Michigan Cichlid Association
General Category => Old World => Topic started by: TrailerParkFishTanks on May 03, 2013, 10:50:31 PM
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I have been getting more and more into A. Cichlids and was thinking of trying to do a little breeding. nothing major, i just want to see if i can do it and experience it myself. I have a few tanks around the house that i could use as fry and grow out tanks. I also know i dont want to try my hand at some ridiculously rare and difficult species. Do any of you have a top 5 species that are fairly easy to breed for you? I have some yellow labs and some ecles reef yellow tail acei but im also unsure how to tell if they are quality fish or not (dont want hybrids and poor genetics if i am going to sell them) where can i find some good genetic lines?
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I have been getting more and more into A. Cichlids and was thinking of trying to do a little breeding. nothing major, i just want to see if i can do it and experience it myself. I have a few tanks around the house that i could use as fry and grow out tanks. I also know i dont want to try my hand at some ridiculously rare and difficult species. Do any of you have a top 5 species that are fairly easy to breed for you? I have some yellow labs and some ecles reef yellow tail acei but im also unsure how to tell if they are quality fish or not (dont want hybrids and poor genetics if i am going to sell them) where can i find some good genetic lines?
For electric yellows, go with Josh Cunningham (jcunningham0295) or Frenchie.
Electric yellows are super easy - you just have to make sure you have a pair and they have to be decent sized (like 3+ inches) to get decent brood sizes.
For yellow tail acei, check with Blair (RegalBlue) as I think he has some nice quality ones.
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Mbuna is a good place to start for breeding Africans they require smaller tanks then haps and peacocks and you can really over crowd which is always a nice thing. In terms of getting good stock you really just have to pick them out your self pure colors, so electric yellows should be vibrant yellows the less white and black on the bodies basically the better the quality to a point. Each species will be different. Finage make sure there are no bent fins or gill deformity's
Mbuna are the first fish I bred and still breed and I enjoy a lot. They are very easy to breed I really haven't experienced any more of a challenge with the more "rare" then with the more common fish but I haven't explored super deep into this. My electric yellows and my rustys breed just as easy as my small group of Lions cove polits (not that they are super rare but I bet you don't see them at your LFS)
I'd basically buy as many of a species as I could from a few different places IE. auctions, a few different fish stores local breeders and grow them up together. And basically that's it LoL they will breed for you, you may need to separate males as they get larger and keep as many females as possible with minimal males put some caves or cichlid stones in the tank and in a few months you should have fry. Make sure you cull any deformities or runts, also any fish you don't find up to snuff color wise if that's what your going for.
There is so many different types to choose from just pick something you like that will fit in whatever tank you have.
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Well I`m much closer too you than those other people and have lots of Africans any plenty of good advise and quality fish . If you know where the CVS is on Wixom road I am a hop skip and a jump from there ..Ken
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Well I`m much closer too you than those other people and have lots of Africans any plenty of good advise and quality fish . If you know where the CVS is on Wixom road I am a hop skip and a jump from there ..Ken
Sorry Ken, I didn't look at his location closely and tend to think of people closer to me. You definitely have some really nice fish.
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Electric yellows are super easy - you just have to make sure you have a pair and they have to be decent sized (like 3+ inches) to get decent brood sizes.
Just to throw it out there - no mbuna is pair-bonding, so having a "pair" is unnecessary. It's better to have a male and at least a few females.
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would zebra obliquidens (Astatotilapia latifasciata) be too large to try and breed in a 55g tank? i was also considering pseudotropheus saulosi since they are dwarf mbuna and would be something ive always wanted to have. additionally i was thinking that these two species have really cool coloring about them which may help when its time to get rid of the offspring. any experiences with these species?
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A very good strain (well marked) of obliquidens could be marketable....there are many poorly marked ones out there often flooding the market.
Saulosi always seem to be in demand and somewhat hard to find in certain areas so they could be a very good choice.
Both of them breed very easily with minimal care other than regular water changes and good food.
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I might be selling my breeding group of hap. ruby green soon. They breed very easy.
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i have more experience with malawi mbuna than tang or victorians so it might be smart to stick with what i know. i have been looking around trying to find some saulosi with little luck yet (but this is still in initial planning stages). i think i might also look into cynotilapia afra cobue if i cant find saulosi. i havent kept those but its definitely one species ive always admired. if the zebra obliquidens are flooded with mediocre strains i might lean toward something that can be a little more marketable.
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If you want to stop by just let me know Ken 248-514-1776 I have some Obliques and a pair of Christmas Fulus and a bunch o other things
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A couple of easy species to keep/breed:
Lamprologus brevis Sunspot - shell dweller that doesn't take up a lot of space. You could easily house a colony in a 15 gallon or 20 gallon long
Lamprologus multifasciatis - same as the brevis Sunspots, easy to keep and don't require a lot of space.
Lamprologus brichardi - A little bigger than the two species above, but they do very well at taking care of their young.
Aulonocara (aka peacocks) - There are many different types of peacocks, so just pick a color that you like and get a small group and you should have no trouble breeding them.
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i have more experience with malawi mbuna than tang or victorians so it might be smart to stick with what i know. i have been looking around trying to find some saulosi with little luck yet (but this is still in initial planning stages). i think i might also look into cynotilapia afra cobue if i cant find saulosi. i havent kept those but its definitely one species ive always admired. if the zebra obliquidens are flooded with mediocre strains i might lean toward something that can be a little more marketable.
I should be having some Saulosi available soon. I'm far from you so I'd have to ship to you unless you feel like taking a 3 hour drive north. But there are several people waiting for some so we'll see how it does. Lol. ;D
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well i dont know how many people are in line for some fry or juvies but i would definitely like to get some. i dont really see saulosi around here so i think they could be very marketable, and they are in my top 5 cichlids ive always wanted. i had a huge craigslist score with some tanks today so i may even be able to do some hap's now that i have a bigger tank. i scored a 125 for a screaming deal the guy threw in a bunch of extra stuff even some egg tumblers. my little bro is gonna keep it in his basement since a 125 is a little too much weight for a trailer. he even had some yellows, rubescens peacocks, and some mystery haps. the haps are juvies but i may have to post a picture of them and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge in this forum. im pretty stoked about this whole thing now.
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If you want to stop by just let me know Ken 248-514-1776 I have some Obliques and a pair of Christmas Fulus and a bunch o other things
i will call or text you sometime this week. if there is a good time in your schedule that works for you just let me know.
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My Mbuna's make fish food constantly. ;D