Jewel Cichlids – More Babies!

April 28th, 2008

The Jewel Cichlids from Florida are at it again! Last week, I had a cloud of fry, with a dozen or two remaining today, but nevertheless the parents are protecting them. The fry spend much of there time combing through algae on the manzanita wood in the tank. If they ever venture too far away, the parents suck them in their mouth, and bring them back “home.”

Jewel Cichlid Fry

And of course, the bonded pair are acting like psycho parents toward the other two Jewels in this tank. Fortunately, all of the cichlids have plenty of hiding spots, and are roughly equal size, so no one has gotten injured. That hasn’t stopped the parents from lording over 2/3’s of the tank, however.

Jewel Cichlid

Despite being beautiful fish, I don’t really want anymore, so I’m not deterring much from my usual feeding routine with this batch of fry. I’ve added an occasional feeding of hatched brine shrimp and egg solution, but mostly I’m letting them fend for themselves. If a handful grow up, that’s great, but if not, I’m sure they’ll have more babies soon enough.

2 Responses to “Jewel Cichlids – More Babies!”

  1. wujimon Says:

    Uhh.. congrats?..? 🙂 I’m in a similar boat as you in that my kribensis are now on their third batch of babies! None survived the first batch, 8 survived the second and there’s a whole gang load more with the third batch. Like you, I don’t change my routine and let nature takes it course. I really like the behavioral and color aspects of the kribs, but enough is enough with the babies .. 🙂

  2. guitarfish Says:

    I agree. Sometimes, fry aren’t a good thing! But, the parents sure do look fantastic when they’re protecting them.