acei breeding

Question
alright so i hope you remember me asking about breeding my acei well i caught  them and put them in my 20 gallon for 3 days with a large piece of slate and well i woke up and the male was harassing the female so i decided to take him out and put him back in the display tank so i studied my female when i realized she wouldn't eat she had her mouth opened a bit and i seen eggs but i think they were white is it the same with egg layers as mouth brooders well anyways she had them for about 5 days now in her mouth shes in the 20 gallon with excellent filtration and 1 pleco 1 gourami  and a heap of convict fry ( in a breeders net)so could you give me step by step instructions how to well do what ever else.

i cant find much online besides put a flat rock in the tank

Answer
Hi Devin,
As you know breeding Cichlids is lots of observation.  Hopefully the eggs were fertilized.  Sometimes the male harasses the female so that she will chase him, and while chasing him, trying to bite his dummy eggs, the eggs are fertilized.
All you can do is wait, and see what happens.  I wouldn't keep her in with other fish, the reason being that this may stress her.  Sometimes, the female may eat a little, so try to feed her, she will come out of this very very thin, and weak.  Keep her in the tank with her babies, she is no threat to them, and feed her well so she regains her strength after the fry are free swimming.  Don't put her back with the male as he will want to spawn again, and too much spawning will result in her death.  This is why the male needs 3 females.  The fry often return to their mother's mouth once free swimming.  If she senses danger, one nod of the head, and all the fish return into her mouth!!  Make water changes every week, and when you see that the fry are about to become free swimming, put a nylon to cover the filter's arm so they won't get sucked in.  A pair of white nylon stockings does the trick.  You can usually find these at the dollar store.  
After the fry are free swimming, you could feed them baby brine shrimp.   You may buy these frozen, or hatch them yourself, which is cheaper since you will have to feed them 4 times a day.  Later, the mother chews up the dry food, and spits it into their faces so that they can eat...(sorry there is no other way to explains this!)
Water changes every day after you feed the fry is a must as ammonia build up happens very very quickly.
If you should lose this spawn, do not get discouraged.  Sometimes the mother just drops them, if she does this, it is because they were not fertilized, and she is young.  The first spawns are usually missed.  If this is her first time, she might lose them, and then maybe not...like I said, you have to really observe them.  That is the secret, observation is always the key!
Good Luck, and hopefully this answers your question.
Lynda
I just want to add, never keep baby fish in a fish basket, this is really not good for them, they must have room to swim, an aquarium big enough for them to swim.  The bigger the better, and the healthier they will be.  They will also grow faster.