Breeding advice

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Mythic Figment

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 27, 2012
2,117
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Florida
So I have a 20 high and will have some 40 breeders open soon and I want to breed a cichlid that is reasonably profitable that not a lot of people breed. I am not looking to make a ton of money, but I want something that will have fry that will be relatively easy to move. I have done a bit of research and Africans are outside my normal realm as I keep only SA cichlids currently, so any pointers in general care and breeding tips are greatly appreciated.

So I obviously want something fairly small because of the available tank sizes I have, though I can look into getting a larger tank if necessary. My first thoughts were of SA rams, but they have all been done to death with the exception of electric blues, which I am still considering (the big downside is their reported infertility which could mean I have to buy many adults before I find a fertile, producing pair). I then went to some smaller CA cichlids, but dismissed them due to aggression and difficulty moving fry. Then someone recommended the striped kribensis, Pelvicachromis taeniatus 'Moliwe'. I loved the coloration of this fish and its milder manner. The downside is I have no idea what my local market would be like for them. They look similar to the standard krib to anyone who doesn't know what they are looking at/for (and let's face it, a pretty big chunk of sales in stores will be to people that are pretty new to the hobby), so I am not sure it would stand out enough to make the fry easier to move. The only people I can think would be interested would be hobbyists who can tell the differences in coloration and are actively seeking them out.

Now I have found a fish called a Demasoni cichlid. I absolutely love the coloration of this fish. I am a huge black and blue fan. LOL But as I said earlier, I have limited knowledge in African cichlids. I am looking to find out a few things about it. Is it easy, intermediate, or hard to breed? I know it's recommended that they be kept in 1 male and 3 female sets for breeding, so can I house 4 of these in a 40 or 55? How bad are conspecifics? What is the frequency and quantity of these fish's spawns?


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Unless you plan on shipping fish or breeding 20 different species, no fish will be considerably profitable because your market will quickly become flooded with your fish and therefore less desirable.

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I do plan to eventually get into shipping, but I want to get my feet wet with local sales first.

And I should clarify that I am not looking for profit, but money to help offset the costs of the hobby. Which basically is profit since its not taking money from my paychecks. Not looking to start a fish store....not yet anyways. LOL


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Mythic Figment said:
I do plan to eventually get into shipping, but I want to get my feet wet with local sales first.

And I should clarify that I am not looking for profit, but money to help offset the costs of the hobby. Which basically is profit since its not taking money from my paychecks. Not looking to start a fish store....not yet anyways. LOL


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Click to expand...

Then to get your best bang for your buck, I'd suggest looking on craigslist. See what's already in your area and pick fish to breed that aren't currently available. Also rotating what you breed every six months to a year will help.

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I'd recommend keeping (and breeding) fish that you enjoy rather than picking something that could, possibly be a money-maker...especially if you have a limited number and size of tanks.

Matt
 
Demasoni are great. Easily bred but you need bigger group than 4(i always go 8 or more with demasoni because of aggression) and you could probably house 10 or more in a 40 breeder. They are small(mbuna) ive kept 35+ mbuna in a 70 gallon with no problems. Just keep up on maintenance. They sell good but are becoming harder to find. I generally stock my tanks based on 1" of fish per gallon with normal filtration and i over filter my tanks if im stocking more than 1" per gallon. Make sure you get some texas holey rock or make some cool formations out of other rock so they have plenty of hiding spots and stuff. I believe holey rock buffers the water too to maintain a higher pH(correct me if im wrong). Big male Demasoni can be nasty tempered which makes them fun to observe because they are always active.
 
dogofwar said:
I'd recommend keeping (and breeding) fish that you enjoy rather than picking something that could, possibly be a money-maker...especially if you have a limited number and size of tanks.

Matt
Click to expand...

I already have 6 3" geo red heads I am hoping will form a pair or two since I've wanted to breed them for a while. I also want to breed notatus severum, but don't have the space to do it. I can't settle on something I really want to breed that is smaller because I think I enjoy the large cichlids more. I like the kribs, but am not in love with them (hopefully you all understand that in a non-beastiality kind of way LOL). I think I will just hold off on getting another fish to breed for now and come back to it if I find a fish I really want to raise or I get the room to raise notatus sevs.


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