Breeding African cichlids

Does anyone have any knowledge on breeding African cichlids in big storage totes I seen people do in small ones with the guppies I’m wondering if the big ones will work with African cichlids ? As always all opinions are welcome and appreciated thanks

 

I've bred Malawis and Tanganyikans for a decade.

What size of container are we talking? Did you think about how to keep them on temperature? Do you only want to go for mass (in that case DON'T DO IT! Not worth the trouble to begin with) or selection? Mbuna? Haps? Peacocks? Maybe Tanganyikans?

 

Well was thinking peacocks and have some mbuna so I can make have OB peacock it’s to my understanding that u get those by cross breeding peacock with mbuna and making hybrid and that’s would have a heater in the tote and not really going for mass want to breed really high quality fish and sell to people who don’t mind paying extra for properly bread fish without inbreeding worries hobby mostly but want to recuperate my money that gets put in
Oh and would use either simple submersible filter and our bubbler Maybe hang on back filter not sure yet

 

Well was thinking peacocks and have some mbuna so I can make have OB peacock it’s to my understanding that u get those by cross breeding peacock with mbuna and making hybrid

There is the first problem. Nobody, except certain breeders that started it, knows which Mbuna species was crossed with exactly which peacock species to produce OBs. Intentional hybridisation is much harder than unintentional. It would be logical to just multiply existing OBs.
For intentional hybridisation you will have to be able to observe the fish to determine whether anything happens at all. Otherwise it's most likely the species you add to the container will stick to their respective kinds.

that’s would have a heater in the tote

You would need a volume of about 400-500 liters per tote, it would be much more efficient then to set up several of these and heat the room.

not really going for mass want to breed really high quality fish and sell to people who don’t mind paying extra for properly bread fish without inbreeding worries

Then don't go for hybrids, there is no money in that except via mass. Inbreeding is at one point necessary if you want certain characteristics present and others not. For properly high quality breeding use tanks. Much more control on the quality.

If you don't want to linebreed:
Get wild caught haps or peacocks and multiply those. Then without mass production you can get decent prices for high quality fish. But then under no circumstances let hybridisation happen, that's casting pearls before the swine.

hobby mostly but want to recuperate my money that gets put in

Again, then getting wild caughts of rather rare species and multiplying those is your best bet. That's what we did. Got groups of them, and after 2-3 spawns sold the whole bunch including the breeders to people with bigger facilities. This way you produce highest quality (F1-F2) and do actually break even.

Problem with wild caughts: Lake Malawi isn't even hard water, it just has high pH. (Parameters in the lake: pH 7.6 - 8.3 BUT, GH and KH 5-6°) So using RO and special Malawi salt for remineralisation would be a must. F2 and later generations (as the mass produced fish in the trade) are easily kept in hard water.

Oh and would use either simple submersible filter and our bubbler Maybe hang on back filter not sure yet

I think it goes without saying that HOBs and internal filters are not efficient for the turnover you will need.

Another thing you have to think about: What happens to the culls? Tankbred Malawis are fish that go for cents in wholesale.

So... sorry to say, but you might want to overthink the concept.

 

Oh wow u really know ur stuff that’s why I love this forum so much so help full I think ur right I really need to re think and research this many I start small and get a breeding group if OB peacock since they are my favourite and go from there I have extra 50 gallon set up that will b freed up when I upgrade my American cichlid tank that shouldb good for 4 females and one male I would think what’s ur thought on that ?simple easier to start small and build up as I go I would think makes sense
I’mthinking if ordering in a breeder group of fish on line for the stock would u recommend doing this if so do could you recommend a good place or should I go to my trusted fish store and hams pick them so I know I get a good male with real nice colouring

 

I grew up with this. My dad got into Malawi cichlids when I was about 8-10, then started breeding and I only helped and learned until I was around 13, when I started to keep Tanganyikans for myself, while my dad had his Malawis. We stopped when I was about 17 and I went into a complete aquarium hiatus for another decade and a half when I was 18/19. Only back for some years now.

Anyhow, if you just want to start "small" with OBs... (which I have to tell you right now, won't get you far unless you start with extremely high quality):

Main tank:
350 liters, 25°C, pH around 8, GH/KH 10-20° (they are artificial hybrids anyway, they do fine in hard water), sand substrate, enough hiding spots. Tank size is due to the fact that high stress levels make for low quality offspring.

Nursery tank (for holding females it can be better to be moved to a separate tank without the male pressuring them, you can also remove the male, but then usually you have to get the fry out of a relatively big tank.):
200 liters, same water parameters, same substrate, easy-to-remove decorations and hiding spots.

Growout (fry 2-4cm):
100-150 liters
Growout (juveniles 4-8cm):
200l

Make sure you always have 1-2 additional 100-150 liter tanks ready in case you have to move around fish or possibly to keep a second breeder male to switch.

Very important: Keep Nitrates low. Best and most efficient solution: Emersed plants. Pothos, Monstera... that stuff. Just need the roots in the water, they suck up a lot. Still 50% waterchanges (once a week on the main breeder, up to 4x a week on fry growouts.) are necessary!

Also VERY important: Make sure you have someone who takes all the culls from you, as you will have to produce between 50-80 fry to get 5-10 high quality and maybe if you're lucky 20 medium quality specimens. Often even more are necessary. With only focusing on OBs this might become a problem at one point as stores would prefer more variety and you local market will be oversaturated quickly.

You will also have to invest in marketing "in the scene", meaning targeting collectors and enthusiasts. That's where I see your biggest problem, because OBs are not really what those are looking for.