Jewel cichlid fry

Question
Hey there Nicole!  

My name is Jodi.  I have a 4ft freshwater tank with 5 red jewels 2 sharks and a couple of Bristlenose.  I have been trying to breed my jewels for almost 2 years and have had no success till now!! (and another couple have laid a few hundred eggs at the other end of the tank on a rock! - its all happening!) I finally have at least 100 little fry free swimming close to mum and dad!  I don't know how to care for them or ensure their safety from other fish! Im reluctant even to turn the fish tank light off at night in case the parents dont see one of the others sneak up on the babies so I leave the lounge room light on for them! sad huh??

What is important for me to do now? They hatched yesterday and are now swimming.  Mum and dad collect them in their mouths and return the to the group if they swim off! I just think its amazing!  I dont want to lose them, so any tips would be very helpful. Also, what can fit in their tiny little mouths for food??

Thanks heaps,
Jodi

Answer
Hi Jodi,

Hmm, those poor moms and dads must be tired from not getting any sleep! But seriously, even though it looks like fish don't sleep because of their lack of eyelids, they do need a day/night cycle and they probably don't like having ambient light on, especially if it's a bright light. A nightlight would be fine though, even a fairly bright one such as a 7 watt bulb.

What I would recommend is that you get lots of bushy floating plants for your fish. These make the fish feel more secure, purify the water and provide a great place for algae, food and other detritus to get trapped, which makes a great meal for fry. Hornwort and anacharis are both cheap and common. Water sprite and water wisteria are also good, the latter can't be used floating though. And cabomba and foxtail are a little more challenging and can't be grown floating either, but if you toss a clump in, it ought to remain alive at least for a few weeks, long enough to serve its purpose.

Another option, albeit a less desirable one, would be to make a spawning mop. Here are directions:
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/Leong_Spawning_Mop.html
Instead of keeping it buoyant by tying a cork around it, you should make it sink by tying it to a rock or some other aquarium safe, heavy object. Put it near their favorite cave or hangout.

Floating plants are better because they feel more natural to the fish and they actually keep the water cleaner...but if you can't find any suitable ones, you could try this alternative method. They are easy and fun to make, and they will appeal to the fish at least as much as a plastic plant!

As far as what to feed them, that will be tricky. At this point they already need freshly hatched brine shrimp. You can buy frozen baby brine shrimp (Hikari makes it) which you can defrost and suck up with a turkey baster. Mix it with water so it's easier to suck up. Release the liquid in the direction of the cave where they are keeping them - only do this twice a day max as this can get very messy! Be sure you have a sinking pellet or some other food to keep the sharks distracted.

Speaking of sharks, I'm afraid these are a constant threat to your jewel fry. The only fish you can keep in a breeding tank full of aggressive cichlids such as this would be top dwellers like hatchets and zebra danios. They might actually encourage the fish to breed by acting as dither fish (Google that term if you're unfamiliar). However there are two bad possibilities here:
1) The sharks will eat all or most of the fry,
2) The sharks will get badly beaten up by these cichlids, who are a terror when they breed!

In a way it's a good thing, since you certainly don't want hundreds of fry...it would be impossible to sell or trade them all, and a 55 gallon can't accommodate that much biomass. If you end up with 20, that would be a much more manageable amount. But you're going to need to keep constant watch to make sure the possibility of 1 or 2 isn't happening! It would be much better to remove the sharks to a temporary other tank if possible. A heater and filter are a must, but the tank need not be a proper glass aquarium - it can be a Rubbermaid Roughneck tote of 20 gallons or more in a pinch.

Once the fry are larger, they will take crushed flake food which you can deliver to them in the same way, by "spot feeding" them with a turkey baster. I would also try mixing up some smooshed peas (take an unsalted canned, or defrosted frozen pea, smoosh the innards out, mix with water) and giving that to them now and then. Just be sure the sharks are distracted with their own foods.

All of this extra feeding will dirty your tank quickly, so be sure and do extra water changes. At least 25% a week is in order as a matter of course, so try doing 20-30% twice a week for now.

I hope that helps! Here are some articles on this subject:
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/Siddharth_Jewel_Cichlids.html
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/cichlid/jewel.php
http://www.fishchannel.com/freshwater-aquariums/fish-breeding/breeding-jewel-cic...

And this is a great forum for cichlid advice. Terrific archive of articles, too:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com

I hope that helps, take care.
Nicole