breeding

[pullins125]

i am ready to start breeding my pea**************** cichlids. i have never tried to breed any fish before so this is new to me. i just wanna know if anybody knows any steps or tricks or anything. i also wanna know what is the best thing to get so that they can claim territory. i have 5 male and 3 female. hopefully at least one will get pregnant.

[ikevi]

I am hoping you have all the same type in one tank... IE peac0cks hybrid like crazy. (IE you can't mix sexes, and it is extremely difficult to tell different females apart so you can't keep fry together when growing them out.)

Just give them good want and food and they will breed.

[shade2dope]

Ikevi is right and that should be the first thing done.My peacocs breed alot with no extra help.I have 1 male to 3 females and at the time have about 30 fry.Just make sure to have alot of cover.Many people use flower pots.Make sure to have a bare bottom tank to move fry to.Do you know how to stripe females?Many do to keep the fry as the female may swollow or not let them eat.

[emc7]

I suggest another tank. If you move a holding female (bulging chin full of eggs) to a 15 or so, she will most likely hold until term and then spit out healthy little fish that are big enough for flake food.

[pullins125]

once pregnant i plan on moving them into another tank. i just hoping that they get pregnant first. wat is the best water to have to start mating. high ph and cooler water is what i read but not sure if it right.

[ikevi]

It really doesn't matter much. As long as you keep it the same. But if you are putting in buffers keep the Ph ~7.8.

Trust me there really isn't much to these guys but putting them together and letting nature do its thing.

[pullins125]

mine is at 7.8 hpw will i no when the females are ready to breed.

[ikevi]

She will suddenly have a mouth full of eggs. Though you will likely see the males dancing in front of her a day or so before hand.

[pullins125]

well i will add some more females and see what happens.

[ikevi]

Do you know what type you have? Remember if you even want to consider selling these fish you need to keep all of these fish separate: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profile...gory.php?cat=3

[ikevi]

Just an example at how easy it is. I had my female german red separted for a few months from a male. I decided to put him in the tank yesterday night... Today she is already holding.

[Cichlid Hound]

My pea****************s breed regularly (Benga Yellow, Eureka Reds, and Rubescens). I keep my water at a ph of 8.0-8.2, and my water temperature is regularly 80F. Once I notice the female holding, I give her about 2 weeks in the main tank (provided she is not getting pestered by any of the other fish in the tank). I then pull her and put her in a 10 gallon all by herelf. She spits out fry usually within the first week of being in the holding tank. I then feed her for a couple of days in the 10 gallon, and finally put her back in the main tank.

Like eveyone already said, it is very important to keep your pea****************s separate if you plan on "knowing" what your fry are for sure. I made the mistake once of getting several different species of pea**************** in one big shipment (all about 1"). I put them all into one large quarantine tank. Within hours (o.k. maybe minutes) I couldn't tell the fish apart. I had to let them grow out until I could see the color in males to tell them apart. The females unfortunately I had to give away to a friend who wasn't interested in breeding because I couldn't tell them apart. Have fun, before you know it you will have fry swimming out of your ears