# Easiest Cichlid to breed



## Barywhy (Jun 27, 2010)

I want to breed Cichlids but been unsuccessful over years for one reason or another.

Can anyone advise on what is the easiest Cichild to breed. It is a new tank setup and is a large 4 x 2 x 2 ft tank with a lot of rocks in it with many hiding places.

Thanks In Advance


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

cichlids like brichardi from tanganyika, and convicts from central america breed like rabbits

i had some sp. 44's that bread constantly with only one female, so if you had 3-4 females you'd have a lot of fry

just make sure with whatever species you get, you have plenty of females, that might have been why you had difficulty getting fish to breed before


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## Barywhy (Jun 27, 2010)

Thanks,

I like the Lake Malawi Mbuna cichlids, due to the colours ranges.

Would you say these are harder to breed or easier than the above mentioned.

BaryWhy


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## gmaschke (Aug 23, 2008)

I think Mbuna are easy. The 1st ones I bred were Labidochromis yellow fin mbamba. They breed like rabbits. Also the more common yellow labs. Start with something a bit less aggressive as some mbuna are cold blooded killers if you don't have the right conditions. The peacocks breed easily as well but take a bit long. The Mbamba literally bred as fry.


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## 748johnd (Jun 30, 2007)

I'd like to know how to stop them from breeding other than having an all male tank.


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## wpk22 (Jan 17, 2010)

748johnd said:


> I'd like to know how to stop them from breeding other than having an all male tank.


you could start your own thread if you wanted....

but I would say that an easy solution is to get some catfish to eat the eggs......you cant really stop a pair from breeding IME. Maybe there is some way but I really doubt it.

back to the main thread I would say convicts are really easy to breed.


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## DGT (Mar 28, 2010)

I'm surprised that no one inquired about the OP's water conditions. It could be a major contributor to his problem!


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## wpk22 (Jan 17, 2010)

DGT said:


> I'm surprised that no one inquired about the OP's water conditions. It could be a major contributor to his problem!


Ah yes I was just answering on a basic level.....I didnt read the question fully 

let me ask the op, what type of fish were you unsuccessful with? and what was your stocking list and approach to getting your fish to breed?


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

my assumption was that he tried to do it as pairs, which would cause problems

also i have gone the water quality route before, using breeding cichlids to prove that someone's water quality must be fine, and it was quickly shot down because they stated (including a mod) that they have had cichlids breed in very poor conditions

while it probably could cause an issue, it may not be an end all to breeding

another question is, do you have trouble getting fish to mate, or do you have issues getting the fry to survive?

as docile as yellow labs are, since it's harder to tell males from females, i'd offer up the solution of sticking to dimorphic species that aren't super aggressive like cynos, if you get at least 4 females you should be good to go, saulosi would be another solution, also dems tend to breed like crazy, but they are really tough to keep compared to others


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## Barywhy (Jun 27, 2010)

OMG are you telling me that catfish will eat the babies etc? If so then I must confess that I used to keep catfish in the same tank 

I think the fish used to mate as they used to do that shimmering fin on quite a few occaisions and sometimes did see fry, although they didnt last long.

Water conditions were OK, cannot remember results but did match against the chart OK as well as agaisnt a chart or website that I checked it against for cichlids, as I understand that cichlids like the water slightly harder, hence putting rocks in there. I had very little or no plants in the tank.

When it came to types, I just used to go in the shop and say I will have 2 females and 1 male of those lake malawi cichlids please.

I think I have answered all questions, thanks for advise. Can I also ask that you include the full names, so I can look them up online and in my books as I am not familiar with the short naming convention.

P.S. I also had a cray fish.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

well your biggest issue is leaving the fry in the tank with adult fish and catfish, because they will all eat the fry, you HAVE to use a separate fry tank if you really want to be successful in raising fry, you aren't having breeding issues, you're having raising issues, it's not the fish's fault


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

really? 3 females and one male of those lake malawi cichlids?

personally i'd suggest doing a lot of research on the different species and try to make sure you have compatible fish as well as no cross breeding going on before you breed any fish


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## Barywhy (Jun 27, 2010)

I thought if they have sufficient hiding places then they would be OK in the same tank.

I hear what you are saying about research, which is what I am starting off on here. Once I know which fish to go for, then I can focus on becomming a basic SME on these and then using this as a baseline against other fish.


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## ejohnson (Nov 19, 2007)

convicts, put a pot in and they will lay there eggs all over the inside of it. They breed heaps trust me, easy to keep aswell.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

find something you like and we'll help you build off of that

there is a profile section here that has pictures and descriptions of a lot of malawi cichlids, as well as other types, browse through and find a species or two you like


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## phillipatomus (Aug 5, 2008)

I got five 1.5 inch rusties 5 months ago. I have already had four moms with eggs. They are breeding so much they are not growing very fast. Try some rusties


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