Cichlids and interbreeding

[BoxofKittens]

When I set up my cichlid tank I wanted to avoid breeding so I got all different cichlids. There is a convict, an electric yello, a blood parrot fish and two peacocks as an after find (I know I said I wanted to avoid breeding). One of them is marbled Brown and the other is a sort of fire color. The convict has her egg tube sticking out and exhibiting mating behavior, the Brown peacock is plump and hiding behind a rock and sometimes in a pot. The fire peacock is hanging around them both like he's a proud daddy.
I'm just trying to find out if interbreeding can happen naturally, because this is weird behavior if it's not a thing that can happen naturally.

 

[Andy Sager]

It can happen naturally however, if the species are not related close enough, chances of the eggs being fertile are small.
Successful hybrids include Guppy/ molly
Swordtail/ Platy ( or Variatus) ( Almost all colored swordtails can be traced back to the original cross of a wild green sword to a red platy. )
There are also many Peacocks that are a mix of 2 different natural peacock types as well as some S. American cichlids that crossed either naturally or in a tank on purpose.

Keep us posted. Would like to know if it worked.

 

[BoxofKittens]

It can happen naturally however, if the species are not related close enough, chances of the eggs being fertile are small.
Successful hybrids include Guppy/ molly
Swordtail/ Platy ( or Variatus) ( Almost all colored swordtails can be traced back to the original cross of a wild green sword to a red platy. )
There are also many Peacocks that are a mix of 2 different natural peacock types as well as some S. American cichlids that crossed either naturally or in a tank on purpose.

Keep us posted. Would like to know if it worked.

My convict just laid some eggs about twenty minutes ago. I'll keep an eye on them and keep you posted.

 

[BoxofKittens]

I've been keeping an eye on where my convict laid the eggs. There is still no sign of babies. I'm pretty sure it was a false alarm.
The fire peacock however has had what looks to be black substrate in its mouth for most of the morning and it won't spit out the gravel. It just keeps moving its mouth while it casually swims around. He's got a double chin.