So I have a 75 gallon that I used as a hospital tank for awhile. Somehow fish kept ending up in there (go figure). I now have a male and female kribensis who are not paired up, a male jewel and a female convict. I added the convict because my daughter really likes them and I know they can hold their own with the jewel. Immediately the jewel and convict started swimming around each other showing off what seemed to be flirting. The next day the convict dug a couple of pits and now her and the jewel are hovering around this one particular rock. Did I just witness love blossom between these two? I know they wont be able to breed but is it common for two fish, being from different parts of the world, to pair up? Any similar cases?
Odd Pair
- Thread starter Lucky19
- Start date
I know right! Promiscuous little thing, what a hussy. We'll see what happens, it's pretty interesting so far
Cichlids in general will try to spawn with things that look similar. It's how the lineage expanded to over 500 species in Lake Malawi from just a few ancestors. They still hybridize regularly. So, yes, I would say what you witnessed is an attempt at spawning.
Why dont you pick a species you like and breed those, creating a situation for possible hybrid crosses has never appealed to me.
I don't think a jewel and a convict can hybridize. The African and South American are kind of far away from each other for hybridizing, I believe.
yea I agree - I mean never say never, but the odds of it happening are astronomical
I'm confused, you said you don't like setting up for possible hybrids. I suggested this is unlikely, and are you agreeing now? Or what is happening?
I would argue those species shouldn't be kept together, but not because of hybridization. Also, that's not what this thread is about. So, I'm a bit confused. Are you agreeing with me and Frank or disagreeing?
