Female cichlid

Question
I have one cichlid fist in a 20 gallon tank.  I was just doing my every other week water change and found the fish to be very aggressive.  Looking further I found dozens of eggs on the plants (now she) was guarding.  Should I remove the eggs or just leave them?

Answer
Hi Madelyn,
  Unfortunately, because there is no male present, the eggs cannot be fertile. They will likely turn white and she will eat them in a few days.  She may do this again, i.e., lay eggs. It doesn't hurt her to guard them for a few days so in general I would just leave them in the tank.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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