Sev And/or Nic Breeding Advice

[tenohfive]

As I've mentioned in another thread I'm a big fan of both Severums and Nicaraguan cichlids. I've just been given the okay from the missus to get a decent sized tank for the garage, so I'm thinking about getting some sort of a breeding program going. I've not made a firm decision which I want to breed yet, but I'm thinking that Nicaraguans are the less common option and that I might be best going down that route. There don't seem to be many for sale and I daresay my LFS will accept them for credit.

Down to the nitty gritty. My plan was to buy 6 whilst young and see which pair off. Once I've got a pair I'd be looking to remove the others and either sell them on or exchange them at my LFS (less one that will be going in my show tank.) First question is tank size - right now I'm thinking a 4ft / 240L would be a minimum for a breeding tank - is that about right? Second question is grow out tanks - how big, how many and when would I need to move them into those tanks?

Breeding is something I've not tried before and I'm keen to give it a go, so if anyone can answer the above or tell me anything else that'll be useful I'm keen to hear it.

Chris

 

[always4lora]

I'd go for a bigger tank for Sev's , try getting something like a 4x2x2 (about 400litre). Depends on the type of sev some are mouthbrooder's some are not, the mouth brooding one is heros Severus (spelling?)

If you want something you can make some money out of go with exCichlasoma Ornatum cichlid's , you'd need a large 4ft or 5 ft tank but you will sell these really quickly. There is a pair on AC going for £200 which is a good price.

never looked into Nic's before.

 

[micko]

I'd personally go for red spotted severums myself but that's because I'm biased. They on my top 5 fish.

 

[hamfist]

It all depends how "properly" you want to get into the project.

I'd say you'd need (minimum) a breeding tank for the parents, and then one or even two grow out tanks for the subsequent offspring.
For sevs I'd be looking at a minimum 300 litre size (about 80G) for each of these. For nics, say 240 litre (55G).
I'm sure some people do successfully breed these species in smaller tanks, but personally I'd want them to have a decent quality of life too.

Ideally I waould also look at trying to get breeding stock from different sources too. It's definately not genetically ideal to be spawning brothers and sisters. It will weaken the whole gene pool of the species in captivity, and will also significantly increase the % of malformed and weak offspring.
If possible you could try and get all males from one source and all females from another, as that guarantees any pair that forms are from mixed stock.

 

[tenohfive]

Cheers for the advice. I'm more inclined to go down the Nic route at the moment simply because I think they'll be easier to shift if I find myself with too many of them and not enough space. I am looking to start slow - this is the first time I've tried breeding anything - and start with one pair rather than a full scale breeding setup. The first grow out tank will probably be a 180L as I'm hoping to have one spare by the time I start this. A bigger would then probably follow.

What's everyones thoughts on culturing my own live foods for the fry - how easy is it, and what should I look at culturing?