Check your water supply to see if it is suitable for Emperor cichlids (Boulengerochromis microlepis). Having said that, some species that have been bred in captivity over generations may adapt to their non-native environment.
I've always wanted to try breeding Emperors. Imagine a three-foot-long male in full color courting a female and watching them fertilize and lay their eggs! Of course, the parents will be very protective and entertaining to watch as they fend off other inhabitants. The female can lay up to 10,000 eggs. Even if you could yield fry at 10% of that, there would be abundant feeders for the rest of the fish. At around $55 online, breeding them could support one's hobby for a while until the market is flooded with them. I wonder if anyone who had the ability to ship fish can get a steady income stream from breeding and selling to wholesalers, online retailers, and other sources. Are they good eating?
I've always wanted to try breeding Emperors. Imagine a three-foot-long male in full color courting a female and watching them fertilize and lay their eggs! Of course, the parents will be very protective and entertaining to watch as they fend off other inhabitants. The female can lay up to 10,000 eggs. Even if you could yield fry at 10% of that, there would be abundant feeders for the rest of the fish. At around $55 online, breeding them could support one's hobby for a while until the market is flooded with them. I wonder if anyone who had the ability to ship fish can get a steady income stream from breeding and selling to wholesalers, online retailers, and other sources. Are they good eating?
One problem, they die after they spawnCheck your water supply to see if it is suitable for Emperor cichlids (Boulengerochromis microlepis). Having said that, some species that have been bred in captivity over generations may adapt to their non-native environment.
I've always wanted to try breeding Emperors. Imagine a three-foot-long male in full color courting a female and watching them fertilize and lay their eggs! Of course, the parents will be very protective and entertaining to watch as they fend off other inhabitants. The female can lay up to 10,000 eggs. Even if you could yield fry at 10% of that, there would be abundant feeders for the rest of the fish. At around $55 online, breeding them could support one's hobby for a while until the market is flooded with them. I wonder if anyone who had the ability to ship fish can get a steady income stream from breeding and selling to wholesalers, online retailers, and other sources. Are they good eating?
I was curious if this species will die after spawning. I've watched a Lake Tanganyika documentary where Emperor Cichlid parents continued to care for their eggs and fry after spawning. If one parent were to die, I would think that the female is more likely to die since she quits eating a week before laying her eggs. That gave me some concern for my long awaiting Emperor Cichlid breeding project, so I did some research. I discovered this article on multiple spawns with a pair of Emperor Cichlids: Bred In Aquarium: Boulengerochromis microlepsis by Kjell Fohrman | Cichlid Room Companion (cichlidae.com)
I did discover an article from a breeder stating that the female died after spawning due to her not eating. That didn't seem right since in some species the egg-carrying parent can go without food for a month. I usually strip the egg-holding parent to allow it to eat again and start spawning sooner. I let the pair have their first successful spawn, so the male and female learn how to successfully breed. The collected eggs are artificially hatched in my DIY egg tumblers--10-gallon tank with a sponge filter on a small powerhead pumping malachite green treated water into a PVC pipe, with 10 air valves to meter the flow to 10 individual tumblers. However, a female Emperor Cichlid can lay up to 10,000 eggs. If I ever did manage to have a pair of Emperor Cichlids spawn, I would have to let the female carry her eggs and hatch naturally, then collect the free-swimming fries.
See there's another problem, boulengerochromis are substrate spawners. They're not not eating because one is mouthbrooding, they're just not eating period.
