Shmoo Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Can anyone please suggest foods that help prep Cichlids for breeding? I have Yellows that I would like to breed, and also some Peacocks and Demasonis? Also would I be best to separate them to get them to breed? I am unsure what sex my demasonis are. Can anyone tell me how to do this? Can't breed them if I don't have a pair :roll: Thanks and I look forward to your replies Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 personally i feel a good varied diet will suffice and they will breed when ready live food can help dems i think you need to colony breed or the male may kill the female, some recommend at leadt 12 some cichlids freely interbreed so seperate tanks is a must with some species Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si_sphinx Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Did those peacocks hold their eggs? i never really feed them anything special. they should just do it themselves when they are ready as the females eat when they have a mouth full of eggs or fry anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmoo Posted January 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Hi Simon, I am unsure if they held them as they are always hiding. Good sign maybe? I will have to get some more of them though at some stage. Don't tell hubby LOL I sooo want my fish to have babies!!! Do I have to take them out of tank if they are holding or have babies? Not really sure what to when it comes to breeding as I've never been that lucky yet :-? Ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 Yellows/peacocks and demasoni should all breed ok in the same tank there is a minimal risk of creating hybrids (assuming you only have one type of peacock in that that is). As livingart has mentioned demasoni are colony forming fish and you should ideally start out with 12 fish or 1m and 6-7females as the males are very hard on the girls and other males as well. To have a higher chance of the females lasting you should also have 2+females per male yellow and peacock as well. The best food is a variety as livingart has suggested but lean more towards a vege type diet for the demasoni as they are vegetarians by nature. So get some spirulina flake, some good quality normal flake and maybe some pellet based food and just mix it up. They will also do well on homemade frozen foods or jus cocktail shrimp blended up for a special treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si_sphinx Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 After a few weeks when the fry are free swimming you can strip the females or you can move them to a separate tank with the same water until they release them. it will take a few goes but you will get the hang of it. If i was you i wouldn't worry about trying to keep the fry until the females get a bit bigger as you will get more fry then. just let her release in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 There is plenty of discussion on here about stripping or transferring the fish and letting them spit naturally if you use the search function and search for holding or stripping or something like that you fill find tons of info that we end up typing over and over again lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.PROPHECY Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 i found when i was breeding some africans that a 20% cold water change would get them breeding, as long as the female is well condition that is. but so be honest it doesnt take much to breed most africans , good water conditions and proper diet and they will spawn for you eventuly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 I 'm with A.prophecy I let the fish alone and feed a varied diet for a few weeks, even missing water changes. Then a big water change-I do 50%- and I've tried ramping up and decreasing temp at this time but both scenarios tend to work. I have a 100ltr 3 ft tank that I use for breeding and in that case I use 50ltrs from the tank fish came in and 50% fresh. this also works. If you have more than one tank then taking male away and reintroducing to females can work also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 i don't think it has to do with what you feed, if they have enough condition they will breed. i think its more to do with water or certain times of the year, i had very few spawns for a while then all of a sudden i had 6 females holding in 3 different tanks & i hadn't changed my routine & it wasn't after water changes. i know there was similar talk from others on here at the same time so maybe its gravity or something that sets them off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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