# Breeding Cichlids



## cheffner (Feb 29, 2012)

So one of my OB Peacock Cichlids just gave birth to 32 babies and I am pretty proud of it. Now my next challenge is to breed Albino Zebras. I have two males and one female and they have been sexed so I know they are male and female. Now I have a breeder box with a removable divider. Does anyone know whether I should put a male on one side and a female on the other and try and breed them that way or should I leave them together to mingle and what not. I really want to make sure that they come out 100% Albino Cichlids so thats why I want to try and use this floating breeder box. I just don't want them to kill each other. Let me know what you guys think!! Thanks in advance


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I think a breeder box will be to small.If possible place divider in tank and give the pair 1/2 of the tank they're already in.This will stress them less,and provide a proper site for them to deposit and protect eggs.Good Luck!


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## graybot (Apr 24, 2011)

You should lose one of the males and procure 2 or more females. Breeding should take place in the main aquarium. Mbuna mating requires some social behavior that a breeder box probably won't allow for. Once a female is carrying eggs she can be pulled and placed in the breeder box until she spits her fry, or you can pull the female after some time, strip the fry from her mouth and put them in the breeder box and return the female to the main tank. 2 males and one female will eventually end badly. The males will constantly fight over breeding rights or the female will be hounded to death.


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## graybot (Apr 24, 2011)

Mbuna like the red zebra do not deposit or protect eggs. The female will carry them in her mouth until large enough to eat on their own. The male will likely continue to attempt to mate with the female and harass her. Dividing the tank and isolating the breeding pair is not appropriate- mbuna do not form pairs. Once the mating is done the male is only interested in further mating, either with the original F or any other he can find. Multiple females will distribute his attention and associated aggression.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

graybot said:


> Multiple females will distribute his attention and associated aggression.


I so wish this worked for mouth brooding bettas, lol. i have several females( as they are paternal mouth brooders instead of maternal) that will harrass one male all the time regardless of the other boys in the tank.


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

graybot said:


> Mbuna like the red zebra do not deposit or protect eggs. The female will carry them in her mouth until large enough to eat on their own. The male will likely continue to attempt to mate with the female and harass her. Dividing the tank and isolating the breeding pair is not appropriate- mbuna do not form pairs. Once the mating is done the male is only interested in further mating, either with the original F or any other he can find. Multiple females will distribute his attention and associated aggression.


in this case, without an extra tank, dividing is the only way to make sure of albino on albino breeding, because the ob will breed with the albino! After breeding remove the male to the other side to reduce stress on female, because as said above the male will not quit harrassing her.


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## graybot (Apr 24, 2011)

He said the OB was a peacock, which is a whole other story. The peacocks shouldn't be in with a bruiser like a zebra for long. May work for a while when young but once the M zebra becomes truly dominant... The peacocks won't be so pretty no more. If you want to properly breed albino only zebras you should make a harem of albinos. Cross breeding peacocks with mbuna like the zebra is impossible, so I assume he has multiple morphs of zebra. Either way this isn't a proper breeding setup if you're serious.


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

graybot said:


> He said the OB was a peacock, which is a whole other story. The peacocks shouldn't be in with a bruiser like a zebra for long. May work for a while when young but once the M zebra becomes truly dominant... The peacocks won't be so pretty no more. If you want to properly breed albino only zebras you should make a harem of albinos. Cross breeding peacocks with mbuna like the zebra is impossible, so I assume he has multiple morphs of zebra. Either way this isn't a proper breeding setup if you're serious.


The OB Peacock is a man made cross between a ob mbuna and a peacock and yes they can crossbreed with either. The OB Peacock


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## cheffner (Feb 29, 2012)

Awesome guys thanks!! I really appreciate the help and I am going to try and leave them in the tank and add another female or two to see how things go. I think they are trying to mate already because the male is doing that mating shaking motion next to her all the time and she stays. I'll let you guys know how things turns out. Thanks again!!


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