Question about my jewel cichlid

[bigmckyfan]

All the sudden my mail jewel cichlid is turning a fiery red. There is a smaller female in the tank with him. As of now he is guarding a specific spot in the tank and turning a brilliant red . He seems to be chasing away other fish from the center of the tank. Almost fighting them to claim his territory. He doesn't seem to be trying to mate with the smaller female or even bothering the smaller fish in the tank. I have had him for 3 years and have never seen him do this before. Could anyone explain to me what is happening? Thank you for your responses.

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[elephantnose]

He seems to be clearing a spot for the female to lay her eggs. Male and female don't mate. The female lays the eggs and the male fertilizes them.

 

[bigmckyfan]

This is what he looks like!

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[elephantnose]

Does the female seem bloated? My angel fish is about to lay her second batch of eggs. You can tell because her belly is a lot wider than it used to be.

 

[bigmckyfan]

Not really. At one point she looked like she had eggs but not now.

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[elephantnose]

Maybe the eggs were eaten or died from fungus. It's probably similar for jewels but angel fish will relay every 7-10 days if the original batch was unsuccessful.

 

[bigmckyfan]

Well thanks for your information I really appreciate it

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[elephantnose]

No problem, keep your eyes open for eggs.

 

[jllarrea]

Don't mean to steal your post but I have a jewel that is female and lately I've noticed that she is swollen and wide from the belly the way you described yours prior to laying eggs. I have her with other African cichlids but they're all mouth brooders so I don't see how they would mate. Do you know if jewels will lay eggs even without a male present?

 

[elephantnose]

Yes they will, but without a male they won't be fertilized. When eggs are not fertilized they will turn white meaning they are dead. The female who laid them will then go and eat them.

 

[jllarrea]

Ok great to know. Thanks!