Breeding by accident.....

[bucsnut79]

Ok, so I have had my African cichlid tank up since September of last year. I was shocked to find that my two and a half inch bristlenose plecos had laid eggs. Since then I have had more than five successful sets of fry. I have had to remove the fry once they have hatched, because my africans find them to be quite yummy. Which brings me to this week......

I noticed this week that my Red Zebra has a mouthful of fry. This was totally by chance, and my wife wants to keep the fry. My questions and concerns are that I want to keep the fry, and if the fish are breeding, keep it going. My question is what is the best way to accomplish this? All the fish are in my 115 gallon tank. It was an absolute nightmare getting my Zebra into a net and in a breeding tank, as I have lots of large rocks to provide cover for them.

I wouldn't mind doing a tank of only Zebras, since it seems they will breed, but will they eat the fry once mom spits them out? Will I be able to put any other fish, hopefully the plecos, in with them?

Anyone that has had a similar experience and has some advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

my red zebra fry (barely a few days old - yolks still attatched!) were in a bare 5 gal to grow for a few weeks, where i put a few guppy fry in aswell to see if they would tolerate eachother. not at all. the guppys were torn to shreds.
i wouldnt reccomend putting incompatible fish together, even as fry! the plecs may not survive imo...

what fish DO you have in the tank? you mentioned a tank of "only zebras"