| Many aquarists like you enjoy keeping cichlids in | | | | important to feed your African Cichlids well to get |
| their fish tank because of their different shapes | | | | them into their breeding condition. Spirulina flakes |
| and vibrant colors. Before long, just having them | | | | and occasional earthworm are excellent quality |
| in their aquarium is not enough, fish lovers want | | | | food for your African Cichlids. |
| to breed cichlids on their own. In fact, cichlid | | | | When breeding time comes, the male will chase |
| breeding is an interesting process to watch | | | | after the female and it will do a mating dance |
| because of their parental behavior and highly | | | | which consists of shimmying in front of the |
| organized breeding activities. Cichlid breeding | | | | female. The female will lay eggs and then pick |
| parental brood care falls into one of three | | | | them up in their mouth. The male will fertilize the |
| categories: open brooding, cave brooding, and | | | | eggs. This whole process is repeated many times |
| mouthbrooding. | | | | until the female loses interest and the male will |
| Most African Cichlids are mouthbrooders. In other | | | | chase another breeding female and repeat the |
| words, the female African Cichlid will hold the eggs | | | | whole process again. |
| in their mouth. First, you need to get your | | | | Those unfertilized eggs will be disposed of. The |
| breeding colony. Often, when a female cichlid is | | | | female cichlid will keep the fertilized eggs in her |
| ready to mate, all the male cichlids will turn very | | | | mouth until they are hatched. This process can |
| aggressive and will often fight over her. Or, if you | | | | take about three to five weeks. |
| have only a pair, the male may be too aggressive | | | | To keep the baby African Cichlids alive, it is |
| towards the one available female, resulting in | | | | important to transfer the female to a smaller |
| stress and potential death. Instead, you may want | | | | tank before the baby cichlids are born. If not, the |
| to keep 3 females for every male in your cichlid | | | | adult cichlids will eat them. When babies are born, |
| tank. This will keep the males busy chasing | | | | move the babies to a fry tank before the |
| multiple females and let the females a chance to | | | | mother cichlid eats them. |
| recover from being chased when breeding. | | | | For the baby cichlids, you can feed them with |
| The African Cichlids breeding colony will love to | | | | some fine powder form of flake food. Meantime, |
| have a good environment with plenty of caves, | | | | it is good to let the female cichlid recover its |
| rocks, shelves and crevices which they can | | | | health before putting her back in the tank. Also, |
| choose as their territory and breeding ground. | | | | try to keep the babies with cichlids of the same |
| Don't bother to put any aquarium plants as they | | | | size, lest they become food! |
| will be removed by the cichlids. It is equally | | | | |