breeding blue cobalts

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blue_convicts

blue_convicts

Banned
Sep 4, 2007
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Hi, i have
a 200 lts tank
4 giraffe cichlids
2 colbalts
4 yellow labs
4 johannis
3 Chipokaes

a 90 lts
2 parrot fish
3 goldfish
3 barbs
2 corys one striped one albino
Yes the parrots get along just fine... they think they are goldies since the grew up together

and some baby convicts in a 20 lts

and a breeding pair of convicts in a 40 lts

well i wanted to know the breeding attitude of the blue colbats and how to sex them... i saw that they lay eggs in a web page and i wanted to know if they are good parents or if they will eat the eggs/let the others eat them and how to raise the fry.

thanks
 
tarheels910

tarheels910

Malawi Maniac
Jul 6, 2006
1,065
0
36
30
Concord, NC
Cobalt Blues (Assuming you are talking about Metriaclima Callainos) are not substrate layers, but mouthbrooders.

The mother will hold the eggs in her mouth for 3-4 weeks after the male has fertilized them. The fry should be housed in a seperate tank (the other fish and the parents will eat them) and be fed finely crushed cichlid flakes and brine shrimp. I suggest to place the holding female in the fry tank to let her spit the fry and then place her in another tank to regain her health before putting her back into the main tank.
 
H

Haven

AC Members
Jan 22, 2008
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Im still learning about all the terminology. What is meant by "Fry"? Babies?

Chris
 
L

lucky777ca

AC Members
Jan 25, 2006
617
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Yup... fry = baby fish

The only way of correctly sexing any mbuna cichlid (which seem to be mostly monomorphic with a few exceptions, even the exceptions need certain conditions as some males will be the same colourations as the females in order to hide from the dominate male) is by venting. Males have two small openings (anus and the opening for the sperm) while the females has two openings, one larger than the other (larger one is for the eggs)... Don't have the proper names for the openings.

M. callainos is one of the monomorphic cichlids, which have no differences between the males and the females in colouration (unlike the P. saulosi or the Kenyi cichlids).

Someone more experienced with venting might be able to help with that.
 
blue_convicts

blue_convicts

Banned
Sep 4, 2007
45
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ok and one is getting an egg spot so it is probably a boy and then there is another one that has more coloration than him, i think he is the dominant male, he doesn't have any egg spots yet though but i think i have 2 boys and 2 girls, do they mate for life or they just don't care because it looks like 2 have paired off..... do they get about 15 cm long? and when will they be mature enough to have fry???
 
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lucky777ca

AC Members
Jan 25, 2006
617
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do they mate for life or they just don't care because it looks like 2 have paired off
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They will mate if there is the opposite sex present. They don't have pairs (like South & Central American Cichlids, or West African cichlids) as they are harem spawners (meaning that a male will mate with several females at the same time).

do they get about 15 cm long?
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They can get up to 6" (15 cm).

when will they be mature enough to have fry???
Click to expand...
I have seen in my brother's Red Zebra cichlids that they started to spawn/breed once they were about 3.5" or so (not sure of the age of the cichlids that he had as he raised them from babies). They should be same as Cobalt Blue Cichlids (Metriaclima callainos). I'm not sure if they can breed once they are a bit smaller in length...

Anyways, I'm pretty sure that the answer to the question of when they are sexually mature or not depends on their age and size.

Hope this helps!
 
blue_convicts

blue_convicts

Banned
Sep 4, 2007
45
0
0
thanks everyone for ur help!!!!!!!!
 
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