General African Cichlid Discussion

by **UpToTheGills** » Sun Feb 26, 2012 4:35 pm

Hey all. I'm setting up a 29g for breeding and trying to figure out what I'd like to breed. What would be both valuable and fitting for a 29g?

Also, I like the idea of the CARES program and wonder if anything could fit in a 29g that would be beneficial to breed for conservation reasons.

by **AfricanLove** » Sun Feb 26, 2012 10:40 pm

Really Im just guessing from a another post but some one breeds jewels in a 29 I think but someone will chime in and say if Im wrong. So my answer is a pair of Jewels

by **ILCichlid** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:09 am

I would never do jewels in a 29...You won't have a pair for long.

by **kenko** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 1:21 pm

Are you sticking to Africans? There are some really cool south american dwarfs...

Or, what about a group of shellies like brevis or ocellatus? They can stay with the parents without the need for a grow-out tank.

by **UpToTheGills** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:20 am

I would like to stick to Africans. My water is much more suited to them (high pH).

Ocellatus may be a good bet. Not sure those would pay for their costs though. I'm basically looking to get another tank going and have it support itself financially :lol:

by **quentin8** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:42 am

UpToTheGills

I'm basically looking to get another tank going and have it support itself financially

LOL when ever you find that let me know... :thumb:

by **DJRansome** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 8:08 am

UpToTheGills wrote:What would be both valuable

Raising fish is not for profit...by the time you count the cost of electricity, food and your hours it's a losing proposition even if you sell the fish for $50 each. :thumb:

by **UpToTheGills** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:46 pm

You're right. That's why ORA is in business

I actually knew a guy who was big in my area and tried it for many years in his garage but finally had to call it quits with a fairly large home operation.

But that isn't what I'm going for. I'm looking for a breed of fish which is profitable enough to pay for the cost of the electricity and water it takes to run it. That isn't that hard.

C. moori's in a 40g tank would probably do the trick. They breed like rabbits in my experience. Helianthus did as well. Neither are all that suitable for this size tank though. The Helianthus is a better fit, but not perfect.

by **mamospreng** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:22 pm

My pair of jewels has now has layed and raised fry I removed the first batch and they layed again in no time. i'm not sure why I wouldn't have a pair long I would like to hear the reasoning for that.

by **kenko** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:25 pm

I would go around to the LFS' in your area and see what is selling. What is hot will pay the bills...and you can figure out if demand is high enough for a particular species to support this tank through juvie sales.

Unless you wanted to sell through aquabid or a local classified...then you can follow those patterns of fish and sales.

If you shipped, you could increase your shipping margin - and rather than relying on fish revenue, you can support the tank through that.

Regardless, in order to make some money off one species you'll need to either sell what sells well, or find a niche and sell that. But with niche products, you'll need greater exposure over a larger area.

Just some thoughts...

by **mamospreng** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:27 pm

Also the guy at my lfs said he would give me 4 to 5 bucks each once they got to an inch... There is also nowhere else to get cichlids in my immediate area.

by **kenko** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:45 pm

Wow, what's the retail on those then, $10?
Good deal for you though... :thumb:

by **mamospreng** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:56 pm

Sorry forgot to mention it was store credit...sorry couldn't pay the bills but plan on getting some free fish for the 75 i'm setting up... Personally I like jewels for many reasons. Not hard to breed look beautiful and very good parents...you pretty much keep good water qualities and crush up some food...

by **UpToTheGills** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:31 pm

I have tentatively decided to go helianthus. Any other ideas than jewels out there? Preferably a rift lake cichlid?

by **kenko** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 12:02 am

You could get a trio of some afra Cobue, or similar. The males only get around 3.5" and females about 3". Put some rock work in there, but they are base diggers, so be cautious of that. You'd get a brood about every 6-8 weeks per female. Each spawn around 16-20. And some wild seem to have an albino gene. I have f1, and females spit about 3 albino every 2 broods average. Albino Cobue = slight premium. :thumb:

General African Cichlid Discussion • What to breed in 29g?

What to breed in 29g?

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