Juvenile Kenyi Cichlids

[smcknight]

Ok, I have a question. I have 12 Kenyi fry all between the sizes of 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch. Right now they are all bluish-purple.

What I would like to know is:
1) What size/age do they need to be before I can tell if they're male or female?

2) How old/big do they need to be before they start breeding?

3) Can anyone give me any advice on these guys? I'm a first time Kenyi mom.

Right now, they're temporarilary being held in a 15 gallon tank to grow out a bit. Soon as they get a bit bigger, I'm moving them into the main 125 gallon tank.

Thankyou!
Steph.

 

[mahemaheman85]

well i use to have 2 of them at about 3 inches and at that size i think Males are golden yellow and females are purple/blue with both having faded vertical bars on their body, but i dunno when they are small as yours, you probably wont be able to tell till they get a lil bigger, i would say they will probably breed around 1 and a half to 2 and a half inches, what will you be putting them with? these guys get pretty mean, best kept 1 male per 4 to 5 female

 

[smcknight]

The tank they're going in will be a species only tank. I knew the males were yellow. I may go buy their parents and get them accustomed to the tank. I got the fry for free since they were too small to sell and the petstore didn't want to raise fry.

From my reading, they like being hear rocky area's, right?

 

[mahemaheman85]

The tank they're going in will be a species only tank. I knew the males were yellow. I may go buy their parents and get them accustomed to the tank. I got the fry for free since they were too small to sell and the petstore didn't want to raise fry.

From my reading, they like being hear rocky area's, right?

ya they love caves, lots of caves not unlike most mbuna, and species only tank for these guys is definitely a good idea, but if your trying to breed them i would suggest not using brothers and sisters, maybe pick some up from a different lfs so you have some diversity

 

[smcknight]

Alright. I'll go out and get more then, tomarrow when I get paid. Would you recommend live rock?

 

[mahemaheman85]

live rock?? its fw. i would recommend using slate (easy to stack), but theres many choices, what do you use for substrate?? i use white sand mixed with argonite crushed coral, the coral helps buffer the ph and helps with nitrates, amonia, etc, and in my experiences mbuna love to sift through the sand

 

[smcknight]

I have naturally high PH 8.4. As for substrate, I use quartersize round rock.

 

[woofy]

Some kenyis will show there sex from as small as 1/2 inch. Ive raised many kenyi fry and ive noticed that at that size if they are already yellow they will stay yellow. If they are blue they still have some growing to do where they might turn yellow. Most girl will sho girls from really small. They love to hide, i had tons of rocks stackd in cave like formations and they just all pick a hole and claim it. IMO they will start breeding at 3-4" the female usually is bigger than the male when they start breeding. Ive had them with mixed africans before in large tanks and i really dont see any aggression. cool little fish

 

[smcknight]

Sorry woofy, I didn't see your message My kenyi are growing quickly. On some of the kenyi, I'm seeing that some of them are becoming paler blue, while others, I think are showing traces of yellow. I can't really tell if its my light or not...or just the fact that I'm hoping to get at least 3 males out of the bunch. If I don't get any males out of the bunch, I'm trading some in for males. I would like to get a breeding population and just let nature take its course. I think I will hand raise and sell 2-3 batches a year, and let the rest survive on their own. What do you think?

 

[woofy]

they might reproduce more than that actually. You might end up removing 2-3 batches every 3 months or so. Cichlids are quick to get back on the breeding wagon when fry are removed. It takes my cichlids around 3 weeks or so after removing fry to already be with eggs or mouthfulls already. Dont let the colors full you whn they are so small ive seen 2-3" blues turn to yellows.