Jewel Breeding Troubles

[Thomas_a_Ginger]

Hello,I am new to this forum but not new to fish keeping,and I have been trying to breed my jewel cichlids for two years now and I am going insane. I am fairly certain they are a pair for they both have been sharing the same cave for 1 and a half years.
One is slightly smaller and very dull in color and the other is stunning.


Any ideas?

 

[Devilish Angelfish]

Hmm. Jewels are usually very easy to breed - in Australia they're usually quite cheap to buy because people are always getting rid of unwanted offspring. Those and Convict cichlids - can't stop 'em. Being cichlids, they like a certain PH level and vegetation in their diet - I found spirulina prompted mine to lay. Your brightly coloured one sounds like a definate male. It sounds to me that, for some environmental reason (water temp., PH levels, diet, whatever) they aren't being stimulated to breed. You will know when they breed - they have an unfortunate habit of killing anything that comes near their nest so aren't considered good community fish in pairs. By themselves, they're fine. My sister put a pair in her fish pond and wondered why her goldfish (3x the size of the Jewels) kept turning up dead. Turned out the Jewels had a nest
Have you noticed pre-breeding behavior? The pair will swim slowly about the tank, inspecting possible laying sites. They like a flat area, like a piece of slate, to lay on. Once decided, they will carefully clear off any debris - algae, minute critters, etc - and once its clean (it could take days) to their satisfaction, the female will slowly hover over the spot, carefully laying several eggs (in a rather decorative pattern) then move away so the male can milt them. This will go on for hours and result in at least a hundred eggs. They will then take it in turns to fan the eggs and keep the area clean and drive off interlopers until the eggs hatch. Mine got that far then ate the eggs *sigh* Sometimes it takes them a few goes to get the hang of the parenting thing - could it be that yours have laid eggs without your noticing then eaten them?