Cichlid tank.. Jewels laying eggs

[dbest89]

Hi guys!

I have a 36 gal freshwater tank. Living in the tank are:

3 jewel cichlids which are about 3 inches

1 convict cichlid a little over 2 inches

2 dempseys I recently got that are maybe 1.5 inches

2 featherfin catfish

2 peacock eels

1 rubber lipped pleco about 2 inches

and I also added 3 african dwarf frogs into the mix that I had in another tank (wasn't sure what to expect, wanted to get rid of the small tank they were in. Assumed they would just get eaten by the cichlids but they are THRIVING in this tank.)

anyhoo,

2 of my Jewels have paired up and laid some eggs in the back corner of the tank all over the house decoration. The chemistry of the tank has been interesting ever since. The pair dominates their back corner and the rest of the fish are all backed up on the opposite side of the tank.

I tried to move the pair and their eggs into that small tank I had stopped using, but the house was too big to fit. I tried to gently rub off as many eggs as I could into the new tank, then added the parents. I decided about an hour later that was probably a bad idea, and put the parents back into the main tank before they got too uncomfortable.

The pair is back to controlling that back corner.

What I would like to know is:

1. How long do you think it will be until my pair lays eggs again?

2. When they do lay eggs should I attempt to transfer the eggs again or just leave everything as is and see how it unfolds?

Thank you!

 

[DaveK]

A pair can lay eggs every couple of weeks or so.

Once the fish pair off, the best solution is to move them to their own tank. They just are not going to get along with other fish, unless you have a really huge tank.

That's sort of a price you pay for cichlids. You need a lot of room and tanks for them.

 

[Doogle]

36g just isn't enough tank for cichlids.
I feel bad that mine are in 55g tanks.

If given lots of hiding places they will grow out in the tank like mine do. All this started with a dozen small fish and have sold hundreds over just a couple years.

Some breeding.

 

[SubRosa]

Jewels are typical substrate spawners and should be ready to go every couple of weeks. They are potentially MUCH more prolific than the Cichlids Doogle is referring to. Rift Lake mouthbrooders might have 50 young after a month of incubation. Jewels can lay 500-600 eggs at a time. Also unlike the Rifties which just drop the babies and go, Jewels will protect their young from other fish and you very vigorously. That tank is perfect for the pair, along with a bunch of schooling dither fish that aren't stupid enough to fight with a pair of Cichlids defending their young. Having the other Cichlids in there is an invitation to trouble.

 

[Doogle]

The jacks should go and don't dare get a mate for the convict. Haha, oh man.

The peacock eels are picky eaters, I've found bloodworms is mostly all they eat

 

[Doogle]

I don't really dig on the American cichlids much as I had them when I was younger but flower horned & electric blue jacks are pretty cool.

I keep angelfish as the only non African cichlids at the moment.