# Cichlids that care for their young



## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

I'm about to have some room in my secondary 55g breeder. We have a 75g show tank, and i also have a 10g fry/spare tank. This is where i'd like to keep my setup at. I could potentially replace the 10g with a 20g, but this would be the only room for leeway i have.

So, with that in mind, I'd like to breed some fish that don't require seperate homes for the parents and different generations of fish. I realize that this has it's limits, and you can't have 500 fish in a 55g, but i'd like to house them in 1 tank. I've heard that Lelupi (firecrackers) take care of their young well, and different generations can work in the same tank (i'd be selling off the bigger ones to keep the tank at appropriate levels). Does anyone know of any other fish where this setup might work as well?

Thanks in advance!


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## NJmomie (Jan 17, 2013)

So you want to add to the 55 or the 75 gallon? It would also be helpful if you let us know what you currently have in the tank where you plan to add new fish since recommendations will greatly depend on that.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Right now i have a batch of fish getting near selling size in the 55. So once they're all gone (maybe a month or so), i'm going to have a pretty much empty grow out tank. There are 2 small BN plecos i'm growing up to put in the 75 eventually, and a couple other 3/4" Pundamilla juvies that i'm growing to add to the 75 at some point as well. So those guys might be in there at first, but i could hold off a little bit for a while until they can be added to the show tank, if needed. So, in short, i'm pretty much working with a blank slate 55g.

I'm open to whatever, if there are multiple breeding groups that will leave together alright and not eat the kids, i could do that too. I've read how the Lelupi sort of pair off, and you keep a hiding spot on each side of the tank for them for when they aren't mating. Sounds like it'll be fun.


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## 7mm-08 (Jan 12, 2012)

Quite a few tanganyikans can be like that. Leleupi, cylindricus, julies, brichardi, etc. My cylindricus will have broods every few weeks when I put them in a breeding tank. They do tend to stick to their opposite ends but when she lays eggs, the male will sleep right outside the female's flowerpot until they hatch.


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

If you want to try an interesting one, Triglachromis Otostigma. Bi-parental mouth brooders, they will pass the fry back and forth and keep them where they want them, herding them around. I had them in a species tank(33 long), but in a 55 or 60, it would be interesting with additional tank mates. Plenty of sand and PVC tunnels should kkep them happy. I had a pair that bred every 6 weeks like clockwork.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

That sounds awesome! What would you suggest as tankmates? Can multiple broods be in the tank at once? Keeping this operation to 1 tank, or an additional 10 on occasion is important...


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

Here's a short video of a group of Pelvicachromis pulcher...cave spawners and both parents care for the young. They can be mixed with other cichlids...I have just moved them to my new 125G setup (but they are small fish and would do great in a smaller tank...actually as small as a 20G can hold a pair of them I'm told) and they are being housed with _Limbochromis robertsi_, _Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor victoriae_, and some tetras and a danio. Everyone is getting along great so far and these little guys certainly held their own the last few days guarding their coconut cave and chasing off others that came even close. This is the 1st spawn in my this new setup...Cheers to them!!!

http://s1064.photobucket.com/user/dstiles57/media/P1150132_zpsc011123c.mp4.html


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Thanks Cichlid Gal! That's awesome! So could i just let them breed, and then the fry will move out of the parents home, and then i could sell them a couple months later while the parents get back to making the next litter?


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

I'm not sure of the progression with these little ones mclaren880. This is my 1st spawn of them. I have them in a big tank with lots of flow so I'm not sure what the survival rate will be or how long the parents care for the young. I'm in my learning stages too with these guys.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

Brichardi are a great species tank, as well.


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