Jewel Cichlids

[thefishykid]

i have ordered two jewel cichlids from my lfs he is keeping them for me i have a 55g tank waiting and well matured i have also bought a cave for them to go in as they are a breeding pair but can anyone help with what they eat signs of breeding and anything else that might help me

 

[onemisterchristian]

I feed mine a mixed diet of freeze dried hikari blood worms, whitefish, and occasionally beefheart. They also eat cichlid pellets. They can be a bit skittish and often territorial so I would deffinetly plan on doing more than one cave. Mine really love those terra cotta plant pots. I've tried replacing them with rocks several times but this is their hiding place of choice. When they breed they chase every other fish in the tank around all the time, they also make ditches in the sand all over the place. The females belly gets fat and the male gets reeeeeaaaallly bright. Then you will see eggs probably on a flat surface. Then the male fertilizes them and will fight to the death to protect them. There you go. Enjoy your fish

 

[lilmolly]

I feed mine a mixed diet of freeze dried hikari blood worms, whitefish, and occasionally beefheart. They also eat cichlid pellets. They can be a bit skittish and often territorial so I would deffinetly plan on doing more than one cave. Mine really love those terra cotta plant pots. I've tried replacing them with rocks several times but this is their hiding place of choice. When they breed they chase every other fish in the tank around all the time, they also make ditches in the sand all over the place. The females belly gets fat and the male gets reeeeeaaaallly bright. Then you will see eggs probably on a flat surface. Then the male fertilizes them and will fight to the death to protect them. There you go. Enjoy your fish

Well said. Do a search. Any aquarium website will proved basic info on them and breeding. Jewels are pretty common so it won't be hard. I haven't kept them myself but I was considering it at one point and then stuff came up and it never happened. You might also want to register for acople forums that deal exclussively with cichlids or predatory fish. www.waterwolves.com, www.cichlidforums.com, and www.cichlids.com. There's also cichlid madness and others.

 

[thefishykid]

I feed mine a mixed diet of freeze dried hikari blood worms, whitefish, and occasionally beefheart. They also eat cichlid pellets. They can be a bit skittish and often territorial so I would deffinetly plan on doing more than one cave. Mine really love those terra cotta plant pots. I've tried replacing them with rocks several times but this is their hiding place of choice. When they breed they chase every other fish in the tank around all the time, they also make ditches in the sand all over the place. The females belly gets fat and the male gets reeeeeaaaallly bright. Then you will see eggs probably on a flat surface. Then the male fertilizes them and will fight to the death to protect them. There you go. Enjoy your fish

Well said. Do a search. Any aquarium website will proved basic info on them and breeding. Jewels are pretty common so it won't be hard. I haven't kept them myself but I was considering it at one point and then stuff came up and it never happened. You might also want to register for acople forums that deal exclussively with cichlids or predatory fish. www.waterwolves.com, www.cichlidforums.com, and www.cichlids.com. There's also cichlid madness and others.

thanks for the advise and the forums i hope i get to enjoy these fosh for a long time as i do like them do they like well planted tanks or a bit of space to swim around

 

[onemisterchristian]

Plants are often torn up by these fish especially during spawning. You could attach some anubias to some driftwood. They are really fast and often skittish, so as many caves as possible.