breeding sevrum cichlids

[Invigor]

anyone tried this, succeeded at it and want to help me try it? i have a "breeding pair" that hasn't bred yet, because we ASSUME there are too many fish in the tank with them, so I have a 48g that I plan on putting JUST THEM in it to see what happens.

do I need a bigger tank? what kind of decor should i have for them? Where do they like laying their eggs? on a flat surface like most other cichlids?

[Cap'n]

You don't want breeding cichlids in a community tank but I wouldn't put them by themselves either. Put in a few hardy, fast fish to attract their attention. This way the cichlids will occasionally chase the dither fish and not fight amongst themselves.

I have 3 zebra danios with my buescheri that are doing great. You would need something larger, maybe giant danios.

[Invigor]

hmm, i've got 6 comets in there right now they're fairly tough

[Richer]

Hrm... just how large is your current tank? Goldfish can be quite the waste factories (as is one of the characteristics of fish from the carp family). Normally, I see people suggesting a minimum of 20 gallons for one goldfish (though normally 30 gallons is recommended), then an additional 10-20 gallons per extra goldfish according to how you maintain the tank, filtration, etc. Goldfish are also temperate fish as well. Obviously, your cichlids are not temperate.

I like cptclever's idea. Get them another tank (with lots of cover of course) with some hardy dither fish. Danios are a great choice.

-Richer

[Invigor]

rgr that. they are in their own 48g tank with 6 1" comets. The comets were only there as lack of somewhere else to put them, a few more weeks and my oscar will down them. I could give em a ride down the porclin slide.

will rainbow fish survive in there -- dwarf neon rainbows maybe, or are they too expensive to be a potential appitizer?

[Richer]

Any kind of fast and hardy fish will work... I'd be tempted to say that certain kinds of rainbows will survive... but its very iffy (as is a lot of things in this hobby). Danios are nice because they're cheap.

-Richer