Unexpected breeding with cichlids, need to know proper care

[MetalHeadX343]

I have 2 Melanochromis parallelus and a yellow lab, both of the Melanochromis parallelus are believed to be males and the yellow lab is a female. I came home from work today and saw what looked to be a ghost shrimp until I looked closer and saw a little minnow (fry) not sure. First off is that breeding senario possible if I have the genders correct, and I would really like to know proper care for the little fry/minnow. I have another tank with amall community fish, glofish, guppies, farawella, tetras, they live in much dfferent conditions so i can assume I shouldn't do that, but I need to know what to feed it and proper conditions and if it needs to be seperated from the others, thabk you for your time and any imput us better than no input.

 

[MagicAfra]

Generally the fish will eat the fry. Interesting that you did not notice but the labidochromis caeruleus is a mouthbrooder so she must have had the fry in her mouth for weeks before releasing it. What I do is hang a breeder net off the side so that the fry get stable water but are safe from the fish. Probably wouldn't put it in your other tank. Malawi mbuna cichlids are known for crossbreeding so it is definitely possible that the father was the melanochromis. Since mouth brooders hold their eggs until they hatch and even a little longer, and the fact that it is swimming around you should be able to feed it crushed flakes.

 

[MetalHeadX343]

I took a picture of the little guy and I'm pretty sure it can be considered a minnow now. My lab has been opening her mouth wide and shaking around when she does, what does that mean? And the reason I didn't notice is because I work 3rd shift so I hardly get time to stare at the aquariums except when I clean it. I did notice the bottom of her gills were really low and gills were slightly flared out, is that what it looks like when brooding?

 

[emerald76]

Minnows are a type of fish
Fry are what all baby fish are until they reach juvenile, then adult, size
There is no such thing as a minnow stage

 

[MetalHeadX343]

OH! Ignorance is bliss lol Judging by that pic how old is it?

 

[emerald76]

Could you circle it? I've no idea where it is

 

[MagicAfra]

It is hard to tell the scale of the fish but it seems to be smaller than a minnow. I would say around three weeks perhaps. If it were the size of a minnow I might guess two months. Not positive on the this though.

Your lab is indeed holding, the bottom of its mouth will distend slightly and it will generally not eat much. When it opens its mouth wide and closes it, it shuffles the eggs supplying them with fresh water and oxygen to the eggs. If she is doing something in front of another fish though it may be that she is displaying.

 

[MetalHeadX343]

It is hard to tell the scale of the fish but it seems to be smaller than a minnow. I would say around three weeks perhaps. If it were the size of a minnow I might guess two months. Not positive on the this though.

Your lab is indeed holding, the bottom of its mouth will distend slightly and it will generally not eat much. When it opens its mouth wide and closes it, it shuffles the eggs supplying them with fresh water and oxygen to the eggs. If she is doing something in front of another fish though it may be that she is displaying.

Thanks for all the info, I haven't separated it from the other 3 cichlids, two sit right in his den very often and he hasn't been attacked or bothered. On a side note I have a pregnant glofish in my other thank that's about to bust, should I get a breeding net and just throw the glo fish in there?

 

[emerald76]

Glofish lay eggs. It's likely that your fish has bloat or dropsy to make her so big.

 

[MetalHeadX343]

So their stomachs don't inflate when they're laying eggs? I'm not sure but I might have gill flukes. Some of the fish have red gills a few died a little while ago but I think it's ammonia poisoning. I couldn't change my filter for a few months from lack of funds. I changed it out about a week ago and I think they're all doing better now.

 

[emerald76]

Never EVER change your filter pad. You are probably going through a mini cycle from lack of beneficial bacteria, which is what is causing dead fish. NEVER change the filter pad unless it is falling apart and even then keep half of the old pad so you have BB left

 

[MetalHeadX343]

I meant filter cartridges, and besides that I have two bio wheels, with plenty of good bacteria. I would've left the old cartridges in but I was medicating my fish at the time so I threw them out, then lost my job and had to pay my car bill lol

 

[emerald76]

Umm, I think they are the same thing. Just do lots of WCs and you should be okay

 

[MetalHeadX343]

I like biowheels better than pads, seems to collect alot more and distributes better.