Anyone breed Malawi cichlids?

[Fish_Lovers_001]

I was wonderingg if anyone had bred Malawi cichlids and do they eat there young? Do the male and female have to be seperated?

[sergo]

i'm currently trying to get some that i have to do it.
he wants to, she doesn't right now.

[Fishguy2727]

My peacocks are breeding in the 150. And surprisingly the mbunas had at least one brood before I took them into work. They are mouthbrooders and how you deal with the young depends on what you are trying to do. Some will isolate the female in a separate tank, some will strip her of the eggs or fry and raise them in a separate tank. I just leave them in the display tank and whoever makes it, makes it.

[sergo]

hey fishguy, is there some trick or something to get mbunas to or help them to swawn or will there just come a time when the female will become interested? my male is about to pop i think, he is lust stricken i swear.

[Fishguy2727]

Nothing really to trigger them. They just need to be in the right conditions and well taken care of. That means: good water (8.2 and the special salts), a good diet (NLS), and high water quality (weekly large water changes). She may not be mature yet, how big is she? Are there at least two females per male? If not he could be harassing her which can stress her, and most fish will not breed if stressed.

[sergo]

ph is 7.8-8 gh 13 kh 10-11 50% wc every week. she (i believe is a ice blue) is actually a little bigger than him (afra). she my not be ready yet but there is another female (afra) in there too but smaller than the other 2. he really doesn't mess with the smaller one but pretty much focuses his attention on the bigger one. he does chase her around and is always doing his shake dance towards her.

[Fishguy2727]

Just make sure she does not get too stressed and give it time. She doesn't look like she is holding does she?

[sergo]

she's not holding because she is still eating, and pretty good too i must say. of the 3 she's the biggest eater. stocking up maybe?

[Fishguy2727]

Maybe. And it's definitely a female? How many egg spots?

[jweintraub]

I have Saulosi's and Lombardoi's(Kenyi) that will not stop breeding in my 42G. It's all about having good water quality and if you're trying to get them ready for breeding, feed live foods once a week. I can't remember a time in the last 3 months that I haven't had at least 1 if not 2 or 3 females holding eggs at any given time.

[Fishguy2727]

There is absolutely no need for live food. The best food is New Life Spectrum. And there is definitely no need for live food in herbivores like mbunas, that can cause bloat. Live foods will just end up causing problems such as malnutrition, parasites, and diseases. If the water is right, they will breed. If they don't, you need to change something.

[sergo]

Maybe. And it's definitely a female? How many egg spots?2 big spots and 1 tiny spec of a spot. her color is very light (tanish) and her finnage is orange. you can barely see the stripes. sometimes you can catch a orangish/pinkish hue, depending on how she's swimming.