# Breeding Question



## TripleCorojo (Sep 19, 2014)

I am not looking to breed but as has happened in the past nature has taken its course and I'm 99% sure I have a peacock that's holding right now.

The question is this... If the fish is holding does it mean by default that they have already been fertilized or would it hold unfertilized for some period of time?
When I saw that the fish was holding I took it out of the tank and put it onto a 10g by itself so that they may survive rather than being eaten. If I took the fish out too soon before fertilization then what? Would it spit things out after it decides nobody is there to fertilize?

I don't even know enough about breeding to know if I'm asking the right question. In the past I just saw a few baby fish floating around all of a sudden. I just happened to notice this time and took the fish out to let them survive if possible. Know what I mean?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Fertilization, if any, occurs when the eggs are picked up. Females can lay and pick up eggs without a male. If this happens she will spit or swallow the eggs after about a week. That's why we recommend waiting a week before isolating the female. Not for additional fertilization, but to avoid isolating her for a false alarm.


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## TripleCorojo (Sep 19, 2014)

I dumped her back in and will take my chances. In the past one or two have survived when I didn't know anybody was carrying. Maybe now that I know I can get her out in time if anything develops. It's a so called Ruby Crystal peacock which as I understand it isn't natural anyway so having illegitimate children is no big deal for me. I'll see if I can make out who's courting her. Problem is it's hard getting fish out of my tank due to many caves.


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## TripleCorojo (Sep 19, 2014)

Here she is.










If she hooked up with the guy they might come out nice :lol: .


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You are lucky to have room to keep all the babies for their lifetimes. :thumb:


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## TripleCorojo (Sep 19, 2014)

I wouldn't keep them but if I can prevent them from being eaten I will. I would give them away. I did keep a couple of Trewevase last year but no longer have those. Mostly peacocks now.


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## The Cichlid Guy (Oct 18, 2014)

Many people frown on the spread of hybrids, so it is suggested that if you're going to allow them to be created, you also house them for their entire lives.

If hybrids are allowed to keep reproducing, it may one day be impossible to find a pure species in stores.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

The Cichlid Guy said:


> Many people frown on the spread of hybrids, so it is suggested that if you're going to allow them to be created, you also house them for their entire lives.
> 
> If hybrids are allowed to keep reproducing, it may one day be impossible to find a pure species in stores.


+1


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## TripleCorojo (Sep 19, 2014)

Dogs and cats maybe, but keeping African cichlids is a fringe hobby at best. Most people have no idea what they are. The stores I go to will only buy from legitimate breeders or hobbyists that they deal with regularly and who breed pure species. In my opinion, the effect of a few hobbyists passing fish around that they saved from being eaten is pretty much inconsequential.


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## TripleCorojo (Sep 19, 2014)

Actually I take that back... I'm sure we'll never agree on this subject and that's fine, but I can offer this. I posted a picture of the fish below in the ID forum. I purchased it from a pet store, not a dedicated fish store. Someone replied that it is probably a hybrid of some sort but that it's very nice nonetheless. The picture actually doesn't do it justice. It's quite amazing up close and is one of my top two nicest fish along with the OB I posted above. If the Ruby above (a hybrid) were to mate with the OB above and produce some sort of brilliant OB variation I don't have a problem with it. I'd keep at least one of them and I'm sure I'd find takers for the rest. I agree in preserving the pure species but I think there's also a place for hybrids which can be pretty amazing in the right combinations.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Agree to disagree. The next well meaning owner will post them on a site for ID, get one from a well-meaning fish friend and start selling them as pure. Also I like to have fish in my tank that represent the ones actually in the lake. They are amazing enough for me.


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## TripleCorojo (Sep 19, 2014)

Actually since you put it that way that's probably why I like hybrids. In general I get bored with things and like change. Ask my wife... The part about keeping fish that keeps me going is to seek out fish that are unique and nobody else has. If my fish looked like everybody else's fish then I would have quit long ago. I've given away fish just because they looked too much like all the rest. We all have reasons for doing what we do.


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## jenn134 (Nov 14, 2014)

I agree everyone has their own taste 
I buy fish that I think are pretty I don't know much about Cichlids but I do know they are beautiful fish and they get big 
I love colorful fish and watching them swim around and not to mention they help with my depression 

but yes everyone gets fish and diffrent fish for diffrent reasons

Jenn


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

There is nothing wrong with selling hybrid strains that are obvious, such as the OB Peacocks and variants. There is certainly a market, and they are not misidentified. In fact, I've seen big OB males at Cichlid auctions that sold for very high prices. Personally I would not be interested in them, but I dislike Peacocks in general, anyway. To my mind, these are comparable to Flowerhorns, which are made from Central American Cichlids, but are obviously not of a particular species.

However, when actual species of Peacock are accidentally crossed, they often look like one parent or the other, and the best use for them is as feeders for predatory haps. Of course, there's always the risk that they'll survive and breed with the predatory species. They also make great fertilizer for Roses in the garden.


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## TripleCorojo (Sep 19, 2014)

Please don't misunderstand. I appreciate a pure fish as a specimen just like I appreciate my stock 2001 GSXR750 as a specimen. At the same time I also appreciate a nice hybrid like I appreciate a nicely modded bike. I think there's a place for both and that neither interferes with the other enough to make a difference in the big scheme of things.

And Jenn, I had late stage cancer that I somehow survived but I still struggle with depression. One of the main reasons that I restarted my tank after 10 years of no fish was due to the fact that I enjoy watching them. It's very calming and in a small way they are like my little friends. Not as much as other pets but friends just the same. That's the reason I still have my Cobalt Blue Zebra even after selling off everything else when I switched to peacocks. He is an amazing specimen. Large and hefty with visible bars. He leaves the peacocks alone and they leave him alone, aside from an occasional harmless chase.


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## jenn134 (Nov 14, 2014)

he's a beauty and I have other pets that help also 
I have 2 dogs and 10 african Clawed frogs and a 20 Gal tank with tropical fish and a 30 and 20 Gal tanks with Cichlids in them
ohh and a 10 Gal thats used for babies

I love all my pets and enjoy them very much

Jenn


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