Orange Cichlids

[Jim Hagani]

Hi, I have 4 Cichlids, 1M, 3F, Mouth Breeders, They are pure orange, The
male is 5" long, and females are 3-4", full grown I guess. I had them for 3
years now.

Two questions.
1. Can anyone identify what kind they are, with so little info, sorry no
digital camera.
2. Recently the male has started attacking his own semi grown offsprings,
about 2-3" long, he does not bother the smaller frys, or the larger females.
Is this normal behavior? what can I do to help?

The tank is 100 Gal, I only keep this breed in the tank, total including all
the fry 18, plus two cat fish.

Thanks for your help.

Jim

[Owen Ruck]

Do they look anything like these?
http://www.adelaideaquariums.com.au/Faqs/freshwater/fish/africich/zebrared.h
tml

They about the only orange cichlid I have seen... but im totally new to the
scene.

Owen.

[Owen Ruck]

No problem!
I've been looking at the Mbuna's because I want to get a 6 foot tank for my
birthday and Christmas.
I want to have Yellow Labs and Cobalt Zebras.
Does anyone know if this Mix is okay in the same tank... I was thinking like
one male and 4 females of Each?


"Jim Hagani" > wrote in message
. ..
> Thanks A lot Owen!
> Yes, that is it exactly, even with the spots on the lower fins.
> I had done a lot of research on Google before with no luck. Appreciate the
> help.
>
> Jim
>
>

[Rich Conley]

I got Yellow Labs, Nkhata bay Zebras, and Cyn. Afra together...and they do
great....Cobalts should be fine with the labs if my Nkhatas are..

Owen Ruck wrote:

> No problem!
> I've been looking at the Mbuna's because I want to get a 6 foot tank for my
> birthday and Christmas.
> I want to have Yellow Labs and Cobalt Zebras.
> Does anyone know if this Mix is okay in the same tank... I was thinking like
> one male and 4 females of Each?
>
> "Jim Hagani" > wrote in message
> . ..
> > Thanks A lot Owen!
> > Yes, that is it exactly, even with the spots on the lower fins.
> > I had done a lot of research on Google before with no luck. Appreciate the
> > help.
> >
> > Jim
> >
> >

[Owen Ruck]

Thanks Rich.
Do you have Breeding pairs in the tank?
How do they treat each other when they have little ones around?

[rmc]

Hi Jim,

The fish which you later identified as Metriaclima Esterae are
beautiful Mbuna cichlids. By nature, they are likely to be
hyper-active and/or territorially aggressive. You will find that
Mbuna and many other cichlids have only two things to live
for......spawning and food. As the fry mature the adults will not
recognize these as offspring but rather, competition. The female will
want to raise the young but the male will only want to spawn again.

Malawi cichlids (especially Mbuna) tend to fair much better when they
are crowded so the aggression is dispersed among more individuals.
Your tank is large enough to where most of the young that did not end
up as prey will survive but the other males may get killed eventually.

What to do is entirely dependent on what your personal goals are. The
male will spawn with any or all of the females once they reach
maturity. If you want to keep the fry you should start looking for a
place to market them or give them away. If you only want a colorful
tank you may consider keeping only one sex but with the Esterae the
females are the ones with the most color unlike most of the other
Mbuna.

A bit more information as far as your ultimate goals would be helpful
so readers could give appropriate advise.

--

Mark
http://www.cichliddomain.com


"Jim Hagani" > wrote in message
m...
> Hi, I have 4 Cichlids, 1M, 3F, Mouth Breeders, They are pure orange,
The
> male is 5" long, and females are 3-4", full grown I guess. I had
them for 3
> years now.
>
> Two questions.
> 1. Can anyone identify what kind they are, with so little info,
sorry no
> digital camera.
> 2. Recently the male has started attacking his own semi grown
offsprings,
> about 2-3" long, he does not bother the smaller frys, or the larger
females.
> Is this normal behavior? what can I do to help?
>
> The tank is 100 Gal, I only keep this breed in the tank, total
including all
> the fry 18, plus two cat fish.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Jim
>
>

[Rich Conley]

The labs are breeding, but I pulled the females (I had 1m3f and wanted
more)... the afras look like theyre starting, and I think the zebras
probably have another 2 or 3 weeks before they start.

Everything seems copacetic.

Owen Ruck wrote:

> Thanks Rich.
> Do you have Breeding pairs in the tank?
> How do they treat each other when they have little ones around?

[keviinpiter]

Malawi Cichlids (especially Mbuna) tend to fair a lot of time in such a crowded aggression is dispersed in more people. Your tank is large enough where the youngest is not over, as the prey to survive, but other men may eventually die.

[daarrelmills]

You know the nature of male animals, they do attacking on same gender due to many reasons. Sometimes to prove their ability or sometime to get the possession in the tank. So its quite normal behavior.

[anddrewcraig]

Malawi cichlids (especially Mbuna) tend to fair abundant bigger if they are awash so the assailment is broadcast a part of added individuals. Your catchbasin is ample abundant to area a lot of of the adolescent that did not end up as casualty will survive but the added males may get dead eventually.