This almost always will give you a compatible pair. It is much more difficult to pair up adult fish. The problem here is the female already has a territory established and the male is an intruder. he has not been recognized yet as a potential mate. Clear eggs are good and white eggs are dead or unfertilized. Try placing both fish in the same tank with a divider in between. As long as they can still see each other they can spawn and fertilize a good portion of the eggs. You will probably have to make your own divider out of plastic egg crate type of lighting panels.-Chuck> Chemicals, Breeding Green Terrors, Fungus on RES's Neck - 05/29/06 Hi crew. I am happy to be back after a long break to my fish hobby. Now I have many questions for you. 1)There is a lake near my house which was polluted by chemicals nearly 8-10yrs back. Now I find a lot of daphnia and mosquito fish in the lake. Can I feed this to my fish? < Chemicals is a very broad term. Depending on the contamination levels and the chemicals the threat could be gone by now. Other chemicals can last for years in very low concentrations. These invertebrates could each contain a very minute level of the chemicals. As you fish eats these invertebrates the concentration of the chemicals may build up in the fish's body and cause health problems for your fish. In general I do not use any water for my fish that I would not drink myself. This way I know the water is safe.> I also fear that there are hook worms (Argulus) present along with the daphnia. Can I feed this to my fishes? < Fish generally will not eat Argulus.> Is there any way I can remove the Argulus? Medications used to kill the Argulus will kill the daphnia too.> 2) My green terrors breed very often but the problem is that the male is not helpful in guarding the spawn and the female keeps eating the fry. How can I hatch the eggs away from the parents? <Give the parents something to lay the eggs on that can be removed from the tank. If they lay the eggs on the side of the glass then there is not too much you can do. Get a 5 gallon tank and set it up with a heater and an airstone. When the fish lay the eggs you can remove 5 gallons from the main tank and put it in the 5 gallon tank. Place the rock with the eggs in the 5 gallon tank and set the heater for 80 F. Place the airstone next to the eggs to keep a current going. Add some methylene blue to the water to prevent fungus. After three days the eggs should hatch and the fry will fall to the bottom of the tank. Remove the rock. Three days later the fry should be free swimming and will need to be fed baby brine shrimp, microworms and finely crushed flake food.> 3)My RES turtle appears to be growing fungus around its neck and on its shell. How can I treat this? <Fungus generally feeds on dead tissue. I assume that the turtle is shedding his skin and the fungus is simply attached to the skin that is sloughing off. Do a big water change, try to rinse off the dead skin and add a Dr. Turtle Sulfa Block by Zoo Med to inhibit the fungus growth.> I will be very thankful if you help me out. thanking you in advance. < Next time you need to rewrite your questions to include proper punctuation or you questions will not be answered. These questions/replies are posted to help other aquarists/hobbyists and we need to be very clear so not to mislead others trying to save their animals.-Chuck> Convicts Breeding, Aggression, Behaviour - 05/15/2006 Hi, I'm a newbie and I found your site and love it! I've learned a lot about the fish that my husband and I have but I haven't been able to find the answer or advice I need for this particular situation. <Then perhaps I can help.> We bought a pair of black (zebra) convicts and a Jack Dempsey. We had all 3 fish in a 55 gallon tank - they are all small, the female convict is about 3 inches and the male convict is about 4 and a half inches. Jack Dempsey is bigger at about 5 and a half inches. The convicts had babies and they kept them away from the Jack. We noticed that the convict parents were getting very tired constantly protecting their babies from Jack so we put Jack in a 30 gallon tank. Right after we moved the Jack to the other tank, the male convict started being really mean to the female and wouldn't let her near the babies. It was like he was chasing her and fighting her. We took her out and put her in with the Jack for about a week. We then tried to put her back into the tank with the male and the babies and he tore after her. <This behaviour is rally not uncommon.> We decided to take the male convict out and put him in with the Jack and they seem to be ok with each other. There's a lot of chasing but it seems to be like they are playing. <Trying to establish territories in too small a space; it could get ugly.> So now we have the female convict and the babies in the 55 gallon tank and the Jack and the male convict in the 30 gallon. The babies are about 4 weeks old now and we will be giving most of them away in about 3 weeks. My questions: if we decide to keep some of the babies, how many would be ok to keep in the 55 gallon tank? <They WILL grow up, and they WILL breed. I would not try for more than three adult pairs, and that only if the tank is heavy with plants or decor for establishing territories.> Would it be ok to keep the mother in with the babies and have that tank be just a convict tank? Or would it be ok to introduce some dither fish in too? <I would wait until most of the young are of a saleable size, pick the "best" to keep, sell, trade, or give the rest, add some dither fish - a friend of mine swears by rainbow fish for dithers for many of his cichlids - and reintroduce the male once the female's fully recovered. Chances are, the next spawn, they'll be more amenable to chasing dither fish than each other.> I'm thinking that the Jack and the male convict would be ok in the 30 gallon tank. <The jack Dempsey may outgrow it, and the two in the tank together may spell trouble before long.> And that the babies that we decide to keep (and the mother) would need the 55 gallon tank. Thank you so much for your answers/advice and for all the work you all do in helping people like me - clueless but loving the fish! -Jackie <Glad to be of service. Wishing you well, -Sabrina> Breeding Convicts - 05/16/2006 Hey love your page, I look at it a lot. The reason I am writing you all is I just got a pair of convict cichlids. When I 1st added them to the tank they stuck close to each other, now its been 1 week and the larger of the 2 has gotten darker. The larger one doesn't do anything but chase the smaller one around. The smaller one tries to hide but The larger one looks for him/her. I know that the smaller one is a female, Because she has the pinkish red coloring on the stomach. But is it normal behavior for the larger one to get darker? Do you think the larger one is trying to breed and the smaller one is not ready yet? Also is it normal for him to search for the smaller one like that? I've found that she hides close to the surface and when he comes near she tries to back away so she isn't seen. thanks, David < This is pretty normal for young convicts. The male is chasing the female and trying to get her to breed. She is not ready and needs a hiding spot where she can rest and build up some body fat. Try some live or frozen food to get things going. Floating plants, either plastic or real will give some cover. Zoo Med now has a floating aquarium log out that will allow picked on fish a place to hide and recover. It works great.-Chuck> Convicts Breeding? - 05/06/2006 Hi! I have 2 female convicts and I am seeing a lot of aggression towards each other. The larger Convict is hovering near a rock formation and guarding it ferociously. Could she be laying eggs? What will happen without a male to fertilize them? Thanks! Sharon < It has been documented that a female convict will lay eggs even if there is no male available to fertilize them. Females usually have yellow-orange coloration on the belly while males tend to be larger with longer fins. Unfertilized eggs usually die after 24 hours, turn white and are soon fungused.-Chuck> Black belt and Jack Dempsey - 4/24/2006
<<Tom>> Can a black belt about 9 inches long and a Jack
Dempsey about 7 inches long breed together? They have been acting very
lovey towards each other and I was wondering. <<This can/does
happen, particularly with Cichlids from the same general region.
Interbreeding would be unlikely if there were a matched pair of one or
the other in the tank, however.>> What should I do if eggs are
produced? <<Provided the eggs are viable and hatch, the parents
will likely protect the fry in the same fashion as matched-pair Cichlid
parents will. If/when the fry become free-swimming, they should be
moved as the parents are likely to eat the fry after a couple of weeks.
In the meantime, the fry can be fed Baby Brine Shrimp and
crushed/powdered flake foods. (They'll also pick up on small
morsels left behind by "Mom" and "Dad".)>>
Thank you sooo much in advance, Emily <<You're welcome,
Emily. Tom>> Breeding Green Terrors - 03/13/2006 I have a young pair of green terror cichlids. About a week ago they spawned together and the eggs hatched. At this point they dug a hole through the gravel to the under-gravel filter and moved the "wigglers" onto the surface of the under-gravel filter. Obviously, the wigglers were sucked through the filter where the immediately ceased wiggling. I have since removed the under-gravel filter to prevent this in future spawns. I was just wondering how soon I can expect the fish to spawn again. Also, is this problem common with and under-gravel filter? < They will spawn again in a couple of weeks if the conditions are right, maybe sooner. Cichlid aquarists don't use undergravel filters for those exact reasons.-Chuck> Thanks, Dan Breeding Blue Acaras Re: Incompatible TANK MATES ? - 3/1/2006 > Thank you for the quick reply but it just became obvious why the fish were > so aggressive towards each other. I came home today and found my blue acaras > behaving very strangely. Then I noticed a bunch of little dots over one of > the rocks in the tank, and then it hit they were breeding and that is why > they were so aggressive towards the other fish. I immediately started > calling my friends to see if they would take the parrot cichlid and I am > currently looking for a home the peacock. And I am faced with another > question. How should I take care of the fry ? <After three days the eggs will hatch. In three more the fry will have absorbed the egg sac and need to be fed baby brine shrimp. After two week the fry need to be moved away from the parents or they may eat them while getting ready to spawn again.> I was able to find some articles but none really answering my questions. I know I should purchase a larger tank for them. I should be taking care of that on Friday, Do you think a 55-75 gallon tank would be adequate for the 2 adult acaras and their fry ? < All depends what you want to do with the fry and how long you intend to keep them. You will probably have a couple hundred fry at least. In three weeks they will spawn again and you will have a few hundred more. The newer spawn will get eaten by the older spawn so you need to keep them separate. I recommend that you check with you friend and local shop an see how marketable your blue acars are. If they only want a dozen or so then siphon out what you need to a 20 gallon and let the parents eat the rest. You could pull the entire spawn and raise them up in a 55 gallon but for how long?-Chuck> > other suggestions for care are welcome. Thank you. Breeding Nicaraguan Cichlids - 02/27/06 Hi Everyone, I have 3 pairs of Nicaragua Cichlids (Hypsophrys nicaraguensis) that I am trying to breed. Each pair is in its own separate tank. One of the pair's male built a nest for his female, but she does not seem interested in mating at all. The second pair has not shown any kind of mating signs. The third pair has mated once before, but now the male keeps beating up the female and she doesn't show signs of wanting to mate (although this could be due to the presence of their juvenile offspring still in the tank). I have owned all of these cichlids for over a year now, although they have just been paired up and split up into separate tanks about a month and a half ago. My question is: what can I do to help stimulate mating in this species of cichlid. Would any kind of hormone introduction from different breeding cichlid species work? Thank you so much for helping!!! Sincerely, Kristen < These are great fish that I have bred many times. First make sure that you have males and females. Males have spots in the unpaired fins while the females have no spots. Put them all together in the same tank over lots of fine sand. Raise the water temp to 82 F. Do big 50% water changes weekly. Feed lots of good food like worms and high quality pellets. In the wild the male actually uses his head like a drill and drills holes in the banks of the soft mud. The boring slopes downward. The female lays non-adhesive eggs that are fertilized by the male and slowly fall down to the end of the shaft where they are guarded by the parents. In the aquarium they will dig a pit in the sand under a ledge. Use a flower pot cut in half length wise and bury half of it in the sand. When you put them all together the males and females will be allowed to naturally pair off. A pair will take over the flower pot and chase all the other fish away. The pair will spawn and lay their eggs in the bottom of the pit under the flower pot. They will then cover the eggs up with sand. Don't worry, they will be OK. In about a week the fry will be free swimming and can be fed baby brine shrimp and crushed flake food. Remove them in a couple of weeks because the parents will be ready to spawn again very soon. In no time you will have 1,000's of fry to get rid of.-Chuck> Breeding Gold Severums 2/10/06 I have two golden severum fish which for a while have been shifting sand and stones, cleaning a rock, and going through the motions of laying eggs but haven't as yet. They are kept in a 4 foot tank with 7 dwarf rainbow cichlids, a red tailed shark and one other algae eater. Any suggestions on what to do to get them breeding? < Feed them washed earthworms, brine shrimp, meal worms and king worms. Raise the water temp to 82 F and do a 50% water change once a week. If they are a pair then I would think that this would get them going in less than two weeks.-Chuck> Crossing Cichlids 1/10/06 I have a female parrot cichlid that I am trying to breed with a male black convict. (I know this is unnatural and frowned upon among the crew, but I liken it to dog breeding, and I am just curious) I was wondering what a cross such as this would produce, if anything at all. < Probably mutts.> I was also wondering if you could give me any advice on getting my fish in the mood to breed. I have a 55 gallon with a clown knife (he's moving soon), 2 parrots, a male convict, 2, 5" tricolored sharks, and a pleco. My female use to drop eggs every month or so but has ceased in the past few months. The knife has always been present and the only new additions have been the sharks, who I think should pose no threat, and the convict. Too many fish? Can the amount of light affect breeding? About the same time she stopped laying eggs I installed a grow light, which made the tank dimmer, in the past weeks I have changed this out. Any other suggestions would be great. Keep up the great site, Tom < Warm clean water with lots of good food often works. Try a couple 50% water changes over a few days. If they are ready to go then these other factors shouldn't affect their breeding.-Chuck> Re: How long does it take eggs to hatch? Hi, <Hello> I just found your site and I'm hoping you can help me. I have a Female Pink Convict and Male Black Convict and last night she laid eggs and he did his thing to them. Anyway they are in a 55 gallon tank with other Cichlids, what can I do to insure the hatching of the babies and how long will it be before they hatch? Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Shannon <The best thing you can do is leave them alone as much as possible. The eggs will generally hatch in 48-72 hours. Take a look at http://www.geocities.com/dick_pahimulin/articles/a01.htm there's some good info there. You're welcome! Ronni>
Jack and Oscar, or maybe Jack and Jill? Hi, This is probably gonna sound nuts. but here goes. I have roughly a 9 inch Oscar in a 55 gallon tank. and 3 weeks ago introduced a 6 inch Jack Dempsey. <Yup, nuts, you will need a larger tank in the near future.> They hit it off the very first night. and seem to be fast friends. <Interesting.> However. now they are starting to act as though they want to mate. The Oscar has dug a huge pit in one side of the tank. and yes. I know they love to dig and this is normal. but.. the Jack is right there with him. rubbing against the Oscar. quivering..etc. The Oscar seems to try to keep the Jacks interest. I don't know if I should stop this. some have told me that they WILL breed. but may have infertile eggs. or may actually produce live eggs. What is your opinion on this? <It is not unusual for these cichlids (Neotropical) to try to cross like this, chances are they will not be fertile. I would not worry about stopping them, but I would make sure you keep your water as clean as possible with these large messy fish. Best Regards, Gage> Thanks for a great site! Styler Jack Dempsey breeding Dear Crew, I have a pair of breeding jack's. They bred once, but because of other fish they ate they're young. I removed the other fish. Nothing has changed as far as the water quality or temp. I would like to know how often they lay eggs? < Jack Dempsey's are actually named after a famous fighter from the 1920's. They come from Mexico and can get up to 10 inches plus in size. They are not to picky on water quality and are very easy to breed. Keep the pair warm (80degrees), and feed them well with some live food and they could be breeding every 2 to 3 weeks. If they are left to take care of the eggs and fry they may delay breeding again until the fry and or eggs are gone. Typically at 80 degrees the eggs will hatch in around three days. You will see a batch of small wrigglers in the bottom of a shallow pit dug by the parents. At the end of three days the fry will develop tails and absorb their egg sack and begin to swim around. At this stag they can be fed baby brine shrimp. If left with the parents they may soon be eaten. Young parents are often inexperienced and will eat their eggs soon after laying. Don't worry too much. I am sure they will be breeding again before you know it.-Chuck> Thanks. Deb Too Many Cichlids Thanks for the response; the eggs were eaten.<bummer> The funny thing about this though was that there was only one Texas cichlid (about 7"). <Not too weird, it happens.> The other fish in the tank were an 8" red devil (or Midas, I'm not sure exactly-it's very orange with a big bump on it's head), a 6" red terror, a 6" jack Dempsey, a 6" black belt cichlid, a 7" Managuense, and about a 2" convict (I don't know how he's survived??). <Oh my! That is way too many fish in a 55. I have heard that the Red Devil is always the last fish in the tank, but I do not know if they ever brought a Managuense into the equation. I strongly recommend finding homes for some of these fish, keeping your favorites, and getting a larger tank. Check out fishbase.org for the full grown size of these monsters. If they were all to grow you would have no room left for water.> Is it possible for any of these cichlids to be the mate of the Texas cichlid? <It is possible that one of these fish would have tried to fertilize the Texas Cichlids eggs.> How do these type of cichlids "mate"? Do they lay eggs and then fertilize? The Texas seemed like he was dragging something on top of the eggs. <Probably one of the others eggs, he was trying to fertilize.> South American cichlids don't mouth breed, do they? Any information will be greatly appreciated. <Get a larger tank, and in the mean time, lots of water changes. -Gage> Thanks so much, Jeff Oscar + Dempsey My father recently bought me an Oscar which I already had 1 Dempsey, 1 pacu and 1 gourami in my tank for the past 6 months. As soon as I put the Oscar in, the Dempsey laid eggs. Is crossbreeding possible or will they live if I follow the directions that I have already read about separating the fry and adding the blue stuff? I am very new at this.... I love fish but never had to deal with this. please help. They were laid yesterday and today is Monday. How long do I have? < Your Jack Dempsey is from Mexico and the Oscar is from South America. They never see each other in the wild so natural crosses are not possible. In the aquarium all bets are off. If the eggs are viable then they will hatch in three days or so at 80 degrees. The fry will need to be fed baby brine shrimp and crushed flake food three days after hatching. If they are not any good then they will turn white and fungus or the female will eat them.-Chuck> thanks, Natalie Oscar and BP cross Hi guys - just a quickie - I've looked everywhere and can't find this info - so it's over to you. 55 gal tank - one 8 inch tiger Oscar and one 8inch peach coloured Blood Parrot. And one nest with lots of eggs (the BP is the female) Is this going to work - and has it been done before ? (All of the above was quite accidental, and I have no intention of passing any fry on). < Hybridizing cichlids is actually quite easy and happens all the time. Since you parrot cichlid is already a hybrid between three different cichlids it doesn't surprise me that she would spawn with an Oscar. I am sure it has been done before. I am not sure what you mean when you ask is this going to work? Do you mean are the fry going to be viable? So far no one has published any such spawn so It is hard to say?-Chuck> Thanks Colin Ahern New World Cichlid Questions 7/18/05 Hello, and thank you for providing this forum. All of the fish I mention below are healthy, active, and eating a variety of foods, including live (mostly worms/insects), frozen, and dry. I would like to think that water quality and tank conditions are well maintained. I have a 125G tank, and it contains: (1) 4" Jaguar (1) 3" Green Terror (1) 3.5" Texas Bluespot (2) 3" Jack Dempseys (pair) (All these fish have been raised together since they were approx. 1" in length) (2) 1.5" Corys (1) 5" Pleco Recently, the GT laid her first eggs, They went unfertilized, and she correctly removed them herself. Within two weeks, she has begun showing behavior similar to that from before her first laying, and she and the TBS have started paying more attention to each other. (tail-slapping, rubbing, swimming together, etc) This hadn't happened originally. Q: How often will the GT lay eggs? < Every two weeks when properly conditioned.> Q: What are the odds that these two will produce a hybrid, do I even WANT them to, and what would I call the kids? < New world cichlids cross all the time when not kept as pairs. The fry are usually no big deal if they survive.> My next question(s) concern two Oscars. One is an 8" Tiger, and one is a 7" Red. They have been together in a 100G tank since they were 2" long, (the Tiger was first in the tank, the Red a week later) and have NEVER fought, or even stayed apart for more than a few minutes. I have yet to see behavior that would convince me of an attempted mating, except for a brief period where they fanned an area, moved a few small rocks, and generally "flirted with each other".. After a few days, the behavior ceased, they have remained inseparable and totally peaceful with one another, but have never acted this way again. When I attempted to add a smaller Albino Tiger, however, they waited roughly a day before they started harassing and chasing him at every opportunity. Both got really aggressive towards the newcomer. The vents suggest (to an unsure me) that the Tiger is female, and the Red is male...but ONLY after a close inspection shows what appears to be a small white appendage located completely inside and rearward of the vent. Their fins are very similar, with the Tiger having the longer and slightly more pronounced extensions. What should I believe is most logical: * I have two males that "just get along". * I have two females "that just get along". * I have a male/female pair that is celibate. * Something in the set-up is not conducive to breeding (Ph, e.g. ) * None of the above * If I can't figure it out I shouldn't raise fish. The two Oscars share the 100G tank only with a 6" pleco, the temperature is constant @ 79 degrees, the water is cleaned and changed regularly, the tank has structure (rocks, a false log, a few plants) as well as flat, open areas, one end of the tank is mildly turbulent, while the other has very little movement, etc etc bla-bla-bla. Surely, if it were two males, they would have faced-off at least once, since the size(s) are virtually the same....so my personal thought is that they are both female, the absence of a male dictates their peaceful behavior, and they have realized that there is no reason to lay eggs, since there is no male present. Otherwise, they would have produced a brood by now. Do fish rationalize this way, or would Mother Nature take over ? Thank you for any input. <Sexing Oscars by venting them is not as easy as you would think. Oscars need to be around two years old before they are ready to breed. Feed them a lot of high protein food like worms for a few days and change 50% of the water. Turn the water temp up to 82 F. If they are going to be a pair then this should do it. You could overfeed your Oscars to make their genitalia pop out. If they both are the same then it doesn't matter what sex they are. If conditions were favorable I would think that a female would be close to laying eggs by now. I am inclined to think you have a couple of males.-Chuck> Cichlid Crosses 10/3/05 I want to get into breeding hybrids. I have a green Severum and I was wondering what is the best fish to pair it with. < Try central or south American cichlids of a similar size, like red devils.-Chuck> Convicts and Genetics - 10/30/2005 I have 3 breeding pairs of black convict cichlids, two of which have babies at the moment. My smallest pair have their babies right in the front of the tank (babies are 3-4 weeks old) and I've noticed that maybe 10 of the babies seem to be pink. The other couple has all black babies and most of the pair in fronts babies have the beginnings of black lines too. This is their first brood so I don't have any past experience to draw on. I'm wondering; is it possible to get naturally occurring pinks? <Mm, by "naturally occurring" if you mean an original natural mutation, not highly likely.> I was told in order to get pinks I'd need one parent to be pink and that the brood would hatch equal parts each color. <Mm, actually, I believe this "pink" trait is recessive.... Basically, your pair that has some pink offspring are both heterozygous for this trait - they carry the gene for the color, but do not exhibit it. Thus, roughly 25% of their offspring will exhibit that trait. 25% of them will be homozygous for the black trait and not carry the pink trait. 50% of them will carry the trait but not show it. A pair consisting of one pink fish and one heterozygous black fish would have 50% heterozygous fry that carry the trait but do not exhibit it, and 50% pink fry. A pair consisting of one pink fish and one fish homozygous for the black gene would have all fry heterozygous for the trait - they'd all carry the pink gene, but none would show it.> I have found TONS of info on convict breeding, but nothing on natural albinos or how the gene begins. I'd love to hear your thoughts and I'd be happy to send pictures once they get a little bigger. -Anna <Sounds like you're having great success with them. Wishing you well, -Sabrina> Cichlids Breeding With Nothing To Show For It 12/22/05 Hello! I hope very much that you may be able to advise me. I have a pair of Central American Cichlids - Fenestratum. I acquired the large, aggressive male fish after he was introduced to a friends established cichlid aquarium and was beaten up by the other fish when he bullied them and they ganged up on him. He spent a few days recovering in an "intensive care" cooler/cool box/esky and then continued his convalescence in the new and huge tank that I bought to accommodate him. I rather enthusiastically bought him a wife, slightly smaller than him at 6 inches ( he is about 8 or 9 inches) When I bought her she was full of eggs and very keen, and almost immediately they laid a small batch of eggs and successfully nurtured them for several weeks, displaying for my delight all the intricacies of cichlid courtship, breeding and parental care behaviour. Eventually the babies started to be threatened by the bored? father and I removed them to a small tank to grow. My problem is this. My adult fish continue to repeatedly lay batches of eggs, but none have been successful hatched since the first "beginners luck" batch. After they have lost/eaten a batch of eggs. He cools off towards her and can injure her or force her into hiding so I keep them separated with a transparent tank divider until they are ready again. It takes them 2-3 weeks before they are "friends" again and 2-3 days to court and lay. Usually about 90% of the eggs in a batch go white and fungus, and a very small proportion will hatch, but I think the fish feel it is wasteful to invest in only 10 or 20 wrigglers and eat them at this point. These fish are and have been the only fish in the tank. They are otherwise completely healthy, with healthy appetites. They seem to do everything right in terms of general and breeding behaviour according to my Central American cichlid books (Konings and Conkel) They have both grown visibly since I have had them. I keep the tank clean and tidy, but not over clean it. I have a good quality established external canister filter running. I feed them a varied diet of 3 different types of cichlid food plus meal worms, and try not to overfeed ( they are always hungry) I keep them at the recommended temperature. In the 4 months that I have had them I have treated them once with an ich remedy and water changed twice since, and given a handful of doses of melafix tea tree remedy for injuries, but otherwise no meds in there. My question is this. Has one of them become infertile, and if so which one and why, and is there anything I can do to improve this? I was utterly delighted when they seemed such perfect fish parents so soon after I got them, and I have been very disappointed that everything has gone downhill since. The original babies are now about 2 inches, and there are very few of them left. I am reluctant to part with them if I will never have any more to enjoy. I am so grateful for your wisdom. < Do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. Add carbon to remove any left over medication. I suspect your problem is high nitrates from only doing two water changes in 4 months. Do weekly 25% water changes to control nitrates. The melafix may be affecting the sperm of the male and somehow prevent them from getting to the eggs. Cichlids usually spawn every couple of weeks when the female is ready. Watch them closely when you put them together so he doesn't kill her.-Chuck> Jack Dempsey I just am wondering if you can tell the sex of Dempseys by their colors or markings. I have 2 and they are very different looking, so i wonder if I have a boy and a girl. How do I tell? <Actually, this is one of the easier neotropical cichlid species to sex; especially if they have grown up with similar conditions and are large enough (a few inches in length). Do take a look at the description listed here: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/3683/malefemale.htm Yes, a whole page (actually there are a few of these) dedicated to the Jack Dempsey Cichlid (Herichthys octofasciata). Males are decidedly more colorful and have longer, more pointed unpaired pins... Bob Fenner> Cichlids I have a Chocolate Cichlid that is about 4 years old and 8"'s long. I do not know much about them, however I noticed that 'Hershal' was guarding eggs that were attached to the powerhead tubing and had moved all the rocks away down to the filter. I called the pet store and they told me to put Hershal and the tubing in the small tank I have. So I did. Now Hershal is very angry and not even looking at the eggs. Do you think the eggs will hatch? Should I have done anything different? Help Please!!! Mary Ellen Lafayette, La. <You have "a" Chocolate Cichlid, not more than one? Hmm, well, "Hershal" is actually a female... that has laid eggs on her own that are non-fertile, and therefore will not hatch. As happens with cichlids like Hershal there can be "troubles" when moving the parents or eggs or decor about during these times. Hence the "angriness" and disinterest you relate. Going forward, I would leave your cichlid and its eggs (if indeed it does lay again) in place and take care that if/when they fungus that your filtration be sufficient to prevent pollution. I do want to caution you re trying to find/match a mate with your Chocolate. After so long living on its own, and attaining such magnificent size, it is unlikely that this could be done as these fish do become quite territorial. Bob Fenner> Breeding Cichlids Hi Bob! <Anthony Calfo here in your service> I have a breeding pair of Cichlasoma bifasciatum. They have laid eggs and what I wanting to know was ... what should I do? they are in a 55 gal. tank I only have a few fish none that threatening the eggs. they are very protective of their corner. Are they good parents? <even if you are fortunate to have a mature and well behaved pair... it is too hard to protect the fry in a community tank. If you want to save any babies you will need to remove them. If you have experience rearing egg hatched fry or want to try... that is your best bet for babies. Besides... it is fun hatching brine shrimp/sea monkeys.> Will they eat the hatched fish? <possibly> One is a large fish the other is smaller. Which one is the male? <the big boy most likely> They both take care of the eggs. What's there process for hatching? <hmmm... rather long to explain here. et me look through the archives for a reference and please do the same if you can beat me too it. Raising cichlids from eggs is very straight forward work... no trouble at all. Just a little tedious with live food at first. Best regards, Anthony> PLEASE HELP Thank you Dana Color changes, spawning Cichlids Hi Bob (or Anthony) Thanks again for the help getting my 75 running a while ago, going great! So far 2 groups of fry! <Congrats!> I was reading a post on one of the message boards and figured that out of everyone I know of you would be the folks that might have the answer. Here is the question: "From everything I've read (a sh*t load) there is nothing that says how cichlids colour up when they begin to reach sexual maturity. All I can find is expect it from around 2" in size or 6 months in age. <There is actually a bunch known, written about this field/aspect... not easily found...in hobby and scientific literature. You might want to make a trip to a large college library, have a reference librarian give you assistance.> Therefore do they colour up very quickly (minutes/hours/day) or over a gradual period of time, such as fins darkening then the rest of the fish? <Both... some shorter term by nervous effects... others more long-term physiological (nutrition, water quality, social inputs...)> Is the process different for different species?" <Yes! Mmm, you are a promising candidate for the many large (even international) to local Cichlid "clubs"... do take a look over the Net with your search engine/s.> Got any answers? I hope. Thanks, Pete <Be chatting. Bob Fenner> Jack Dempseys Dear Mr. Fenner: <Anthony Calfo in your service> I have 2 adult JD's that have paired up. They spawned once but the fry were eaten. Last week they laid eggs again, but gradually the eggs disappeared. Now the bigger JD (I think this is the male) is chasing the smaller JD (the female), she is hiding and appears to be stressed by this chasing. <he still wants to spawn and she doesn't... he wants more fresh eggs for breakfast <G>> She is also very light in color now. <yes... a passive coloration> The female has not been back to the corner of the tank that the eggs where in, since all the eggs disappeared. This did not happen last time when they spawned, what do you think is happening? Should I remove her to a different tank.....or remove him? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Shirley <remove the male, let the female re-establish her dominance in the tank and try to re-introduce the later after she has been well fed and conditioned again. Anthony> Jewel Cichlid Babies Hi how is everyone? <<I'm doing well, and you?>> Just a quick question today. I had a pair of Jewel Cichlids. I recently gave them to my sister-in-law because my red tail catfish is growing by leaps and bounds (still working on that huge indoor pond for him) and I was afraid they were going to become lunch. Well, within a week of giving them to her, they spawned and she now has several hundred babies in her 75 gal. They're great parents, herding and defending the babies. The problem is the other fish in the tank. She's got a bunch of assorted African cichlids, a jack Dempsey, and a purple parrot fish. What do you think the jewel's chances are of raising at least a few of the babies in there? <<Not great...>> A pair of jewels I had years ago raised a few batches of babies in a 55gal with a red devil an Oscar and a tilapia. <<Well... maybe. Odds still aren't really in favor of the fry.>> But these Africans she has have quite a different personality. They're like little pit bulls. She doesn't have the funds or the room for another tank and I don't have another freshwater tank to separate the other fish to. <<C'est la vie, I suppose.>> (they'd be lunch for the Red Tail just as surely as the jewels I originally gave her would have been). If you don't think the jewels have a chance of raising the babies in there, I'll figure something out for her, but it's going to be a pain. <<Good luck.>> Thanks once again for your wisdom in all things fishy. Have a great day. Kristen:) <<You too. Cheers, J -- >> Convicted Parents I have 4 pink convicts. A pair just had babies. They are hiding in a seashell. My question is, will the parents or 2 other convicts eat the babies? <Likely not, Convicts are extremely protective parents.> We have left all four convicts in the tank and the mother and father are very protective. Though, I can't tell if they are eating them or not? Should we separate the babies from everyone else? <I would leave them until about 3/4" long. At that time, you should remove for fear of overcrowding.> Like put them in a plastic separator in the same tank with the others? Someone told us that the mother will eat them, and they (the babies_ need the mother around to survive!? Confused & Concerned in Lake Elsinore, Michael & Tammy Fish <Do not fear. Your parent fish will usually feed and take care of the young. -Steven Pro> Jack Dempsey Fry I have a pair of Jack Dempseys. The female laid eggs inside of an plastic ornamental rock. She fanned them for two days, and now we can see the group of eggs inside the rock squirming around. Not sure what to do next??? My tank info. is such: a 45 gal. with gravel, good filtration, etc. I do also have two smaller Fire mouths in the tank as well. I'm afraid the male Jack, or the Fire mouths will try to eat the eggs, or hatchlings. Should I separate any of them, or all of? How many offspring approx. should I expect? And what are their chances for survival? I thank you for your help. Sorry so many questions at once....Thanks,..........Bub. <Jacks are pretty good parents, the male should not harm the eggs, however he will try to harm the Fire mouths, I would consider a separate tank for the Fire mouths. The female can lay up to 800 eggs, not all of these will hatch, but you should have plenty of offspring to keep you busy. -Gage> Jack Dempsey fry Hi Jack...I am proud to tell you that we have JD babies. I took the fry out of the main tank a few days ago. They look like little tadpoles and are free swimming. I think I have about 10-12. I'm feeding them liquid fry food now. Any further information you could give me on feeding the fry would be greatly appreciated. <After a week more, do start graduating to ground up (between your fingers) dried, prepared foods (flakes, pellets), as often per day in small quantities as you can. If you'd like to accelerate growth you might look into culturing brine shrimp> As this is the 5th batch of babies that we have had, and the parents always end up eating them. So this time we took the fry out as soon as they were free swimming. How long can I continue to use the liquid fry food, and what should I advance to? <Start phasing out the Liquifry in a week while phasing in the other foods. Bob Fenner> Thanks in advance for your help...Shirley Schiavone... Baby Jack Dempseys Hello, I sent an e-mail a couple of weeks ago about my Jack Dempsey's becoming proud parents of about 300+ babies. Everything is going OK, and they are growing quickly...but I do not know WHAT TO FEED THEM?????? Please HELP Thanks, BRETT>>>>>> <no worries Brett. Dempsey parents are usually quite good. Babies graze on their mucus when small and then later are fed food crushed and spit out by parents. Still ... all will not be enough for optimum success in home aquaria. Fresh hatched baby brine would be nice when they are 2-6 weeks old. This can supplement small amounts of crushed flak or pelleted foods. When they are around 6 weeks old... a tiny nutritious pelleted food like Vibra-fro is highly recommended. Do not feed frozen brine shrimp at all. Only fresh live if you hatch it (nutritive value). Best regards, Anthony> Breeding mismatched Convicts Hey, my female "pink" convict and her conventional mate had a successful school of cool looking half-breeds. Is this common? <Not uncommon. These are of the same species> These have a bright red/orange horizontal stripe down most of the body. The dorsal looks like it might not develop correctly. How do I continue the strain and can they inbreed normally? <Mmm, don't know if I'm understanding you here. Inbreeding (successive generations from filial young) and breeding back females to their paternal line are done in aquarium fishes to "fix" strains... with percentage problems in turn. Bob Fenner> |
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