Green Terror Breeding

Question
QUESTION: Hello Ron,About a week ago I purchased a Green terror of 4" in size. She settled into my 200 litre aquarium well. However in the last couple of days I noticed a few behavior changes between her & my other Jack dempsey cichlid. This evening (10/01/09), she laid lots white/clear eggs on a flat rock at the front of my aquarium which she & Jack seem to be guarding.
What would be the best course of action to take now?  I have a small (50ltrs) empty aquarium which I have quickly set up in case I need to transfer any fish. What would you recommend? Also would it be likely that she was pregnant when I purchased her or has become so since?
I've kept an aquarium for around 3 years with many types of tropical fish, but have never dealt with breeding fish before.
If you can help I'd be very grateful.
Many thanks for your time
-James


ANSWER: Hi James,
  You face a tough choice.  It is possible that she laid the eggs but the Jack Dempsey didn't fertilize them.  In that case, the eggs will turn white over the next few days and she will likely just eat them at some point.
  If, however, the Jack Dempsey did fertilize them, they might hatch and then you have to decide what to do.  Hybrid cichlids are not a good thing and create all sorts of problems.   People in general have a reluctance not to kill such eggs, but if the hybrid eggs hatch and grow up into little cichlids, it will be even harder to terminate them.  Hybrids are a problem because they cause all sorts of issues with moving genes from one species into another and identifying pure species from hybrids becomes a real challenge, and in some cases, impossible.

  Bottom line, I would not let the eggs hatch. I would remove them.
This sort of mating typically happens because there isn't an appropriate mate for the fish, so they mate with the next best thing.  

  BTW, cichlids do not get pregnant as such.  A female fish develops eggs in her body which she lays on a hard surface. The male then fertilizes the eggs, i.e., externally.

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


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

QUESTION: Ron, Many thanks for your prompt response. It's now the next day (11/01/09) & from looking at the eggs they still seem white in colour & therefore don't seem to have been fertilized. The Jack Dempsey is now interfering rather than appearing to guard the eggs like last evening. I will continue to monitor the situation before acting on wether to separate to two.  
After a visit to my local aquatic center this morning, I found they have a male Green terror of similar size, would you recommend I try breeding the pair in my smaller tank away from my other fish? Or is this something best left to the experts?
One last thing, will my female Green terror continue to lay eggs periodically or what is likely to happen now?
Once again, many thanks for your time & response
- James

Answer
Hi James,
  Absolutely you should try breeding the green terrors.  

  It is impossible to say what the female green terror will do, but one thing is for sure: you now know that she is a female and that is valuable information because it isn't always easy to tell males from females in green terrors.

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