Spawning behavior
During courting, the male will pick a flat rock or similar to be used as spawning site. You should therefore include a flat rock in the aquarium set up if you want them to breed. This behavior distinguishes Otopharynx lithobates from most other commonly kept Malawi cichlids, since building a concave gravel pit and depositing the eggs inside is much more common.
The male Otopharynx lithobates will display intense coloration and vigorously wiggle his body back and fort in order to impress the female. During the actual spawning, the two fishes will circle each other and the female will release the eggs at the spawning site. The male fertilize them as the female picks them up using her mouth. Otopharynx lithobates is a maternal mouth brooder and the female will brood for roughly three weeks. It is not uncommon for a female to spit the eggs prematurely, especially during her first few spawnings. There are also huge individual variations where some females are great mothers while others never really seem to get it right.
