more males of females?

[scott28]

when breeding cichlids, is it better to have multiple males and one female or multiple females and one male?

 

[ichthyology]

It really depends on a number of factors. If the fish are large and the males set-up territories, you may not have the room for more than one male. If the pair form a semi-permanant pair bond, once a pair is formed, the extra fish just get in the way. If the fish show any type of parental care, that will be another thing to keep in mind. What species you want to raise is another concern....

 

[scott28]

im thinking of raising jack dempseys because i already have one female, and i dont think i can just buy a male and expect fry, so i may try several females and one male.

 

[nolapete]

You may get lucky. Try to find a male around the same size as your female and see what happens. Put a divider between them initially so they can get to know each other by looking but not being able to beat the life out of each other.

 

[mitch4ya]

Depending upon which cichlids we are talking about I would say the majority prefer one male to multiple females.

 

[barley pop]

i agree 1 male and a 2-3 females. let a pair form then get rid of the extra