Jewels Spawned I think?

[net_shark512]

OK here is the situation. I have 2 Jewels in my 55g they are about 2 1/2 inches give or take. I noticed just yesterday I have a fake plastic hollow log in the middle of the tank that my clown pleco lives him. They threw him out the female is inside the log and will attack anything that comes by the opening to it. Mean while the male circles around the log and also chases anything that gets close. They got very nasty all of a sudden. I happened to look in the log from the side of the tank it looks like lots of eggs all over the bottom of it. I don't really know what to do now. I don't have the means to keep alot of fry since I don't have another tank. I wouldn't mined maybe if 1 or 2 fry hatch and make it but thats it. If i just leave everything alone is there a chance some fry will make it? Or will the other cichlids in the tank eat them. I have 1 red zebra 1 kenyai and 1 unknown from a assorted tank. All about the size of the jewels. Nothing is reall big.
Will the Jewels also protect the young like they are protecting the eggs? How long till the eggs hatch? I read that jewels spawn on carefully cleaned rocks then moved the eggs to gravel pits. Don't know if they did this yet. Haven't looked yet today. It is very cool to watch how they act like protctive parents, but man are they nasty now I hope they don't hurt the other fish now. I also feel bad for my poor clown pleco since the jewels kicked him out of his plastic log,and won't let him back in. Sorry for the long post but I am a bit excited but also confused what I should do??

 

[scott]

With my maculicauda, who is also a pit spawner, she did not move until they were hatched. I came home one day and all of the new fry were gone, I figured they had been eaten. Three days later my wife said that the blackbelt had babies again. I said what? There they all were, she had dug a pit under a rock and pushed them all in there for protection. My JD ate them all though, I don't think any of yours will make it with other tank mates. Once the fry hatch they will get more agressive as they will protect the fry as they move, encompassing a larger territory. IME. Good luck, it sure is cool to watch!

 

[net_shark512]

Ok the eggs are still in the log. I was worried the female is so worried about the eggs she doesn't come out to eat. The log has a small opening in the top I managed to drop a shrimp pellet in the opening and she got mad and swam the pellet out and spit it out and went right back in. It was kind of funny like she doesn't want anything in there messy or something. Should I be worried if she doesn't eat soon? Its not that she is sick she just doesn't want to leave her eggs. I am still getting such a kick out of how protective she is. It is very cool.

 

[scott]

My blackbelt didn't eat for four days, after she buried the fry she ate a little if it came near the cave, once the fry were free swimming she didn't eat for a week. By then there were only about ten or fifteen fry left and she kinda lost interest in them and decided she would rather eat. Boy did she look like hell! Skinny and her colors were blah!

 

[net_shark512]

She isn't looking like hell yet its to early, but her colors are the best I ever seen them she is almost all red very nice lookin. I guess Jewels color always get nice when spawning. You know attracked the male and such.

 

[polosniffer]

With regards to the not eating part - I've never managed to get my jewels to breed but I did use to breed tilapia in my pond. The fish are mouthbrooders and the females would go for weeks without eating when they were breeding - first storing the eggs in their mouths and then keeping their mouths empty so the new born fry could hide there if they felt threatend. Once breeding was over they would have lost a lot of weight but would eat a lot and gain the weight back farily quickly. I know tilapia are much larger fish, but based on their behaviour I wouldn't worry about your jewels not eating. Congrats on the impending babies.