Rainbow cichlids eating their eggs?

[Dave_davis1987]

Hi guys,

my rainbows recently started laying eggs, but the male instantly picks them up, the female only laid about 50 eggs and was continually chasing my other fish away.
I’ve ended up moving most of the other fish to a separate tank to try and give them some privacy haha, any tips for ensuring the eggs a) get fertilised and b) don’t get eaten??

thanks!
Dave

 

[Colin_T]

It's common for new pairs to eat the eggs the first few times. Then they eat the babies a few times when they first hatch. Then they start to look after them properly.

 

[Dave_davis1987]

Right ok, thank you. Seems similar to what I had read online but didn’t think a fish could learn how to be a good parent
Is it worth trying to separate the babies or put them in a little tank to try and save them?
And do you know how often they will spawn? They seem much happier in there with only a few small fish

 

[LittleMissNeptune]

It's common for new pairs to eat the eggs the first few times. Then they eat the babies a few times when they first hatch. Then they start to look after them properly.

Can't agree more

 

[Retired Viking]

I went though the same thing when I had cichlids, after awhile I ended up with too many fry

 

[Colin_T]

Right ok, thank you. Seems similar to what I had read online but didn’t think a fish could learn how to be a good parent
Is it worth trying to separate the babies or put them in a little tank to try and save them?
And do you know how often they will spawn? They seem much happier in there with only a few small fish

This is commonly seen in captive bred fish where the eggs have been removed from the parents. The eggs are hatched in a separate tank and the fry have no contact with their parents. This means the babies don't learn anything from their parents and don't know how to be a parent when they grow up and breed.

Cichlids should ALWAYS be allowed to look after their eggs and young until the babies start to swim away and live on their own. They are usually an inch or more when they do that.

Do not remove the eggs or fry, just leave them with the parents.

The adults will breed every 1-2 weeks.

 

[Dave_davis1987]

Thank you very much Colin for the information and advice, it is greatly appreciated and duly noted. I will follow your advice! Hopefully soon we will see some eggs survive