Yep, two females. Weird how they're not keen on pairing with the male. Cool to see this locale mature and colored up.
Sajica Cichlid -75 Gallon Set Up
- Thread starter platy21
- Start date
Short answer, yes. Long answer- I have mixed and unintended results when I move pairs of amatitlania I intend on spawning, though they usually result in successful spawns regardless, if that makes sense. For example, I'll move a pair of unpaired individuals out of a colony to pair them, let them spawn in another tank to solidify their bond, and then move them back into the main colony. I do this so there isn't one pair dominating the entire tank and there's something to kind of contest their reign over the tank. This also kick starts the colony dynamic and makes for a relatively peaceful and prolific setup, with multiple pairs spawning at once, and no one being able to hold a big enough territory to get violently aggressive. They get used to the idea of not being able to fend off everyone and pull the boundaries of their territories back to a reasonable and small area. Though the unintended part comes from the fact that most amatitlania pair up based on size, so when I put a pair I wanted to pair (and bonded in another tank) back in the colony, they're still in the mood for spawning, but now have a wider variety of mates, so they kinda mix and match partners until they're all arranged by size. I'm not sure if sajica does any of this though, since sajica is the black sheep of the family and is kind of a weird one, and from what I've seen isn't really keen on colony breeding. Still wouldn't hurt to narrow their mate selection down to individual members of the opposite sex. Not sure what the dynamic would be like if you moved a pair back, but I guess as long as one pair stays bonded in the main tank, given your intention is breeding, things should turn out well.
The two females seem to be the only bonded pair. The largest male and another female I have a feeling could become a pair. They generally hang out in the same area, but the male is incredibly shy. I am going to move those two to my 90 gallon and see how they fair as the male is now quite stressed due to the aggressiveness of the bonded female pair. That will leave me with one small male, who is much smaller than the others but less bothered by the paired females, in the 75 with that pair. Considering I want to breed I may also break up the female pair as that’s obviously unproductive. Unless in your experience it’d be better to split the female female pair and move one to the 90?
Yes
I also have experience with female pairs, and while it is evidently unproductive, they will also eventually either split on their own once they realize "this isn't working" or get aggressive with eachother when they get tired of the constantly failing broods
Interestingly they are now mostly ignoring each other but and neglected the spawning site, allowing sand to shift back. But they are still aggressive to the rest of the group; one of them particularly so. Would you recommend splitting one of these bonded females and adding a male with her to the 90, or just let her be a lone fish in that tank? I’d like to establish a colony dynamic as much as I can.
I'd pair off both your females in separate tanks, and let them all spawn at least once in their respective tanks before putting them back together in the 90. Sajica doesn't really for breeding colonies, but with the amount of space you have 2-3 pairs should tolerate eachother and alternate turns between spawning.
Been a while since an update. All five are still together and the largest male has started to put on some size and color. He used to be very shy but has started being more assertive. The two females who paired a few months ago haven’t paired again. One of those females dug out under a sponge filter and guarded the area for a while but was by herself and has lost interest in it. I am still unsure on sexing. The largest male is quite obviously male. He is the only one with the distinctive red on the fins, but another at one point had a little red but it disappeared. I’m not sure if this one is female or a sub dominate male trying to lay low? Anyone have an opinion? If I have two males I’m picking up a tank at the Petco 50% off sale to try and get two breeding pairs.
Male
Female
Female
Unsure, thought female but maybe male? Seems to be getting the most of the large males aggression
Female. Bad picture, I know.
Male
Female
Female
Unsure, thought female but maybe male? Seems to be getting the most of the large males aggression
Female. Bad picture, I know.
Better pictures of the group. The males fins are getting some nice color 
This guy is getting bigger by the day. Starting to see some interest in pairing off with a female.
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