# Maingano won't breed!



## Evo (Jul 23, 2006)

G,day i have moved 3 maingano into a 4ft x 1.5 x 1.5 tank along with 3 other lithobates (whom have bred) the maingano are at breeding size but i can't get them to breed. Is there anything i can do. The lithos bred soon as i put them in the 4fter after taking them out of a 3fter. So please can anybody give me some tips on breeding them.


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## eoconnor (Nov 24, 2006)

Are you sure you have a male and a female?


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## chromedome (Oct 24, 2007)

it might help if we knew the sex ratios of the three. if 2m/1f shes likely stressed. if 1m/2f perhaps 2 more females would do the trick.
what is your water parameters and temp?


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## Evo (Jul 23, 2006)

the water temperature and parameters are great. I think it is 1m 2 females as the 2 smaller fish are lighter and have 2 vents that are pink. But i don't know how to tell the difference.


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## chromedome (Oct 24, 2007)

venting is the only sure fire way to be sure, but if you read the profiles on maingano it says that females have lighter bellies and shorter pelvic fins whilst the males have darker bellies (mine is almost black) and longer pelvic fins.
it works for me :thumb:


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## Evo (Jul 23, 2006)

2 females it is then..


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## chromedome (Oct 24, 2007)

i have 1m/4f in my tank and mine have just started to breed and im no expert, *** only kept cichlids since jan 08. whether your other inhabitants are an issue i dont know but i still think you need to add a couple more females to your list :wink:


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## eagl97 (Dec 26, 2006)

Mine haven't bred either and it's been over a year so I order 6 more online and specifically asked for females and I hope this will work for me and it sounds like you should do the same.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

I have 4 maingano. 3 I got at the end of summer last year and one more recently. I think I have 1 male and 3 females. Two of them are holding right now and I have 2 little fry that I'm pretty sure are maingano (didn't notice any fish holding). The first time one of them held, she swallowed the eggs or something because she didn't hold very long. I think that's pretty common.

Sometimes a large water change will get them to breed. I'd try changing 50% of the water and refill with water that is just a tad lower in temp. than the tank water. Hold a plate or your hand a few inches over the top of the tank water and pour the new water onto the plate or your hand so the new water hits the tank water like rain. I read somewhere that doing this will get them to breed. Good luck.


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

i used the rain trick on jd's worked like a charm.must be some kind of trigger mechanism in thier dna :lol:


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## Evo (Jul 23, 2006)

yeah i just did it then... will have to wait and see.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Post back in a few days and let us know if anything develops or not. I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya :wink:


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## Evo (Jul 23, 2006)

yeah i'm hoping something happens. Nothing of yet... But most of my fish spawn at night.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

The finnage, egg spots, or colour is not a reliable indicator of gender in this species. There isn't really anything special you need to do with this fish though, just some patience and males and females.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Its possible the breeding activity of the lithobates is disrupting your male's mojo.


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## Evo (Jul 23, 2006)

ohh ok, well the male litho aint doing anything at the moment. Would the largeish gravel be a problem as they can't dig there pits? if so should i make some pits.


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## Gibbs (Apr 21, 2008)

I think that Chromedome is right you need to add more maybe two more. And I would also listen to him about the colouring and egg spot. I have seen his set up in person and he stuck to his guns and got 4 females that all have light bellies and got one really dark fish almost black. 
He knew what ratio he was looking for and hand picked his male and females. It may not be 100% but it was for him and in the end his ratio was 1m/4f.

Male mainganos usually love to dig and make breeding pits (most of the time they will dig channels under your rocks) so if they are unable to do this because your gravel is to large then i would change your substrate to either sand or crushed coral.

I don't think that Lithobates have any bearing at all an your maingano's so i would leave them be


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## kingdave (Mar 9, 2007)

My mainganos actually spawned several days after a power outage that lasted 20 hours caused the tank temp to go down to 68 or so, then slowly back up once the power came back on. She has been holding for two or three days now.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

My maingano don't make pits. Maybe my gravel is to big, but they breed anyway.


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