[Newcomer]

hey guys. been looking around this site for a couple of months now and finaly decided to join.

i kept tropical for about a year and got board so moved onto malawis.. i also keep a needlenose (gar) fish in a seperate tank on its own. i think they were breeding today. the fish were shaking very quickly and the other fish scooped under its belly. then they swapped turns. i rung up a shop and they said it was aggression. any ideas people?

Nc :dancing: :fish:

 

[why_spyder]

i think they were breeding today. the fish were shaking very quickly and the other fish scooped under its belly. then they swapped turns.

Was there anything that was getting picked up? Or where they just going through the motions?

What Malawians do you have?

 

[Newcomer]

dont think it was picking anything up. im not sure of names. ill upload a pic

 

[Newcomer]

soz about pic quality. there very fast

all i know is i have 2 blue zebras. and i bought a livingstoni today[/img]

 

[why_spyder]

I see a mix of Malawians and at least one West African (in the last picture).

How big of a tank is this? I see a Ps. crabro, Ps. demasoni, I. sprengerae, and a Melanochromis species (I don't keep track of these species very much).

 

[Newcomer]

any reason why u dont? it is a 4 ft tank. am upgrading to a 6ft hopfully at the end of next month if it has not been sold allready. so how do u tell if there holding eggs etc?

 

[CichlidWhisperer]

If one is holding eggs, she won't eat and will probably keep her mouth pretty closed most of the time. You may notice a swelling under her chin as well, although I have found this to be very subtle in first time holders. You may also notice her rolling the eggs; I am not sure how to describe this action, but it does look like they are moving around something in their mouth and throat. Hope this helps some.

 

[Newcomer]

ill keep an eye out for it. but its the livvingstoni or w/e its called that i put in today that was doing this breeding action. it and the other fish where really protective over the area they were doing it in and would fight of any other fish that came near. pretty much as soon as i put it in they stated.

 

[CichlidWhisperer]

I suspect it was simply aggression if it started the moment you put the new fish in the tank.

 

[Newcomer]

ok thanx alot. just one last question for now. do they have to be the same species to breed?

 

[dielikemoviestars]

They don't, but they should. A lot of cichlid keepers are avidly anti-hybrids. A forum search should show you enough on the topic to last you a week or three.

 

[CichlidWhisperer]

Definitely not! Cichlids will breed among themselves. Some are more likely to crossbreed than others though, but most can crossbreed with most others. Unless you keep a group of the same species or you have an all male or all female tank, crossbreeding will probably occur! Even if you have multiple females for a male of each species, unless you keep species specific tanks, there is a risk for crossbreeding.

 

[Newcomer]

kool. thanx for the advice tonight people. very thnkfull. off to bed now but will post here if i have any problems or questions. thanx again

Nc :zz: