Cichlid Breeding - Right in Your Aquarium

Aquarists all over the world actively participate in cichlid breeding. Whether they are doing it in order to sell to pet store owners, or whether they wish to keep the fry, any type of cichlid breeding is a process. The following article will briefly discuss the three types of cichlid breeding.

The first type of cichlid breeding is called open breeding. Open breeding means that the fish will spawn out in the open. Objects that are useful for this type of breeding include rocks, plants, and leaves. Open breeders share responsibility over caring for their fertilized eggs. The male will protect the territory, while the female tends to the eggs. Open breeders tend to lay around 1,000 eggs. Examples of open breeders include Freshwater Angelfish and the German Blue Ram.

Another type of cichlid breeding is called cave breeding. Cave breeders seek out hidden areas such as hollowed out logs and caves to lay their eggs. If you wish to breed any of the species known as cave breeders, it is important to provide them with plenty of hiding places in order for them to effectively breed. Examples of cave breeders include Kribensis and Convict cichlid.

Finally, the last type of cichlid breeding is referred to as mouth-brooding. This simply means that the female cichlid will keep her eggs or fry in her mouth. This is done to protect her young from other predatory fish. She will eventually release the fry back into the tank when she feels the time is right.

If you have mouth brooding cichlids you have to make sure that the female does not eat the fry after she releases them. Why would she eat her fry? After mouth-brooding for a few weeks, without eating, the female will be near starvation and she will eat anything she can, including her fry. The best thing to do is separate the fry from the female. Since there are other fish in the aquarium that may eat fry, you may want to move the fry to a separate tank until they are big enough to fend for themselves. At that point, you can re-introduce them to their original tank. The fry will be able to eat brine shrimp and flake foods once they have finished the yolk.

Overall, cichlid breeding can often be encouraged by providing plenty of breeding aids. The breeding aids can range from rocks to hiding places, depending on the specific type of cichlid you are trying to breed.

Learn more about the specifics of cichlid breeding on my site before you decide to try it for yourself. Good cichlid feeding is also important for encouraging breeding in these fish.