African cichlid breeding malawi + frontosas

[Bara fisk]

Hi! i currently have some golden lab + red zebra + peacock ob + melanochromis auratus , currently 12 golden 12 zebras 3 ob's and X melo's ( she's holding ) , currently the babies are in a 5g and im planning to move them soon ( they're about half a inch atm ) when should i move them and to what tank ? , i have a 15g that im currently trying my luck with some peacock ob's in they were in my 55g , also i have a 100g with alot of malawis = dolphins+redzebras+goldens+hongi / cynotilapia something cant remember the exact name sadly, or my 190g frontosa tank , im kind of considering the 190g actually since they are so small i highly doubt they will bother my fronts at all since my fronts are about 2-8 inches atm i guess im more scared of the fronts eating them actually, What would you guys do ?


http://www.aquaticanada.com/?product=auratus

 

[The Morning]

If you want any fry to survive you either need to provide a ton of hiding spaces (and even then many will be eaten) or grow them out in a separate tank. I have yet to see an African cichlid that will not make the most of the opportunity for a free meal.

 

[Bara fisk]

If you want any fry to survive you either need to provide a ton of hiding spaces (and even then many will be eaten) or grow them out in a separate tank. I have yet to see an African cichlid that will not make the most of the opportunity for a free meal.

hi thanks for reply!

but frontosas killing small mbunas ? i've seen and heard that they are more predetory and therefore eat alot of protein , but i've never really seen any huge aggression / fights over food etc they seem really really calm and ''humble'' , then again anything can happen i guess , would you even consider it if the fry was 1 or 1.5 inches?

 

[deeda]

What is your long term plan for the fry?

Are all the adult golden labs and red zebras in the same tank, if so there is more than likely some cross species breeding going on?

 

[Bara fisk]

What is your long term plan for the fry?

Are all the adult golden labs and red zebras in the same tank, if so there is more than likely some cross species breeding going on?

Honestly im kinda new to africans cichlids , i just had some golden labs and this other species that looks very very similar to the hongi cihlids so im just gonna call them that , so goldens + hongis then 1 day one of the goldens had frys then it just evovled from there and i decided to go all in on africanrs not really planning ahead , i bought just 1 red zebra pair and the female had some fry when i bought her that she spit out. same with my peacock OB she was also holding when i got her so im a little all over the place ^^ only my golden + melano something ( the yellow female and black male ) is my '' real fry'' so crossbreeding im not really sure about! funny enough the red zebra had 3 of her babies coming out all black meanwhile the other 9 is orange could that just be males or is that crossbreeding you think? also im really really enjoying aulonacars should i be worried about them crossbreeding and if they do what actually happens does all / most of the fry die or simply come out sick? i currently have 2x aulonacaras ''firefish'' 1 albino 1 normal red , 2 ''icebergs'' and 2 more that im not really sure about name wise , if you have some time and could try identifying those i would love that here's a video near impossible to get photos of them all ... ( i've taken out the 3x Ob's !)

 

[Bara fisk]

What is your long term plan for the fry?

Are all the adult golden labs and red zebras in the same tank, if so there is more than likely some cross species breeding going on?

Sry for alot of text but . i forgot your first question : ''What is your long term plan for the fry?'' > still not sure they're really small i would like to keep some since its my first batch ever should i be worried about incest if i decide to keep them and but them bakc with the parents or does that matter im honestly very new to fish breeding and therefore really enjoying africans since they seem rather easy since they're mouthbrooders !

 

[deeda]

I've asked for this topic to be moved to Rift Lake Cichlid forum for help with ID'ing your fish.

Yes Mbuna cichlids will breed with other Mbuna cichlids and the fry will be considered cross species or often called cross breeds. The same is true of Aulonocara peacocks although you already have at least 2 which are the 'firefish'.

The fry of both Mbuna and Aulonocara won't die or come out sick because of these crosses, they just don't have any value to other hobbyists that may want to buy them and breed them as a 'pure' species. I would just plan to keep any offspring in your tanks for their lifetime and enjoy the colors if that is what you enjoy seeing. Unfortunately you will need to set up quite a few tanks as these fish can breed monthly for a few years.

 

[Bara fisk]

I've asked for this topic to be moved to Rift Lake Cichlid forum for help with ID'ing your fish.

Yes Mbuna cichlids will breed with other Mbuna cichlids and the fry will be considered cross species or often called cross breeds. The same is true of Aulonocara peacocks although you already have at least 2 which are the 'firefish'.

The fry of both Mbuna and Aulonocara won't die or come out sick because of these crosses, they just don't have any value to other hobbyists that may want to buy them and breed them as a 'pure' species. I would just plan to keep any offspring in your tanks for their lifetime and enjoy the colors if that is what you enjoy seeing. Unfortunately you will need to set up quite a few tanks as these fish can breed monthly for a few years.

Im not really breeding for profit or anything atm im just trying it out really and having fun with it , if i do sell i will tell the buyer that they might be crossbreeds but i guess the safest thing to do is to sell the babies whne they are atleast half their max size and colored out, im guessing its alot easier to see then , thanks for the information <3

 

[DJRansome]

It would be ideal (a) not to create hybrids, because then you can raise for fun and sell if you get too many. All happy and lots of options. However if you do create hybrids and intentionally raise the fry, it would be better for the hobby to keep them in your tanks for their lifetime...average 8 years for Malawi. What happens is the buyer puts a pic of his fish on another website for ID and if another hobbyist tells him they look like Labidochromis caeruleus (for example), then we have hybrids being sold as pure fish. Accidentally, but still not good for the hobby.

The reason fishkeepers are so careful not to create hybrids is because they don't have unlimited tanks to keep them and they want to avoid euthanizing cute, healthy fish at all costs.

Malawi spawn so easily that if you decide you want to save fry, it is easy to set up a tank with 1m:4 of pure fish and save fry from the tank created for the purpose.

 

[Bara fisk]

It would be ideal (a) not to create hybrids, because then you can raise for fun and sell if you get too many. All happy and lots of options. However if you do create hybrids and intentionally raise the fry, it would be better for the hobby to keep them in your tanks for their lifetime...average 8 years for Malawi. What happens is the buyer puts a pic of his fish on another website for ID and if another hobbyist tells him they look like Labidochromis caeruleus (for example), then we have hybrids being sold as pure fish. Accidentally, but still not good for the hobby.

The reason fishkeepers are so careful not to create hybrids is because they don't have unlimited tanks to keep them and they want to avoid euthanizing cute, healthy fish at all costs.

Malawi spawn so easily that if you decide you want to save fry, it is easy to set up a tank with 1m:4 of pure fish and save fry from the tank created for the purpose.

Fair enough maybe im wierd but im kinda in to hybrids like flowerhorns and such i get that its a totally different fish but i hope you get my point , like getting new colors / patterns etc my plan really is just to enjoy it and experment with it a little that being said not killing them on purpose or anything but not really having way to high expectations , i really dont wanna have to deal with the pressure of selling and having complaints only for a few bucks , rather keep the babies and then retire the parents once i feel i have enough atm i do have a few options i might just add a TON of malawis in my 190g and remove most of my fronts but only keep a proven pair alone in my 100g or something like that still not sure im just trying to get as much experience and have as much fun as i can while i live at home so that i know exactly which fish i want and dont want once i get my own fishroom/store or whatever the future holds for me !