Red Parrot Fish have laid eggs - Urgent

Question
Thanks again for your reply.  one small question from a total layman .. if the parrot chiclids are man-made, how do they breed them or is this a stupid question???!!
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-----Question-----
We have just found that our 2 Red Parrot fish have just laid eggs on aopen flat stone in our tank.  We had no idea that they could breed let alone would breed!!! We have a large number of fish in our tank, ranging from little tiger sharks, to Silver dollar, pleco's etc. Obviously we would like to protect the eggs and if they hatch the babies ... what do we do to protect the eggs etc? Will the male parrot and / or other fish attack the eggs ???
-----Answer-----
Hi Sally & John,
 It's very hard to say what the parents will do.  Keep in mind that parrot cichlids are manmade fish and many times when they lay eggs, the eggs don't hatch.   However, if they do hatch, the parents might take care of them, in which case, you might need to find a way to protect the other fish in the tank -- cichlid parents can be very protective.

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


Answer
Hi Sally & John,
 Actually that is a VERY good question.  When the parrot cichlid first appeared 5 or so years ago, there was a lot of secrecy about exactly how they were made.  We still don't know. It is likely some combination of a Central American cichlid like the red devil and a South American cichlid like the severum.  These two would never meet in the wild.  So the question was (and still is) did this happen "naturally" in a tank, or was something else involved.  In any case, the first bunch of them didn't appear to be able to breed. They would court and lay eggs, but nothing would ever hatch.  However, since then, more and more I hear about successful breedings of parrots.  So, it is definitely possible.  

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