Help me breed my cichlids!

Ok so I got an odd/unique cichlid (convict flowerhorn hybrid) that I want to breed with a unique but common cichlid (long fin convict).

See this thread/pictures:
Help sex my mystery cichlids (South American) | American Cichlid Forum | 513361




Anyway. . . pretty sure the hybrid (red) is female, and I think the convict is a male. . . they seemed to interact fine initially, but now the hybrid just hides on the far left side of the tank, looks like she may have been nipped a few times, though I haven't seen much actual aggression.

Today and yesterday I put in some caves, first I used home made pot caves, she wouldn't use the, then I put in some "cichlid caves", but she wont use them either. . . and the convict can fit in them anyway. . .

I tried putting the hybrid in a breeder box just to make sure she wasn't getting beaten up. . . but after about an hour she seemed like she might beat herself up more by trying to escape than the convict would. . .

I could make a divider out of egg crate/light diffuser. . . not really wanting to take out the drift wood (or cut it in half) but that might be my only option. . .

I can't move either to another tank as no other tanks are heated, plus my other fish would quickly become food. . . so think a divider is best option?

 

Worth a shot if moving isn't an option.

 

Divider works.

You can also add some dither fish to get some of their attention, so that the male is not onto the female all the time.

 

I cut some egg crate light diffuser before work tonight, tomorrow I will. . . cut the driftwood in half. . . and install the divider. Might try grabbing some guppies on my next day off as well.

 

Ok so I got the divider in, just held there by driftwood substrate and the caves. The female immediately found a spot she could fit though (space created by the uneven background), however, doesn’t appear the male can fit through. They seem to be hanging out a bit and the female isn’t just hiding in the corner. . .
Also they dug a big hole and ripped up all the plants haha

 

So an update: the day after putting in the divider they were thick as thieves, always hanging out together etc. So I removed the divider, re-scraped the tank, and added some dither guppies. . . and today. . .

 

Woooooooooooooooooo! That's awesome.

 

So I was a bit worried as a few days after I saw the eggs they were gone. . . Turns out she moved them to another cave, and now we’ve got wigglers.

both mom and dad guard the cave, but the mom more so.

the male is still pretty terrified whenever I approach the tank, runs and hides behind his driftwood. This has made it somewhat hard to feed him, at least consistently, hopefully he becomes less shy.

anyway, will try to update when there are more updates ha ha

 

So I was a bit worried as a few days after I saw the eggs they were gone. . . Turns out she moved them to another cave, and now we’ve got wigglers.

both mom and dad guard the cave, but the mom more so.

the male is still pretty terrified whenever I approach the tank, runs and hides behind his driftwood. This has made it somewhat hard to feed him, at least consistently, hopefully he becomes less shy.

anyway, will try to update when there are more updates ha ha

Awesome, well glad that worked out.

Can't wait to see what the babies look like when they grow up.

 

Not much of an update but an update non the less:

Parents have moved the wigglers/fry again, they are now in the other cave. Both parents continue to patrol the surrounding ares and occasionally go into the cave.

I assume my best bet is just to let them do there thing? or should I try to catch the fry at some point?

 

Not much of an update but an update non the less:

Parents have moved the wigglers/fry again, they are now in the other cave. Both parents continue to patrol the surrounding are and occasionally go into the cave.

I assume my best bet is just to let them do there thing? or should I try to catch the fry at some point?

I'm not sure if it'd be the best bet per se, but I always let the parents do their thing. Generally even if they fail this time, they'll just do better next time and so on. Eventually they'd be perfect parents and you'd not have to put in the work to transfer fry, etc. each time.

 

So they moved the wigglers behind some driftwood, then to a depression they dug mid tank. There are only 6 that I can see, some able to swim small distances. The mom will scoop up any babies that make it outside the depression and spit them back in.

with there only being 6 (that I can see) I assume I lost some???

 

AND. . . they ate their babies. . .

Not sure exactly what happened, the female had a bit of damage on her lip and the babies were gone. . .

But she's back in her nice colors so that cool haha

Anyway, hopefully they will try again soon.

 

AND. . . they ate their babies. . .

Not sure exactly what happened, the female had a bit of damage on her lip and the babies were gone. . .

But she's back in her nice colors so that cool haha

Anyway, hopefully they will try again soon.

Aw what a shame. D: Yeah, next time...

 

They are at it again! they dug up (destroyed) the tank, and today it looks like the female laid about 1,000,000 eggs! she is fanning and her boyfriend is guarding the cave. . .

 

They are at it again! they dug up (destroyed) the tank, and today it looks like the female laid about 1,000,000 eggs! she is fanning and her boyfriend is guarding the cave. . .

That is awesome! Hopefully better luck this time.

If you really want, you can move some of the fry over to another tank this time. :3 Just to keep a few haha.

 

So I did siphon out a few fry and put them in a breeder box. . . Mama fish bit my hand defending the babies. . . pretty cool!!!

that saidI came into the house this morning and saw:





also, I’m pretty sure my amano shrimp got too close to the babies, because I saw half of it hanging out of the males mouth. I don’t think he necessarily killed it for food, as they’ve lived together for quite some time but who knows.

Think I should take the guppies out of the tank? If I lose some of the fry I’m not too worried, as there are only like 1 billion left ha ha. Do you think the guppies would have a big impact, or not so much?

also wanted to add some better photos of the female:

 

You should remove the guppies. I’m surprised your convicts have spared them up to now.

 

So I did siphon out a few fry and put them in a breeder box. . . Mama fish bit my hand defending the babies. . . pretty cool!!!

Ya they are some pretty aggressive fish, especially when breeding. Pretty cool.

that saidI came into the house this morning and saw:
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Nice lol. They're everywhere!

also, I’m pretty sure my amano shrimp got too close to the babies, because I saw half of it hanging out of the males mouth. I don’t think he necessarily killed it for food, as they’ve lived together for quite some time but who knows.

Perhaps. Quite possible. They are very defensive when taking care of fry after all.

Think I should take the guppies out of the tank? If I lose some of the fry I’m not too worried, as there are only like 1 billion left ha ha. Do you think the guppies would have a big impact, or not so much?

I reckon the guppies are kinda pointless now. They were mainly to provide a distraction while the pair set themselves up, but now that they are paired the guppies probably do not contribute either way.

also wanted to add some better photos of the female:
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Gosh the female looks so good. I think I have no choice, I have to set up a cichlid tank soon.

 

So the babies have been devouring live baby brine but I've also been feeding some powdered foods. Also, also, do cichlids feed their young?. . . I swear I've seen the male "eat" the food I put in for him and then spit it back out at the babies. . .

Oh and the male likes to attack your face if you get it to close to the glass haha

 

So the babies have been devouring live baby brine but I've also been feeding some powdered foods. Also, also, do cichlids feed their young?. . . I swear I've seen the male "eat" the food I put in for him and then spit it back out at the babies. . .

Yep, they do indeed feed their young by breaking up the food and spitting it out for their fry. I am not sure if it applies to ALL cichlids, but convicts definitely are known to exhibit this behavior.

Oh and the male likes to attack your face if you get it to close to the glass haha

Yeap, sounds about right lollll. XD

 

The fryer still pretty small, and frankly they all look like normal convicts haha maybe that was to be expected

anyway, the female was looking very colorful today. Tried to snap some photos, but of course she was not cooperating.