What Cichlids dont eat there own fry

[intern1]

Just wanted to know some people experience on what cichlid's they have had that haven't eaten there fry. Even some that are claimed to but still don't.

[shannon07]

as far as i know most shellies (if not all) dont eat their fry. i have multis and they look after them. Did u want to know which african cichlids dont eat their own fry or which americans dont?? coz i thnk most americans raise their own fry (like angels and dicsuss). im not an expert so im not 100% sure.

[intern1]

as far as i know most shellies (if not all) dont eat their fry. i have multis and they look after them. Did u want to know which african cichlids dont eat their own fry or which americans dont?? coz i thnk most americans raise their own fry (like angels and dicsuss). im not an expert so im not 100% sure.

was just asking a general question/discussion

i got brevis and the parents dont eat there own fry but they dont shepard the fry when danger comes its more like your on your own type of approach.

Is it true all malawi eat there own fry or are there exceptions ????

[killiguy]

Most cichlids are good parents when given the correct conditions.In some species if the fish has had many generations where they are artificially raised(eg Angels)they can be a problem.Alot of cichlids need time to get it right(esp mouthbrooders and esp Tanganykan ones)so may eat the first few batches.I have an interest in mouthbrooding Betta species and these guys are terrible parents(maybe because the male does it?? ).

Conditions are important as if a cichlid thinks that they are likely to loose their brood because of tank position (to much disturbance) or overcrowding,incorrect pH etc. they will eat their fry to conserve to conciderable energy it takes to produce them.

I must say Ive found Shellies to be the most dedicated parents,ocellatus females would attack my arm when I was cleaning the tank to protect their fry(but I think they are really a red devil reincarnated as a little fish)

[Joel]

Hey,

Sandsifters are generally pretty good with raising their fry. I breed X. falvipinnis and X. spilopterus.

I have had a few breeds go wrong from time to time. I had a X. flavipinnis pair breed that was going well after about a month. Fry were free swimming and parents would let them retreat often but one day i checked on the tank and all fry were gone. Was very cool to watch while it lasted though.

I would usually strip the pair after a week or so these days.

I have L. signatus fry at about 1.5cm freely swimming amongst their mother who doesnt seem to mind them. The male died a month or so ago, so havent had issues with the parents protecting what could have been another batch of fry from the juveniles.

Cheers

Joel

[ViS]

Eartheaters won't eat their own fry (or anyone elses for that matter).

That's a general rule, and there are always exceptions. I've got 2-3cm fry in with 15cm altifrons and they don't even look sideways at them.

[Abalone]

Julidochromis transcriptus "Kolombo". I have a pair that just keep breeding and have got the fry from about the last 6 lots of eggs all living in the same rock pile in a 50L tank. The largest are now 3cm and the smallest are pinheads.

The parents treat them all the same and the big fry don't attack the newly hatched ones. When they get to 3cm the male does begin to encourage them to move on. I made a trap out of a 2L plastic juice bottle and just catch them as they get bigger.

Cheers Richard