When the female cichlid has a mouthful of eggs, her throat expands, and she can barely close her mouth fully. Mouthbrooding cichlids have a unique throat pouch called the buccal cavity, where they store the eggs once they are fertilized. The females will go out and about only after her fry come of age.Ĭichlid’s Mouth Area Will Get Enlarged And SwollenĬredits: ellenm1 on Flickr under Creative Commons They will become intolerant of other prying fish and bottom dwellers at this time. In the case of substrate brooders, you will see them carefully cleaning and guarding the brooding pit against inquisitive visitors.Īlso, naturally, the matriarchs will become very defensive when caring for their eggs. This is especially true for mouthbrooders. So, during mating season, your tank’s going to look a lot more lively and striking.Ī pregnant cichlid will usually keep to herself – hiding in the nooks and crannies of the tank and distancing herself from the usual school. Interestingly, males are also known to develop richer color to woo the female. In substrate brooding cichlids, the female’s color transition is a message for the male to search for a suitable place for eggs. This is an evolutionary trait – signifying the female is ready to mate. When a female cichlid is pregnant, she will develop brighter and more intense coloration. In species where the male and female look identical, this usually is the first tip-off. In addition, you can notice the broad side-to-side appearance in the areas near the anal fin.Įven at first glance, you can see the pregnant cichlid is considerably broader than her male counterparts. The signs of pregnancy somewhat differ between mouth brooders and substrate brooders.įemale cichlids develop eggs in their belly – causing the mid regions to appear swollen and rounder. Some examples of substrate-laying cichlids are airy cichlids, convict cichlids, and jewel cichlids. Usually, males are tasked with finding the suitable surface for laying eggs. On the other hand, the substrate brooding cichlid will lay her eggs on a flat surface and tend them until they hatch. Some examples of mouthbrooding cichlids are humphead cichlid, tropheus cichlid, demasoni cichlid, and livingstonii cichlid. Once the eggs are laid, the mouthbrooding cichlid will scoop them into her mouth and incubate them for around 3 weeks. Mouthbrooding Cichlids VS Substrate Brooding CichlidsĬredits: calwhiz and yu-chan chen on Flickr under CC license Let’s look at them and some more signs in detail below.īut before that, it’s essential to know the type of cichlid you have. These are the most prominent tell-tale signs of pregnancy in cichlids. Likewise, she will develop more intense colors, appear aloof and defensive, and lose her appetite. When a female cichlid is carrying eggs, her mouth or abdomen area will appear rounder and plump depending on the stage of pregnancy. Is my cichlid pregnant or just bloated? Is it a mouth brooder or substrate brooder? But most importantly, is it even pregnant? How does one know?ĭon’t worry – in today’s blog, I’ll walk you through it all – one question at a time. But as easy as it sounds on paper, breeding cichlids and taking care of pregnant parties can be pretty daunting for a newbie. They lend your aquarium that vibrant and colorful saltwater looks without the hassle that tags along in saltwater tanks. That's back when I used to keep my fry tanks barren, but when I provided cover it's hard for the mother to reclaim them.Image credits: ellnm1 on Flickr under Creative Commons licenseĬichlids are my favorite aquarium fish to ever exist. It wasn't till about 5 days later that she spat the fry out for good. She released them two days later and reclaimed them all when I approached and stayed near the tank. I went to get my camera and when I came back the fry were all gone and her mouth was full of fry again. I recall one of my msobo's spat out a bunch of fry. I've also had very protective mother mbuna's reclaim their fry. I'd wager that after a week an experienced mother might try to eat her fry. I've had mothers remain with their fry sometimes up to 4 or 5 days after releasing them. Their maternal instincts will wane as the days pass. I've never lost mbuna fry by the mother's actions, or from other mothers (my mouth brooding red zebra ignored the dozens of acei fry in the tank). I also keep the tank un-illuminated the entire time (the tank receives light from the window or room but not from an aquarium light) and feed her as soon as she's spat them all for good. But I also place a lot of cover in my fry tanks (floating plastic plants, peanut m&m-size pebbles and what not. Fortunately I've never seen a mother mbuna cannibalize her own fry and I've reared many batches of various species of mbuna fry.
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