Question About Salvini Cichlid

[trojannemo]

hey guys. my parents have what I now identified to be a Salvini cichlid with their africans, and I had a couple of questions...

1. can african and central american cichlids interbreed? my assumption is no, but i'll like to hear from you...

2. Do salvini's lay eggs? If so, one with a red belly and a protruding ovipositor would the female?

3. Why would a female become gravid and lay eggs without a male? i could swear she did, as what looked like an ovipositor was out, the fish became bulging and extra aggressive, and now it's gone back down in size and the ovipositor has gone away...

thanks for your help

 

[Davo86]

1. No they can't, what other fish do you have in the setup?
2. yes Salvinis lay eggs, Can you post a pic to be id'd?
3. It is possible that the Salvini has paired up with another fish, even if it is impossible for them to breed together

 

[River Dog]

I agree with Davo on all three questions. I had a Salvini female pair up with a male Managuense, they were inseparable and she often laid eggs which he ignored or ate. For a proper ID a picture would be great, but the female Salvini does have the red belly as you said.

 

[trojannemo]

i'll try to get a good picture tonight.

it's not my setup, so i'm not too sure on what's in there. except for the salvini and a lonely bala shark, the rest I think are all african Mbunas. i noticed the salvini hanging out a lot with a much bigger Moori Cichlid inside its cave, but that one looks to be female.

 

[trojannemo]

finally got around to taking a good picture of the fish...
here she(?) is:

am I right in thinking it's a she?


P.S. dont mind the blue gravel, this is my parents' tank not mine!