# Rainbow Cichlids breeding



## cosmiccow

A few days a go I got a trio of rainbow cichlids for my new CA themed tank. These are young fish with the male about 3 inches and the females about two inches. Well they did not take long to spawn. I saw breeding behaviour after two days in the tank and now this morning day 5, there are eggs!
I'm always amazed on the breeding tenacity of cichlids!


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## lil mama

:lol: They must be real happy under your care to breed so quickly. Nice work :thumb:


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## cosmiccow

Are Rainbow cichlids pairing or harem breeders? If they are pairing, should I get rid of the other female?


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## TheFishGuy

They are pairing. But will rarely get aggressive towards the fifth wheel...


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## cosmiccow

Well after about three days the eggs were gone. I thought I saw the male munching on them. :lol:

So this morning I go downstairs to check on things and the male is guarding a couple of hundred wigglers.

What happened? Did they spawn again so quickly? Or did they just move the eggs out of sight? 
Anyway it is pretty cool!

Now what do do with the wigglers?


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## Dizzcat

After about 3 days the eggs will start to hatch. Then they are known as wiggler. They are tiny fry with eggs still attached. After another 3 days or so they will start to swim 



> I thought I saw the male munching on them


As they start to hatch the parents will pick them off the rock, clean them in the mouth (looks like munching) and spit them into a pit they dug out for the wigglers. They may move the wigglers to different pits a few times before they start to swim.

What is a Rainbow Cichlid? Never heard of it. Unless you mean Bolivian Ram?


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## cosmiccow

Thanks!
Herotilapia multispinosa 
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/h ... pinosa.php


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## TheFishGuy

You could ship some to me!


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## Dizzcat

Well? Any free swimming fry yet??


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## cosmiccow

Hi all!
So the little wigglers became free swimming a few days ago. The population started to decline pretty fast. I think the other tank mate were eating them. At one point the "swarm" of wigglers had moved into unguarded territory and the parents were having a hard time getting them back into their territory. I was going to try and siphon some off but I've been so busy that by yesterday there were no more wigglers left. 
However, this morning there are about 100 more eggs. This time I will definetly try harder to save some of these little guys!


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## gage

LMAO! persistent little breeders arent they!

have any pics of the pair?


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## cosmiccow

i'm working on better photos, too much yellow and blury!
male on left, eggs on driftwood









male


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## TheFishGuy

So you're going to send me some right?


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## Matt724

Do you have any rainbow cichlids you're willing to give up? =)


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## PfunMo

Might try Aquabid. I just picked some from there and there was at least one other ad. Just for confusion, there may be a name change going on. Archocentrus multispinosa rather than Herotilapia.


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## Matt724

REALLY? Like officially? they're changing it back to archocentrus? I thought they changed it to Herotilapia because they were found to originate from the saltwater tilapia species thousands of years ago. Archocentrus, really? I guess I can't ever keep them with cons to prevent hybrid breeding then. Okay. thanks for the update, i'll have to do some more research on that to be certain.

And yeah, I got my first group from aquabid, but I want to introduce some new strains and the only other guy who sells them, sells 8 for $50 and that's just way too much for me being a student. Which is why I'm hitting up everyone on the internet who has posted that they have rainbow cichlids because I'm against inbreeding, but unfortunately I think that one pair in my tank is starting to show breeding colors. It's a bitter - sweet moment. I'm glad they're healthy enough to start spawning, but inbreeding only creates weak strains.

Thank You for you help PfunMo, and I'll have to do some research into that name thing.


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## dwarfpike

Yeah, they reverted back to _Archocentrus_ a while ago becuase some scientist didn't think having three crowned teeth deserved it's own genus (that was the only differing diagnostic between _Herotilapia_ and _Archocentrus_). They aren't any more closely related to Tilapia than other central american cichlids though.


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## Matt724

Hmmm. yea that's interesting. okay, so officially Archocentrus multispinosa now, cool. And yeah, Aquabid was good, but I want some new genes to add to the pool, it's no fun when brothers and sisters are breeding  it's actually just weird. lol


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## PfunMo

Mat724-- You may want to keep an eye on Aquabid for a second seller. I came around to want rainbow just as his auction was about to close. Not having bid on Aquabid, I was not aware that there would be a 24-48 hour delay getting registered to bid. That made me miss his auction as it closed before I got fully registered. I sent him a note and he did not reply for a time so I went with the next seller. Right after I made the deal, he contcted me that he would relist for me. Total confusion. I had to tell him then that I had bought. He must still have them but I do not have contact and had not seen the new auction come up. Located in southern Ohio, Louisville area, maybe??


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## Matt724

Yeah, I've been checking aquabid everday for the last few months and the one that posts ===8 SPECIAL RAINBOW CICHLIDS=== is the one that I bought from and there was one a few weeks ago that had one that had something like **Herotilapia multispinosa LQQK**, but he was overpriced.

I was thinking of getting some archocentrus myrnae once I clear the tank of the rest of the SA fish, what do you think? do you think hybrid breeding will occur between the two species?


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## dwarfpike

Cyrptoheros myrnae is an excellant choice, and one of the prettiest fish in the genus. Excellent choice!!

All three genra of 'convicts' (_Amatitlania, Archocentrus, Cryptoheros_) seem to be willing to interbreed quite a bit, though rainbows seem to have the fewest crosses. I am not sure if that is due to their slightly differant breeding methods or what.


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## PfunMo

Well, Matt, I quess my plan to expand your gene pool would not have worked anyway. Seems we must be buying from the same place. I'm expecting 8 Special Rainbows to show this week. I may be confused on the other price though. These 8 are costing me $50 with shipping included and I thought the other was going to cost thirty. I've lost track of which was 18 and which 12 (shipping or fish) I may have not got the true story though as I was not registered at the time they were up. Shipping to you may have changed the total. Prices don't mean as much to me if they are just in theory. :roll: 
I sometimes run into people who tell me they could get a fish for a much better price the next time they are in Whereville but I just have to think they are failing to figure in the couple bucks airline tickets cost. To me the price is what it costs to get it in my door..... :thumb:


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## PfunMo

Matt- Just looked at Aquabid and see the 8 special you mention. I got mine from Ohio not Slidell, La. so I'm most likely looking for the "more expensive" variety. :x 
Buying fish on the net is like playing poker. You never know till the last card shows.


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## TheFishGuy

Cichlids from Ohio are of good stock if they come from someone in the ohio cichlid association.....


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## dwarfpike

TheFishGuy said:


> Cichlids from Ohio are of good stock if they come from someone in the ohio cichlid association.....


Wow TFG, can't believe you passed on the opportunity to make a shameless plug.


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## PfunMo

No, That was not a plug. That was telling it true. If a fish can live in Ohio River water--- he can live anywhere. :lol:


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## PfunMo

So far my fish from Ohio have not arrived. They have been in transit for three days so they may not be alive any where..  
I may be receiving a box of stink instead of fish. Christmas, BAH! Humbug!


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## PfunMo

Does anybody happen to know Gregory or Linda Clum Lancaster, Ohio? Unless I learn different, I am now putting them on my bad guy list. I found them advertising rainbow cichlids on Aquabid.com and made the mistake of dealing with them. I have received no fish but they assure me they mailed them.


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## Chromedome52

Let me guess, you requested priority mail shipping - during the holiday shipping season. You'll be lucky to get the box in 5-6 days. Most shippers would know enough to advise against that this time of year, but some one with less experience might not know any better.

I would request a tracking number for the package. If they can't give you one, then you have reason to suspect questionable or unethical behavior. They should have sent you one when they sent notice that the package was mailed anyway. Again, lack of experience would be a concern.


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## PfunMo

Wrong guess. The shipper insisted this was the way he did it. No tracking number provided. He had over four hundred sales showing on his list so it appeared he was experienced. I had not used Aquabid before but on Ebay that number would have said experience. Insists it is still in the mail. Looking at the address on GoogleEarth, it appears to be a trailer park on the edge of Lancaster, Ohio.


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## PfunMo

I have to eat some crow here. The box of dead fish did arrive this afternoon. I was sure they had never been mailed. Post mark shows it was mailed Monday 12-14. The Priority mail 2-3 days turned out to be 6 days.


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## Matt724

Hey PfunMo, sorry I haven't been on in a while, i thought that I subscribed to this thread, but i never receieved any email notices. Well, a lot has changed in the last couple of months. For one, I finally got my hands on 4 adult archocentrus multispinosa from a fellow MFK member and they are in the tank along with my nicely paced growing juvies that I got a few months back. If you are interested, you can read my most recent thread about them and see the good news that followed them: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... p?t=308646

BTW, i'm sorry about your predicament with your order. did you ever send it back and demand a refund? That's horrible that they made you worried for 6 days when they promise 2-3. I'm always really meticulous about every detail i make before I buy from someone, usually sending them multiple emails before hand, working out every last thing until I'm sure I'm making a good choice. For example, the guy I got my rainbows from lived 20 minutes away. I could have easily completed the transaction in the same day i bought the fish, but I dragged it on for about a month, arranging the meet (because parents don't let me tell people our address), questioning about their health, what he feeds them, etc... I know I'm a little eccentric, but I want to make sure i get what I'm paying for.


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## PfunMo

Thanks for the note. Glad to hear they are working out for you. Mine are not. I feel the dealer did as he shoud have on most points other than thinking the shipping would work. The post office rush at Christmas was what killed the deal. After that I got some shipped in by one of the "better" local shops and that has been a total mistake. Very bad mistake as this shop seems to be totally clueless. They forgot to order them. When they did, they forgot to tell me they arrived. I went by and saw them in a tank and asked about them. The guy could barely speak English which made a bad discussion worse but basicly he said he didn't know what they were for so he put them in with the other Rainbow fish. DUH! Rainbow fish and Rainbow cichlids are not very much alike! The price was a dollar a fish higher than talked initially but I did the deal anyway. Since then I have fought Ich and I am near quitting with them. My water is a pretty alkaline setup for them, so it may just be better to call it a loss.


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## Matt724

I'm sorry to hear about your ordeals, but don't give up on them yet. If I ever get a successful spawn, I will definitely send you some fry if you would like (but who knows when I will get a successful spawn :lol: i can't even get my swordtails to give birth). I had a similar thing happen with my LFS but the fish I wanted was lamprologous multifasciatus, and they never got them. I gave up on them, and found a couple dealers on aquabid.com, but now I don't have a tank for them.


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