DizzyMoo
Fish Fanatic
Hi all, I've got 4 "blood" jewels sharing a 4ft tank with 5 pepper corys, I had community fish but changed to cichlids few wks ago & was seeing how they went before i added more, Anyway i'd added slate & stones & made hide outs for each fish. I had no clue whatsoever the sex of the fish but from reading online about them i kinda thought i had 1 female 2 males & the 4th was a misfit lol
The one i thought to be female is bright orange red, gorgeous colour.
2 of the others are bit bigger than her & a darker more purple colour with red & blue spots & seem to be the ones to chase the others away so i assumed male?
The misfit seems to change colour, but i "think" its female as it resembles the 1st.
I was told these were difficult fish to breed & looking online it says can be difficult which was fine i didn't intend on it, but ive been keeping an eye on the 1st female as she's been hiding under the filter behind a slate cave. She has also been chasing away anything that comes remotely close, So i slowly sat closer to the tank to see there was a big brown patch of something next to a single sprout of elodea (was a root & grown) she was clearly guarding it, So i fed them & as she swam to get the food i managed to get a good look & there is tons of fry!! I can't even begin to guess how many they are all so tightly tucked together in the corner of the tank. I would say the mum is keeping all the other fish at least a foot away from her area of the tank & is staying within cm's of the fry unless she chases another cichlid away then darts back to them. The corys seem to be allowed to get closer though.
Ok sorry for the long post so far but wanted to explain fully, So can someone tell me what do i do now? Do i remove fry to a breeding trap? Do i leave them as they are? Do i continue with normal water changes? Anything you can tell me or advise will be greatly appreciated. Oh & is there an average amount of fry they have? I cant count the little blighters!!
If i can borrow a heater for this little tank should i move the fry on their own?
I dont want her eating them or any of the others. I've nothing to seperate the tank with & due to breaking a heater i cant even get my little spare tank running. I'm going in hospital tuesday for at 4 days to have my baby by c-section so i need to sort this before i go. I have someone to come & keep an eye on them who also has tropicals, Who can water change if need to .
Thanks all x
The one i thought to be female is bright orange red, gorgeous colour.
2 of the others are bit bigger than her & a darker more purple colour with red & blue spots & seem to be the ones to chase the others away so i assumed male?
The misfit seems to change colour, but i "think" its female as it resembles the 1st.
I was told these were difficult fish to breed & looking online it says can be difficult which was fine i didn't intend on it, but ive been keeping an eye on the 1st female as she's been hiding under the filter behind a slate cave. She has also been chasing away anything that comes remotely close, So i slowly sat closer to the tank to see there was a big brown patch of something next to a single sprout of elodea (was a root & grown) she was clearly guarding it, So i fed them & as she swam to get the food i managed to get a good look & there is tons of fry!! I can't even begin to guess how many they are all so tightly tucked together in the corner of the tank. I would say the mum is keeping all the other fish at least a foot away from her area of the tank & is staying within cm's of the fry unless she chases another cichlid away then darts back to them. The corys seem to be allowed to get closer though.
Ok sorry for the long post so far but wanted to explain fully, So can someone tell me what do i do now? Do i remove fry to a breeding trap? Do i leave them as they are? Do i continue with normal water changes? Anything you can tell me or advise will be greatly appreciated. Oh & is there an average amount of fry they have? I cant count the little blighters!!
If i can borrow a heater for this little tank should i move the fry on their own?
I dont want her eating them or any of the others. I've nothing to seperate the tank with & due to breaking a heater i cant even get my little spare tank running. I'm going in hospital tuesday for at 4 days to have my baby by c-section so i need to sort this before i go. I have someone to come & keep an eye on them who also has tropicals, Who can water change if need to .
Thanks all x
