texas chiclid

Question
how do texas chiclids breed? If my albino convicts have orange colouring on their bellies is this a disease or a gender thing.

thanks very much

Answer
Hi Thomas,
 Texas cichlids (like convicts) are substrate spawners.  The pair finds a nice hard place to lay their eggs (on a rock, or inside a flowerpot, or sometimes on the glass) and the female lays some eggs and the male follows behind fertilizing them.  The female generally fans the eggs for about 3 days or so until they hatch, with the male patrolling the area watching out for danger.  The eggs hatch into wrigglers, which can't swim and stay that way for about 4 more days.  At that point, they become free-swimming fry and start to feed on food.  

  The orange coloring on the belly of a convict (albino or regular) tells you that the fish is a female.  

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