Is it possible

[gadazobe]

for hybrids to breed? When I started keeping cichlids I didn't know anything about hybrids ) and I bought 3 tricolour OB's. One of them seems to have a slight swelling in her? throat and she's taken to staying in one place, nestling down on a clump of java fern quite near the top of the tank. She's not eating that much and is very skittish. The water parameters are good, and none of the other fish are showing any signs of distress or disease. I don't know if she's like that coz she might be holding fry or if she's being bullied by some of the other fish. Has anyone any ideas? (I promise never to knowingly buy hybrids again )

 

[dolphin]

Hi Gadazobe

It is possible for fish to hybridize in nature. A lot of the lake Victoria cichlids have cross mated, due to the murkiness of the water, due to soil erosion into the lake. This means that the fish can not clearly see there patterns to differentiate the species. These hybrid’s are fertile, and thus the lakes fish population is changing.

 

[cichlidmaster]

Gad,

Your OB peacocks can indeed breed!! The opinion is that the two species that were crossed to produce this fish were an Aulonocara sp. and a Pseudotropheus zebra sp.

CM