[mhhauser321]

I was intrested in breeding some cichlids and i wanted to breed the ones that are mouthbrooders. I am fairly new to it but i do have some experience so i was wondering which cichlid would be a good mouthbrooder to breed.

matt

 

[mhhauser321]

Check it

i found this article that gave me this information check it out and see what you think, is it reliable.

Kribs offer the best chance of picking out a pair and breeding them; they're very easy to sex, easy to breed and are excellent parents with fascinating broodcare. The convict is fairly easy to sex and difficult to stop breeding! If you like mouthbrooders, try the Egyptian mouthbrooder, the mozzie or A. burtoni, depending on your tank size. Mozzies and A. burtoni are easy to breed, but there is only a limited market for the young because they are so prolific.

other listed easy to breed mouthbrooders

Egyptian mouthbrooder (Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor)
P. philander
Astatotilapia burtoni
redhumps (Geophagus steindachneri)
Mozambique mouthbrooder or mozzie (O. mossambicus)
Labidochromis caeruleus

 

[mhhauser321]

i am leaning more towards this fish
Labidochromis caeruleus

 

[hooha]

yellow labs are cool...they will need alkaline water for breeding.

fyi, convicts and kribs are egglayers

 

[toddnbecka]

Actually all cichlids are egglayers, convicts and krib's are substrate and cave spawners, respectively. Most of the cichlids from Lake Malawi are mouthbrooders. L. caeruleus aka yellow lab's are one of the milder species regarding aggression. What size tank do you have for the fish?

 

[hooha]

yeesh, substrate spawners is what i meant
i.e. not mouthbrooders

 

[eklikewhoa]

Tropheus
Petrochromis
Frontosa

 

[Left C]

I just got a threesome of Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi. They're a small (up to 3½") West African cichlid that's a mouth brooder. They're colorful but they can be...uh....well, like a cichlid.

http://www.gcca.net/fom/Pseudocrenilabrus_nicholsi.htm
http://www.african-cichlid.com/nicholsi.htm
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/cichlid_of_month/Pseudocrenilabrus_nicholsi.html

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Labs are cool, but I like the Kribs more. They're a lot less agressive for an African. You'll want a species tank, no plants, Dolomite gravel to give them the right H2O conditions and lots of stone hiding places. Slate stacked like an apartment complex works well. it gives the fish all individual "garages" to keep as their individual territory and helps keep the bickering down. Also, you need to start out with more than you want to end up with because they're REALLY territorial and will set up a pecking order that will cause the loss of some of the weaker fish. It's unfortunate, but that's just how they are. Also, If you want more than one kind, get them all at once as they don't take kindly to newbies in the neighborhood once it's established.

Tommy

 

[dufus]

Kribs are not mouthbrooders. labs breed with any kind of mouthbrooder, lab or not, so i'd say they, and kenyi are the easiest mouthbrooders. they are all very aggressive htough, and will ussually dimolesicrate plants.

 

[Lupin]

How about the Geophagus species?:hihi: They don't use the mouthbrooding method but the way they take care of their fry is similar to mouthbrooding cichlids. The fry hide inside their mouth.:smile:

 

[mhhauser321]

thanks alot guys for your thoughts.

Right now i have a 20gallon long in the works gettind ready to become my next breeding tank. I have pretty much decided that i will bred yellow labs and i will probably try to get a harem or a group of 1male with 2-3 females.

thanks

matt

p.s: to dufus: whats a kenyi?

 

[joejoeg]

kenyi is a african chiclid aswell, light blue in color with darker blue bars, almost zebra like.

http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/african-cichlids/kenyi/100002.asp
thats a link to a kenyi page i found on google.

 

[Left C]

The Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi that I mentioned are mouthbrooders that like planted tanks and can live fine in softer water like Kribs. They're not like cichlids from Lakes Malawi, Tanganyika and Victoria which like harder water.

 

[joejoeg]

Left C, those fish are wicked , ide go with those to . we have those in a work right now

 

[Left C]

Left C, those fish are wicked , ide go with those to . we have those in a work right now

Joe, my mouth dropped a little when I saw them at the LFS. It is the first time that they bought them and I have never seen them before. They're really pretty. The LFS owner had some pictures of them in their breeding colors. The male is much more colorful in his breeding colors. The male is a very good "varmintcong hunter" as well! Dwarf cichlids are my favorite fish so I'm a sucker anyway.

 

[joejoeg]

unfortunitly not many people have noticed these pretty guys at work.

 

[ArkValleyCichlidLover]

I gotta speak up here, the 20 long is way too small for a group of labs much less 3.
Are you prepared to raise the multitude of fry that most cichlids produce?
Do you have a grow out tank? Source for the juveniles to buy or trade?
What is your tap PH?

 

[joejoeg]

very well said Ark.

 

[SilverSurfer]

Mouthbrooder for that size tank, hmmm. Kinda limited. Always fond of apistogramma' species and their parental skills along with pelvichromis that could be kept in that size tank but they arent mouthbrooding, but they do occasionally catch the fry with their mouths if that counts? lol