~PALESTINE ♥ FOREVER~ wants to know:
I have other African cichlids in my fish tank. And my African cichlid has layed eggs on top of our water filter in the tank.I know this is her eggs because she is always staying around the eggs.so what should i do with the eggs? and what should i do with the fish that hatches. by the way she layed four eggs.
I have other African cichlids in my fish tank. And my African cichlid has layed eggs on top of our water filter in the tank.I know this is her eggs because she is always staying around the eggs.so what should i do with the eggs? and what should i do with the fish that hatches. by the way she layed four eggs.
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:18 am
Cichlid’s are fish known to take care, and raise their young until they hatch. They start by laying the eggs, and then the male goes about fertilizing them by swimming very close to them, and injecting fish sperm, I guess you could call it, into them. After a day or two, you will see that some eggs will have turned white, and there may be fuzz around the edges. This means that those eggs have not fertilized, and therefore have died. No need to worry about this, the parents will take care of this themselves, or the unfertilized eggs will just fall to the bottom.
Usually they lay more than four eggs. Make sure you wait more, she will probably go around and lay more. The females usually make rows, and rows of eggs, and about 40% of them all hatch, and only about 10%-20% actually survive, and grow to be adults.
Do you know for sure that she has a mate? Cichlid’s mate for life, and pick their own mate, so the other males in her tank might not even be there to fertilize the eggs of a strange female. If she does not have a mate, then just remove the eggs, they are not going to get fertilized either way.
If she DOES have a mate, and you see him going up behind her and touching each egg, then it is only a matter of time until they hatch. If your Cichlid’s are fed properly, and if all the water levels, like pH, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite are perfect, and if the tank is not overcrowded, then there will be no problem with the parents eating their young. You do not need to remove them once/if they hatch, because the parents will do all the work.
Just remember, for the babies, be sure to feed them crushed up tropical flakes/pellets in very fine powder to fit into their tiny mouths.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Woah woah woah here. Woah Nellie indeed. Almost 90% of all Africans are MOUTH BROODERS for the other answerer here. If you see eggs in the tank, it probably means they’ve been ditched by the female. However, since about 10% do lay eggs, in order for you to have any level of accuracy in your answer, you have to name the species, not just saying Africans. Like I was saying, MOST Africans are maternal mouthbrooders and the female will hold the eggs in her mouth, after or during fertilization for 2-3 weeks and spit the babies out. I have a very strong feeling, if you follow any advice about egg care and all that, you are wasting your time. I seriously doubt you are going to get any fry and the female just got too stressed or wasn’t ready. Need the species to confirm this or if you bought this without asking what species, pictures please?
Let’s also clear up this misnomer as well about the word cichlid and parental care too. SOUTH AMERICAN types are great parents in regard that both the male and female protect their breeding site and most are egg layers. AFRICANS however is a completely different story. Female Africans, since most are mouth brooders are the care giver. The father or other males in a tank can and WILL eat the fry. They do not distingush their own offspring and in order to get fry from mouth brooders, it’s necessary to isolate the holding female to her own tank, or risk a couple things. One being the fry being eaten or two the female getting harassed into spawning again too soon and die from that. Females that spit out a brood should be given 1-2 weeks recovery in the tank with the fry only before going back in the main tank. Please, tell the species or post a picture of the fish in question.