Mating Pair of Firemouth Cichlids

[sportfisher43]

Hello all,
I have a pair of Firemouth cichlids and today I was lying in bed and noticed the little guys started doing there cichlid dance, They are also kissing and rubbing each other.
Well that just got me all excited like a new PAPA..LOL
And as I started researching I found this place.
So my question is, What should I do to get them prepared to spawn and lay there eggs.I have a couple of nice hiding places for them. Do they need flat rocks to spawn? and what else should I get them ready for.
OH ya my tank is a 75 gallon.. This tank is only 3 months old to.
The last breeding pair I had were Yellow labs, and once they started they were having babies every other month, Then selling them back to the fish store.
Any help appreciated.. Thanks

 

[Tetracanthus]

Firemouth cichlids are cave spawners, if you have a flower pot for them you'll do just fine.
How old are they, if they are fairly young don't be disappointed if they eat the eggs.
Mine were 6" and 4" (the male was larger) that pair spawned 4 times before I gave up on rearing fry, I hope you have more aquariums as you'll have a lot of fry.
Having never owned an aquarium over 30 gallons I housed mine in a 20g, the fry were moved to a 10g for a week before they got their own 30g.
In the end I had 37 fry that I sold, the rest (too many to count) I fed to my friends TSN cats.
As for prep, water changes and a good food source (frozen blood worms work very well).


Lloyd

 

[sportfisher43]

They are about 3", I have one that protects the rockery and pvc tunnel, When the other comes near he blows his gills out, its pretty cool, then they stare each other down, then either lip lock or chase each other in circles before splitting apart. They are funny to watch how they seem to tease each other. But I don't know if they mating ritual or if they are even wanting to mate,
From what I explained dose anyone know if this is a ritual. Alos what are their rituals if anyone knows.
Thanks
Ron

 

[MySpace Mike]

Actually a flat rock is fine for them to spawn on, I had a breeding pair of FireMouths for years, and they would only use a flat rock to lay the eggs on.

To get them into the spawning behavior, drain out 20% of water from the tank, let it run for 3-4 days, then fill in the 20%. This will simulate a rainy season to them and help to induce spawning.


Spawning behavior will be the male and female doing circles around each other, and them nipping at each other. The male will flare up at her to show his dominance to her. They will also do whats called flapping, which is slapping each other with their tail fins. The female will try to get away from him and he will follow her and keep doing it.

 

[sportfisher43]

Right on, this is exectly what they are doing. I do have a flat rock that is right abobe the pvc tunnel. and that is where they seem to be protecting. This is what I have always loved about Cichlids, they are so entertaining to watch.
Thanks for the info