# Orange Chromides Breeding?



## CichlidWhisperer (Apr 12, 2008)

Hi,

So I have a tank with 3 orange chromides, 3 EBJDs, a L260 pleco, and a BN pleco. They are all doing pretty well and growing fast. The orange chromides are about 2 1/2 inches and the EBJDs range from 3 inches to about 4 1/2.

Well over the last 2 weeks or so, two orange chromides seem to have paired up. They hang together constantly and keep the third restricted to a top corner. Then today I noticed the pair of orange chromides being rather aggressive to the largest EBJD when he came near them. They actually attacked. The EBJD kind of ignored them, but did give them some space. So are they breeding?

I was very surprised that they would be aggressive towards the EBJD, but then again my EBJDs are very very peaceful fish.

Also, should I find a new home for the third OC? I am not sure if they pair for life? And what should I expect regarding eggs and fry if they are in fact breeding????


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

How long have you had your chromides. They'll need increasing levels of salt in their water to really thrive.


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## SidGuppy (Sep 9, 2002)

depends entirely on the species

etroplus maculatus and etroplus canarensis are freshwaterfish; the huge etroplus suratensis is a brackish fish that often turns into a true marine reefer when fully grown.

you only need salt for orange Chromides if the tapwater is soft and/or acidic. if you have hard alkalic water, you don't need salt.

i've kept the wildform (green) of the maculatus and found out that their intraspecies agression is huge.
they can and do kill unwanted speciesmembers even in a roomy tank.

a mated pair matches for life, as I found out when the male's swimbladder went bust. 
for weeks the female wouldn't leave his side, when he sat on the sand (i hoped he would get better), right up to the point of defending him against other fish.

at a certain point he could only lie on his side, not even swim anymore and she still wouldn't budge.
I had to euthanize him after 2 months of slowly detoriation, all hope was gone. 
she turned bland and wouldn't match anymore.

it's a feisty fish; i've kept them in a small tank and after that in my huge 315G with the Madagascars. they stood their ground quite well against Paratilapia and Paretroplus.....


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## CichlidWhisperer (Apr 12, 2008)

I have etroplus maculatus. I have been trying to decide whether to add some salt to the tank. The pH is 7.0.

It does seem the two have paired up, so I guess I will start looking for a new home for the third.

Do you think they will be ok with the EBJDs long term?


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

It also depends if it is the wild form of maculatus or the red form. I've never been able to breed the wild form in brackish water, and conversely I've never been able to breed the red form without brackish water.

I doubt your EBJD would enjoy the salt.


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## SidGuppy (Sep 9, 2002)

what on earth is an EBJD?


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Electric Blue Jack Dempsey ... a ultra line bred version of the jack dempsey (_Rocio octofasciata_). They tend to be really sensitive ... the current theory is they are so inbred, hence the general weakness.


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

dwarfpike said:


> It also depends if it is the wild form of maculatus or the red form. I've never been able to breed the wild form in brackish water, and conversely I've never been able to breed the red form without brackish water.
> 
> I doubt your EBJD would enjoy the salt.


My reds wouldn't breed without salt either.


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## New Boy (Feb 27, 2003)

my experience with chromides is;

yep, they pair for life
as youngsters they will shoal but once paired off any unpaired fish (even in my 6ft tank) have been harassed to point of near death
the 'reds' need salt or will develop white spot/slowly fade away regularly and shimmy constantly
the 'naturals' don't need salt as long as ph is approaching 8 (to breed) or 7.5 (to survive)
will go toe-to-toe with cichlids three times their size (and even seen one go toe-to-toe with convicts)
females are the more aggressive (the one with the white 'fleck' at top and bottom of tail fin
they're pretty hopeless with fry care on first one or two attempts
every now and again the male and female will 'fall out' and not hang around together for a day or so then make up and be inseperable again!

if you want to add a little salt but not go for brackish (sg 1.002 or something) then kribs, severums, rainbowfish and livebearers make good tankmates (needing larger tanks with the cichlids as tankmates)...plecos and EBJD's won't appreciate much although you may not see any short term impact on their health you may be shortening their life span

definitely one of my favourite cichlids


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