Mating Pair

[bunzplayer]

I believe I have a mated pair of African cichlids. I believe they, or at least one, is an electric yellow, and the other is mostly just yellow. Have had them now for about 18 mths. I think this one is the male




This one is the one carring the eggs....is this the Female? They just had about 10 offspring maybe 2 months ago. There are at least 5 of them that already have that yellowish look to them, the rest are striped.


Questions: Will they stay a mated pair for their lives?
Which carries the eggs?
Would it make sense to keep them in their own setup?
How big of an enclosure do I need for a growing family of these fish?
Is the male usually the bigger?

Any thoughts, suggestions, or info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

[AcsFoolMike]

I'm sure someone on here can help you (however I can't) but you might want to post this in the African forum for some better responses.

 

[rrcoolj]

Mbunas (which is the type of african cichlids you have) don't form pair bonds but breed harem style or several females to a male. Having one female and one male means the female will be harrased and possibly killed by the male. It is suggested you keep atleast 2-3 females per male. I would reccomend atleast a 30 gallon for a breeding group of 1m and 3f labidochromis caeruleus(SP?) or your little yellow fish. And yes the females carry the eggs. They can be kept and bred in a community setup because yellow labs are pretty prolific.

Nice fish you have there. Makes me miss mine.