Five Cichlid Breeding Tips: How to Raise Your Cichlids

Cichlids are the ideal pets for fish lovers. They are colorful, interesting, and low maintenance. This is the reason why some people even go to the extent of raising more cichlids from the ones that they already have. If you are also interested in breeding these varieties of fish, having a cichlid breeding checklist is important.

Breeding cichlids takes time. You can never master the art by doing it the first time around. Having a checklist can help you get started. It will serve as your bible as you breed your own cichlids. This checklist will include the necessary materials you need, the step by step procedure and tips from expert breeders which you can apply.

It takes a great deal of responsibility to start breeding cichlids. To help make the experience worthwhile and to guarantee success, you have to abide by your checklist which also includes these practical tips:

1. Guard the health of your cichlids. All creatures that mate and breed need to be healthy. Otherwise, they will not be able to reproduce. If you are assured of the health of your cichlids, fewer problems will arise as you try to breed them. They also have more chances of producing healthy offspring.

2. Keep the habitat of your cichlids clean. A well-sanitized habitat is an important factor in ensuring good health. One way of responding to this need is by cleaning the aquarium of your cichlids regularly.

3. Invest in a good aquarium filter. A reliable filter should be used in the aquarium of your cichlids. Invest on a good filter as this is instrumental in your cichlid's habitat. Without a good filter, pollutants are prone to pollute the aquarium where you keep your cichlid. Once they accumulate, they can cause ailments that can threaten the lives of your fishes.

4. Know about water chemistry. This is perhaps the most technical and scientific part involved in taking care of cichlids. Ideally, the water that you put in the aquarium of your cichlid should have good water chemistry. This is translated in the way that ammonia and nitrites are kept away from the water in your aquarium.

5. Feed your cichlids right. Equally important as all the other precautions and recommendations is the diet of your cichlid. There are certain species of cichlids that prefer herbivorous diets. Others are more able to adapt to a carnivorous diet. Determine the species of the cichlid you want to breed and decide which diet is most ideal for it.

The health of cichlids is a top priority if you want to raise them. The reason behind this is very obvious. As it is, cichlids can only mate and reproduce when they are healthy. Additionally, some mother cichlids do not eat while they are carrying eggs. Thus, they should be well-taken care of to keep them away from various cichlid diseases.

Having these important facts in your checklist is mandatory. They are tested and proven techniques from experts who have been breeding cichlids for a long time now. Stick to your checklist and soon you won't only be breeding cichlids for the sake of having hundreds of them but also to earn extra cash from selling them to your friends.

Larry Pearson is an expert author and cichlid fish enthusiast and has been keeping pet fishes for over 20 years.
To know more about cichlid breeding and how to keep healthy and beautiful cichlids go to www.cichlidfishguide.com and sign up for a FREE Email Mini-Course.