What Is Easier To Breed

[black molly3]

i have decided to set up my tank again as my friend was looking after someones cribs whilst he went on holiday in his tank and they bred and have now got a small batch of fry. the thing what gets me is it was quite a small tank so i dont know how they done it. right my question is what is better/easier to breed Kribs or malawi cichlids. thanks

 

[nmonks]

Both are easy to breed; neither is easy to breed WELL.

The problem is both Mbuna and Kribs spawn readily, too readily. They aren't picky. Taking Kribs to start with, the ratio of males to females depends on pH. Only at pH 7 will you get equal numbers of both. If the water is acidic, you get almost all females; if the water is basic, you get almost all males. In either case, this is a "failure" as far as serious breeding goes because you can't easily sell the fry. Why would a retailer want just male or just female kribs? So to breed them properly, you need to carefully control the pH.

In the case of Mbuna, the problem is they will mate with anything closely related. All Pseudotropheus (including Metriaclima/Maylandia) will interbreed, and almost always the fry produced in community tanks are hybrids. These hybrids are a pox on the hobby because [a] they're not pretty, and they're unpredictable. Inexperienced hobbyists dump them in shops, where they get picked up by unsuspecting aquarists who end up being sorely disappointed that none of their fish look like the ones in the picture books.

Breeding is more than just letting fish spawn, just as raising children is more than just having sex and giving birth nine months later. Breeding is about picking the right fish, giving them the right conditions, and producing offspring that have good genes and good health.

Cheers, Neale

i have decided to set up my tank again as my friend was looking after someones cribs whilst he went on holiday in his tank and they bred and have now got a small batch of fry. the thing what gets me is it was quite a small tank so i dont know how they done it. right my question is what is better/easier to breed Kribs or malawi cichlids. thanks