African Cichlid Help

[CluckyBoss]

My electric blue african cichlid pair just bred, the female has a mouth full of eggs, and I have a couple questions.

1. When will they hatch? They just got done breeding about 30 minutes ago. March 22.
2. Because she's in a pretty crowded tank, it's only 75 gallons and there are 6 other fish, do I need to strip her, and when?



Thanks!

 

[brahmabreeder]

If you mean there are other fish in the tank then yes you need to have your pair isolated. I was breeding angel fish for a little bit and when ever I had other fish in the tank the others would slowly eat the fry. not sure when they will hatch but I think my angelfish eggs took three days.

 

[CluckyBoss]

Yes, sorry I didn't explain that correctly, she is in a 75 gallon tank with 6 other fish. It's quite small, we JUST took them out of our 125 gallon tank. 3 days? WOW.. we need another tank then, because I sure don't want these babies to get eaten. Thankyou for your reply!

 

[nzpouter]

They will not let the fry free swimming for about a month.

 

[Kevin565]

Very beautiful Pair

 

[CluckyBoss]

Thankyou! Just as an update, because it was her first time, she spit the eggs out.

Very disappointing, but maybe next time. On the bright side, however, my yellow banga pairs just bred. Mouth full of eggs, maybe she'll hold them

 

[philter4]

If you are going to strip her, leave her in the tank she is in until you are ready to strip the eggs, there is a huge chance she will spit the eggs as soon as you net her up if you do it too soon, even waiting she may spit them but at that point you will want them to be released so it is less stressful on the female. If you let her hold the eggs herself the best thing is to remove the other fish rather then try to catch her for the same reason, she will likely spit the eggs in the net when you catch her. If you are going to strip her and hatch the eggs artificially you will have to have some sort of egg tumbler, they are easy to make with a soda bottle and air pump or very (and I mean very) small water pump, look online for "HOW TO" articles on making your own egg tumbler. If you are going to move her to another tank and let her hold the eggs wait at least a week, ten days is better. The eggs hatch anytime after about 7 days depending on temperature, and the female will be fine in the main tank until then.

I would not leave the male with the female alone, in the wild these cichlids do not pair bond and if they are alone there is a very real possibility that the male will pick on the female. It is not always the case but if you are really trying to breed them I would separate them just in case, it is also a possibility that the male may eat some of the fry when they become free swimming. Cichlids that spawn in the substrate both parents care for the young, mouth brooding cichlids don't have that instinct normally. I'm not sure why some think it takes a month to release the fry, they usually do it within 2 weeks of the breeding, some may hold a little longer and other shorter but that is a good guideline. I would not leave the mother with the fry longer then 4 days after the first time you see them out of her mouth and start feeding her right away. When you net her up she will get all of the fry back into her mouth so you will need to strip the fry at that point, just let them fall back into the tank and then put her back into her original tank.

Good luck, it is a great experience to breed you own animals, and watching these guys care for their babies is a unique look at parental care among animals.

 

[Kevin565]

Thankyou! Just as an update, because it was her first time, she spit the eggs out.

Very disappointing, but maybe next time. On the bright side, however, my yellow banga pairs just bred. Mouth full of eggs, maybe she'll hold them

Sorry it didn't work the first time. It took my cichilds a few tries before they got the hang of it. You'll have plenty of fry in no time!