Help me sex these mbuna please!

[alyxandria]

Hi there. I have a couple bumblebees and some acei I am trying to sex. I'll start with the one I believe is male:




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[lilme]

The juveniles have the yellow and black vertical striping that give them the common name bumble bee. As they get older the males turn nearly black with a deepening in color when angry or breeding i think

[alyxandria]

Yes I think that's correct. That's what I am finding with mine. Just wanted to prove the theory by venting. I've heard mixed stories about physical characteristics between males and females but I believe I have one male and two females (fingers crossed - wanna breed them!)


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[lilme]

found this for you alyxandria For best results in spawning, the males should be kept with at least three females. The female will spawn on a flat rock and will take the unfertilized eggs into her mouth and will follow closely behind the male until he releases the sperm to fertilize the eggs. The female will tend to the eggs for approximately three weeks before releasing the fry. The fry can then be fed newly hatched brine shrimp, daphnia, or crushed flake food. The bumble bee cichlid is a mouthbrooding cichlid which is typical of cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi of the East African Rift Valley. The female will hold her brood for approximately 18-21 days before releasing them to care for themselves. all the info i could find on peples personal expirince lol

[alyxandria]

I have been breeding african cichlids for about a year now (but have only bought breeding colonies so far - already sexed) and I have hundreds of babies from about 6 different breeding groups but thank you for the information I'm sure someone will find it helpful!


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[lilme]

any expirince breeding kribs or bolivian rams i was thinking about setting up a 15 gallon tank to see if i could breed them

[alyxandria]

No I'm sorry Thats an area I haven't ventured into yet!


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