pregnant zebra cichlid

[medcase1]

are these fish egg layers or live bearers? should i seperate her from the other fish? i have 4 cichlids 1 pleco and 1 rainbow shark in a 30 gallon tank.

 

[unmphysics]

yep, zebras are "egg layers", but not in the sense other fish are. zebras are mouth brooders. They lay the eggs and are very soon after fertilized by the male, then the female gobbles up the fertilized eggs and stores them in her mouth for safe keeping while they develop. After several weeks the female will release the small fry from her mouth and protect them in the tank. If any trouble approaches the fry, the momma will open her mouth and let the kids back in for safety.

As for removing her from the tank it probably depends on just what other cichlids you have in the tank. (I wouldnt worry about the pleco and rainbow shark...the mom can take care of those guys)

Edit: Just saw your signature and noticed all your cichlids are zebras. Do you know the sex of them all?

 

[medcase1]

well i think i have 3 males and one female, the female turned colors while mating, she's orange with light black stripes now, kinda wierd. thanks for the info

 

[semper fi]

that is called displaying their colors.

also since she is a mouthbrooder, she will be defenseless while holding. would be prepared to seperate her if she gets beat on too much.

 

[mtdewlover]

My yellow lab just had babies! She was in a 30 gallon tank with two other labs, and two zebras and five SAE. They get eggs in their mouth and they keep them in their mouth for about three weeks. THey do not eat durning this time and can become weak. So we had to put ours in another tank b/c she was getting picked on. The eggs will hatch in her mouth and then she will let the fish swim out. THey are so small and so cute! I would seperate her so the other fish don't eat the babies and so they don't pick on her. Good luck