Posts tagged Breeding Cichlids
My Experience with the Red-breast Acara, Laetacara dorsigera
Oct 18th
Hi, Jose here. When I was younger, I was looking for something that would light up the bottom of my 30 gallon South American tank. I did a little research and found a picture of a curviceps…I got really excited because from what I found they were pretty little fish. I purchased a trio of Dwarf Acara at a local pet shop labeled “sky blue curviceps”. I didn’t know much about them, and I hadn’t really heard about them from other enthusiasts, but then again I wasn’t into cichlids at that time, so it was something new.
After they became adjusted to the tank, I ran peat through my Fluval 402 filter and hoped for some eggs. After a couple of nerve wrecking months, I noticed that a pair had formed and the third fish was killed by the pair. I placed some smooth, flat 5 to 6 inch rocks hoping the new couple would spawn on one. I figured that their tankmates (neon tetras) wouldn’t mess with the eggs, so I didn’t have to worry about anything eating them. But in watching the pair, I noticed something that worried me a little. I thought the male would be a light blue dwarf, but this fish was developed red color from the lower tip of the mouth to the rear of the body and red ventral fins. The “female” was also brightly colored, so I started wondering if I had two males. The person at the pet shop told me the female should be dull-looking because only males have color, a common trait amongst many cichlid species. More >
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Loading ...The Flowerhorn Cichlid, Past and Present – Personal Recollections
Mar 15th
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. While new fishes occasionally enter the trade (much to our delight!), it’s not often that an entirely new species is created by breeders. But that’s exactly what happened in the early 1990’s, when the incredible Flowerhorn Cichlid burst onto the scene. Since then, “fine-tuning” has resulted in a fish with perhaps the most complicated parentage of any hybrid – 7 to 10 species have contributed their genes! More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Breeding the T-bar Cichlid – Cryptoheros sajica
Oct 28th
Cryptoheros sajica, formerly known as Archocentrus sajica, hails from Central America and belongs in the same family as the popular Convict Cichlid. I first came across this particular species of fish at an auction in Cleveland, where I picked up a bag for about five bucks. In the bag were 8 fish, each about a half inch in length. At the time I was living in Cleveland, and they all went into a 30 gallon tank. They shared the tank with a 5 inch royal pleco and some neon tetras and rummynoses. I kept the water chemistry stable with a ph of around 7.6 and a general hardness of 6 degrees. The temperature was set at 78 degrees (F). The tank was furnished with live plants, driftwood and clay flower pots. I also added some flat stones, in hopes the new additions would eventually spawn on them.
They grew pretty quickly. I fed them twice a day, and feeding was very easy. They pretty much ate anything that fell in front of their face. Every other day I performed water changes of about ten percent to keep the chemistry up to par. By the end of the first year they were each about 3 inches long.
Finally, one day I had noticed that two had paired off. They had all the others pinned in corners and fearing for their lives, so the following day I baged up the dominated fish, and traded them in for some baby brine and earthworm flakes before they met an untimely death by the newly territorial and greedy pair. Within days I noticed the couple cleaning one of the flat stones. I also noticed that the female’s breeding tube was visible, a sign that eggs are soon to come. She laid about 100 small. tan-colored eggs the following day. It happened to be my day off, and I was excited that she had laid her first batch of eggs, Little did I know that the pleco decided he had an appetite for caviar. The inexperienced soon-to-be parents tried to keep the intruder away, but the pleco was determined to have his fancy meal. The damage done, I relocated the pleco to my African cichlid tank.
She had another batch of eggs 3 weeks later. This time they were better prepared, and with no armored, sucker-mouthed egg eaters in their tank, they were on the road to success. These fish are very good parents once they get the hang of it! They guarded their offspring ferociously, even attacking the gravel tube as I tried to clean the substrate. When they were big enough, I moved the fry I could catch to a seperate 20 high. About 50 fry made it to be traded and sold from that batch.
I don’t consider sajicas a very vibrant species, though they are attractive in their own way. They remind me a lot of the A. spilurus, with their shimmering blue eyes. Maybe their most striking feature is the blue throat developed by both males and females as they mature. Males attain an adult size of 5 inches and females about 3.5 to 4 inches. With caution they may be kept with community fish, but they are almost always aggressive towards others of their own kind. I would say the minimum tank size for an adult pair would be a 29 gallon. I would highly recommend this species to someone who would like to try something other than a Convict Cichlid. They breed easily and are really fun to watch as they spawn and raise their fry. If you have any questions about them, please let me know in the comments section!
Jose
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Done With Dovii, On to the Next Cichlid Breeding Venture – Cuban Cichlids
Sep 23rd
So since my last blog, my male Wolf Cichlid has done it again. Another disasterous fit of rage or passion, but this time though he decided to kill his mate. The female that produced more than a couple thousand babies in the short three years that she was mine is dead. I wish I knew what was going through his fishy mind, because he was as brutal as OJ during his jealous tirade (ooops, just kidding, we all know OJ is innocent). Like OJ, my mean male has managed to avoid capital punishment, banished to a holding tank at TFP before he can be re-homed to some other lucky (or unlucky) cichlid enthusiast.
So, now I have to figure what I should try to breed next! Several things came to mind immediately; Grammodes I’ve already bred, Argentia I’ve kept but never bred, and then there were the the Cuban Cichlids (Nandopsis tetracanthus). These medium-sized, powerhouse fish attain lenghts of up to 14 inches. They are very striking fish, both male and female are monochromatic, that is, they both sport a black and white pattern.
I was able to trade my rotten male dovii on 4 1.5 inch fish. They all went into the 40 breeder and have so far adapted really well, they were already eating an hour after being put into their new home. The following day I did a head count and was glad to see all four fish still kicking, as everything I’ve read says they are highly aggressive towards each other. Let me tell you it is so true!
They have set up the pecking order already, though they haven’t inflicted too much damage on each other yet. To break up the tension in the tank, I also introduced a Chromidotilapia sp. individual from West Africa. The little Cubans quickly went over to check out the new fish, but the dominant male was smart not to attack, since it was 2.5 times
his size. By the looks of things (if I go by size) I may have two pairs!
They feed very well. The dominant male will pig out so much his belly distends, almost to the point that I have to be careful to limit his intake…he sometimes looks as if he’s about to explode. My bet is that he will grow very quickly. These guys take everything from flakes to sinking pellets, as they get larger I will also feed them nightcrawlers and red worms. I wish that Dovii hadn’t killed his mate…he is a beautiful boy, but I couldn’t stand to look at hm after that carnage. It happens when you keep these crazy fish. So I’m hoping to have my first batch of Cuban Cichlid eggs in about 6 months from now…until then wish me luck!
Look forward to updating you on the situation!
Jose
(+1 rating, 1 votes) Loading ...My Top 10 Central American Cichlids, From the Mind of a Cichlid Mad Man
Jan 29th
Jose here. This time around I’m going to talk about my favorite bad boys, the Central American Cichlids. I love these guys for lots off reasons, but most of all for the attitude they dish out, magnificent color and the challenges they present in breeding. Not saying that they are tough to get to breed, but its the pair bonding that you have to get through. If they don’t accept each other, one usually ends up dead. Now on to my top 10.
Parachromis dovii is affectionately known as the Wolf Cichlid. At 24 inches as an adult, dovii is a bit of a wuss when it’s young and and kept with more dominant species. But, as it gets older it becomes completely different monster, and it won’t be bullied for long. In breeding dress, the males have blue fins and lips, with a violet back. Females on the other hand are a yellow with black bars. My pair have currently produced over 1000 fry and they are under 2 yrs old. More >
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