I’ve been in the hobby for quite some time and while technologically the industry has never been as advanced and efficient, it also has never been as complicated for the home aquarist. So here I will try to give you some history and information on Cichlids, Cichlid breeding, what you will need and how to care for your Cichlids.
June 7th, 2009 on 8:32 pm
PLEASE read the whole thing. i know it is lengthy, but i am desperate!!!!! history: i bought 2 cichlids about 8 years ago. 7 yrs ago cichlid 1 killed cichlid 2. chichlid 1 was left ALONE in the tank for OVER A YEAR (something most people cannot grasp). SO the freaky part is that in April of 2005 this lone cichlid started having babies. Freaked out as i was, i started consulting web forums, university professors, pet store specialists… etc but no one could tell me why she (SHE???) was having babies. time passed… i’d get rid of a “litter” and she’d have another. this fish must have had over 100 babies. by her self. every body thought i was crazy. i’d give away the babies.. until one day i just said… f-it. maybe she needs to keep the babies so she will stop popping them out. that was 2007. i left the babies with her (3 survived) and she no longer reproduced. in june of 2008 she passed away, and me like a dumb ass with kids bawling in the background flushed her down the toilet….. then hours later realized I SHOULD HAVE SENT HER TO UNCW!!!!! so…. end of story right….. that is what is thought. the remaining fish within hours became agressive and long story short… within a couple weeks i had one lone chichlid… AGAIN. i was for real just getting ready to shut the tank down and give him to a willing pet shop when my kid yells down the stairs “MOM THE FISH HAD BABIES AGAIN!!!” So- here i am again, i am done with this whole process but has anyone had this happen before????? or is it the mary magdolene of fish????????????????????????????
June 7th, 2009 on 9:16 pm
Do you know what species it is? There are over 3000+ species of Cichlids, with many different means of reproduction. Identify the species and you shall get your answers.
June 8th, 2009 on 3:02 pm
it is your typical walmart basic cichlid. it is bright orange. i bought the original fish at walmart for about $4 several years back. thank you for your response.
June 8th, 2009 on 6:30 pm
it is a female Maylandia “msobo”. in the zebra cichlid family. i looked up a picture online.
June 8th, 2009 on 7:59 pm
I would suggest calling into http://petfishtalk.com this Wednesday or sending them an email, they may be quite interested in this and have some answers.