will not open mouth

Question
QUESTION: I have a blue tiger stripped afracin cichlid he is about  7 months old tank 56 gal all the suddon he will not open his mouth to eat tank is clean oh a bit hi nitrates good water about 80 he has not had s food change we give him slow sinking pellets and frozen shrimp or beef heart a few time a week nothing changed but him I have I kit 2 oscars nd another cichlid they hall grew up together and get along . I'm not sure what to do for him he can't open his mouth to eat its been 1 1/2 days now

ANSWER: Hi Renee,
 Does "he" have a swollen lower jaw such that it looks like there is something in there?  If so, "he" is a "she" and she is carrying eggs.  They are mouthbrooders.

-- Ron C.
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We had babies . Do the parents need to be in the tank. W have removed the mother and now not to sure what to feed them and how many times a day . We had four that we can find so far

Answer
Hi Renee,
 The parents do not need to be in the tank. I feed babies with frozen baby brine shrimp which you can get at most fish stores.  Once they get a little larger, you can feed them crushed flakes or micropellets.  

-- Ron C.
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>