# Pregnant Cichlid



## hlh1

Looks like I may have a Cichlid that has a mouth full of eggs. She's not eating and is kind of hiding. I really don't know what to do, if anything. Should I put her in another tank? I really don't know what I'm doing and would appreciate any instructions.


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## DJRansome

If she is in a tank of her own species and you want to save the fry you can wait 18 days from the day she spawned and let her spit the babies naturally.

While waiting the 18 days, run the filter from the fry tank on your established tank. That way the beneficial bacteria will grow and you can move mom and filter to the fry tank.


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## hlh1

Yes, she's with about 14 other Cichlids in a 55 gallon tank. I have a 20 gallon tank with guppies that I raise for Cichlid snacks and I'll can move her to that tank. Any reason why I can't move her now?


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## Nina_b

it might not be the best idea to feed your cichlids guppies.

If you move her now you might end up doing the move for nothing, they sometimes hold unfertilised eggs.

Do you want to save/raise the fry? Are you sure they're not hybrids?


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## DJRansome

Nina_b said:


> Do you want to save/raise the fry? Are you sure they're not hybrids?


Right, the reason for the question if she was in a tank full of cichlids of the same species. Are all 14 fish in the tank the same species as she is?

Another reason not to move her now, the longer she is out of the main tank, the harder it will be to re-introduce her. If you take her out today and she spits tomorrow that would be ideal.

She may not like having the guppies in with her, are you taking them out first? Won't the guppies eat the fry?


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## hlh1

Golly, I have alot to learn. Why are guppies bad to feed to Cichlids? What's a good live food to feed them? Yes, there's a good chance these are hybrids. Since this is the first time I've had a pregnancy I think I'll just leave her alone and let things play out. It'll be a learning experience for me. Is there anything that I can do to help the fry survive in the main tank with all of the other mature Cichlids?


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## brinkles

Can you give a list of what exactly is in the main tank? Or a picture? If you have a male of her species, there is a good chance they aren't hybrids.

I think adult guppies would eat or at least kill fry. You could put them or her in a breeding compartment if you decide to keep her babies.

Many african cichlids are primarily herbivores, but occasionally happen upon a fry or an invertebrate in the wild and will happily grab it. They're not built to eat meat very often, and will fall ill if they consume too much. Some are OK with meat, but it's not like you can feed it to some of them and not others.

Mine have had scraps of grilled zucchini a few times lately, they loved it! I also give them blanched spinach from time to time. They get a very small amount of meat in the form of leftover brine shrimp for the fry. Mostly they get pellets.


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## hlh1

Here's the tank:










Here's some of the Cichlids in the tank:










Here's another pic:










The gold striped one is the male, and used to be blue striped. He turned gold and she remained blue. She's shy and I can't get a pic of her. Each of these is a member of a matching pair, but I'm not certain that each pair is male and female.

Thanks for the advice on the food. I've been feeding them Tetra flakes and Chiclid Gold.


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## DJRansome

Malawi and mbuna are not pairing fish. Ideally they are kept in harems with one male and many females. In a pair the male may harass or kill the female. Or if his female is holding eggs and unable or unready or unwilling to spawn, the male will mate with any other female in the tank.


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## brinkles

I think she's a Kenyi:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=798

I think I see a male, and they change from blue with black bars to pale yellow.

You may want to pile a bunch of rocks up so that the less aggressive fish can hide. The Kenyi and Auratus can be very, very mean. The yellow lab and acei are more mellow. Ideally, you want maybe 3-4 groups of 1m/3f+, and she may not last in there.

The acei looks pretty good, btw.


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## hlh1

I guess I've been lucky because this tank has been stable since I added all these fish last November. Everyone seems to get along ok.


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## brinkles

Looks like the Kenyi and Auratus are the smallest, maybe that's why it balances for now. Are you keeping the fry?

Everybody in there are mbuna, rock dwelling herbivores btw.


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## hlh1

brinkles said:


> Looks like the Kenyi and Auratus are the smallest, maybe that's why it balances for now. Are you keeping the fry?
> 
> Everybody in there are mbuna, rock dwelling herbivores btw.


Hmmm.... Maybe I need to change the decor to rocks?

By the way, my "pregnant" Cichlid's lower belly is getting FAT. Is something else going on? She's not eating.


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## DJRansome

Are you sure she is holding? Bloating and not eating are symptoms of illness.


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## hlh1

DJRansome said:


> Are you sure she is holding? Bloating and not eating are symptoms of illness.


Good question. I'll try to get a pic of her.


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## DJRansome

I'd put her in another tank. If she is holding, fine. If she is not holding and not eating you can treat her illness.


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## hlh1

DJRansome said:


> I'd put her in another tank. If she is holding, fine. If she is not holding and not eating you can treat her illness.


Will do.


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## hlh1

She seems to be doing fine in the secondary tank, but now she's even larger. I just treated the tank with Clout to see if this will help her.


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## hlh1

Clout saved her but she has ended up with an eye infection in her right eye. This poor fish. She now has a puffy white ring around her right eye pupil, but otherwise seem energetic and fine. I'm hesitant to return her to the main tank.


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## Sparrk

my kenyis will happily eat frozen peas, I crush them out of their shells and put it in the tank, they love it, I also give them small pieces of zuccinis(I put a slice in the microwave first, for like 20 seconds then I cut them into small pieces it is easier for them to eat) the rest of the time I feed them with spirulina based pellets and flakes. I've noticed with time... more than 42% protein seems to cause problems to their digestion, but vegetables help a lot 
I hope her eye will heal, I would wait a bit before returning her to the main tank to see how she is doing with that eye, and to be sure that you dont propagate the infection to your other fishes


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## hlh1

Sparrk said:


> my kenyis will happily eat frozen peas, I crush them out of their shells and put it in the tank, they love it, I also give them small pieces of zuccinis(I put a slice in the microwave first, for like 20 seconds then I cut them into small pieces it is easier for them to eat) the rest of the time I feed them with spirulina based pellets and flakes. I've noticed with time... more than 42% protein seems to cause problems to their digestion, but vegetables help a lot
> I hope her eye will heal, I would wait a bit before returning her to the main tank to see how she is doing with that eye, and to be sure that you dont propagate the infection to your other fishes


I'm beginning to think this eye is a gonner, but I'll wait and see.


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## DJRansome

If she still has the eye problem, you should probably try an antibiotic. If the bloat is gone that's not causing it. If it were an injury it would have improved in a couple of days.


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## natedgg

brinkles said:


> Everybody in there are mbuna, rock dwelling herbivores btw.


That isn't true. They are omnivores. The Estherae, the Yellow Labs, the Auratus, they all can have a combination of plant and animal as food. I would stick with mostly veggie based foods/flakes, but they can most certainly have a snack of brine shrimp or krill from time to time (like no more than once a week). Some cichlid foods will have shrimp and other proteins in them as well, just like your cichlid gold does (fish meal).

I still wouldn't feed them guppies though...


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