Cichlid Breeding

Cichlid breeding systems and Cichlid care it is time to pick a Cichlid to breed if you haven’t already. Which to choose really comes down to preference and limitations. Cichlid breeding can be quite costly for some Cichlids, requiring much more than others, such as tank size, water conditions and other equipment, but most of all skill and effort.

For your first attempt at Cichlid breeding I would suggest starting with something that can be kept and bred easily. A fish as delicate as the Discus fish, for example, isn’t a great choice to start out with as it can be quite overwhelming to someone inexperienced. Convict Cichlids are a great fish to start with, as they are very easy to breed, hardy and only grow to be around four inches, so tank requirements are not too demanding. German Blue Rams, Kribensis and even freshwater Angelfish are also not too difficult to breed for someone already experienced in keeping fish.

Once you have chosen your Cichlid you will need to actually get the fish. You can get them at your local pet store, through a fish breeder or order them online. Personally I was quite skeptical of buying fish online myself, but over the last few years I have ordered plants and fish from several sites and other breeders with nothing but great results. Recently I bought a large school of Gold Tetras for my 20 gallon planted tank from LiveAquaria.com, all came in great condition. Buying online is a great option when you can’t find the fish locally or if you are like me and live around sub-par pet stores that don’t care for their fish.

While it varies for each species, in general when buying the fish it is helpful to get several females for each male, as this way the male’s bullying does not get restricted to just one female. Otherwise, this could cause stress among the weaker fish and for Cichlid breeding it is essential that your Cichlids are not stressed.

Sexing Fish:

Determining the sex of a fish is quite an important step in Cichlid breeding. Most fish can be classified as either sexually dimorphic or isomorphic. In sexually dimorphic species, the sex can be easily distinguished by primary (shape of sex organs) and secondary differences (size, color, shape, finnage). Males are usually larger and have more elaborate color and finnage. While in sexually isomorphic species there are little, if any, apparent sexual differences. Often, the only way to distinguish between the sexes is the shape of the genital papilla, which is only visible around spawning times. In some isomorphic species, the males are slightly larger and the females are slightly rounder in the belly.

While it is difficult to sex isomorphic Cichlids, it can be done with experience. This pays off quite well as it will limit the amount of fish needed. One can buy as many males and females as needed instead of buying a group large in hopes of getting a good ratio. Obviously in dimorphic species this is much easier, though it still may take a bit of experience with the fish to know what to look for.

Once males and females have been distinguished, a suitable pair or spawning group will either develop or can be chosen, depending on the species. There are several important traits to seek in choosing the parent fish, one being to choose fish that display the most vibrant colors and markings, thus producing the most attractive young. Also, only use healthy and mature fish for Cichlid breeding as unhealthy fish, if they will spawn, may produce unhealthy or deformed young.

Be sure that the pair is compatible, many species cannot simply just be put together in a Cichlid breeding tank and be expected to produce young. In fact with many Cichlids, pairs form only after a group has been raised together for months, if not years. In certain species, one partner will bully the other to death if they do not develop a "bond". Some species can be bred to produce hybrids, though most are sterile and some even have health complications, which will be discussed shortly.

Raising the Fry:

When the eggs hatch, the fry that emerge look nothing like the parent fish. Usually they have a large yellow yolk sac and are barely able to move, let alone swim. The fry will feed off the egg sac until all the yolk is gone, then they will begin to look for food. Several Cichlids including Discus fish and Uaru species are noted to feed their young with a skin secretion from mucous glands.

At first fry can be fed very small foods like Frozen Daphnia, Hikari First Bites, liquid fry food and Baby Brine Shrimp. Baby Brine Shrimp play an important role in Cichlid breeding, as they are the main food used to feed fry of most Cichlids. There is frozen Baby Brine Shrimp, instant Baby Brine Shrimp and of course hatching your own, which I am a huge advocate of. You can buy a hatchery kit or build your own (which we’ll show you in a future article) using a 2 liter bottle, an air pump, airline tubing, aquarium salt, Brine Shrimp eggs, Brine Shrimp net and Brine Shrimp food. Once the fish grow larger they can eat chopped Tubifex Worms, mini Bloodworms, Brine Shrimp and small flakes. The fry should be fed several times a day.

Around 25-50% of the water in the Cichlid breeding tank should be changed daily according to the species. Be sure that the "new" water added has characteristics like the water taken out, because fry are quite sensitive to sudden changes in the water chemistry. Many species need periodic sorting by size, so that larger fish do not cannibalize smaller fish. The fry will grow rapidly with good water conditions and frequent feeding with a good diet. It is best to cull unhealthy and deformed fish.

Selling the offspring is a normal part of the hobby, usually so many Cichlids are bred that you have to just to make room for the next few spawns. There are many ways you can sell your Cichlids, you can sell or trade them to other Cichlid breeders, sell them to pet stores, or sell directly to hobbyists both online and offline. However, don’t expect to get rich off of this, usually it is just enough to cover cost of keeping the fish, if even that. For example, one of the easiest Cichlids to start with is the Convict Cichlid as I mentioned earlier, but since they are indeed so easy to raise they are quite common, thus you won’t make much money off of them and it may even be hard to find buyers in some areas.

Hybrid Cichlids and Selective Cichlid Breeding

Some Cichlids have been found to hybridize with closely related species quite readily, both in the wild and under selective Cichlid breeding. Perhaps the most ubiquitous aquarium hybrid is the Blood Parrot Cichlid, which is a cross of several American Cichlid species. With a beak-shaped mouth, an abnormal spine and an occasionally missing caudal fin, the fish has caused controversy among aquarium enthusiasts with some even calling the Blood Parrot the "Frankenstein" of Cichlid breeding.

Another notable hybrid, the Flower Horn Cichlid, was very popular in some parts of Asia from 2001 until late 2003 and is believed to bring good luck to its owner. The popularity of the Flower Horn Cichlid declined in 2004, resulting in many Flower Horn Cichlids being released into the rivers and canals of Malaysia and Singapore where they pose a threat to native animal communities.

Numerous Cichlid species have also been the subject of selective Cichlid breeding to develop new ornamental strains for the aquarium trade. The most intensive selective Cichlid breeding programs have involved freshwater Angelfish and Discus fish and many mutations that effect both coloration and finnage are known, one of my favorite examples is the Smokey Leopard Angelfish. Many other Cichlids have been selectively bred for albino mutations, resulting in fish like Albino Oscar fish, Albino Angelfish, Albino Kribensis, Albino Peacock Cichlid, Albino Brichardi and Pink Convict Cichlid.

However, these efforts at selective Cichlid breeding may have unintended consequences. For example, some selectively bred strains of German Blue Rams known as German Gold Rams have health and fertility problems. Similarly, the inbreeding involved in selective Cichlid breeding programs can cause severe physical abnormalities such as the notched phenotype in freshwater Angelfish. Which is why it is common in Cichlid breeding for breeders to trade fish to keep the gene pool fresh.