breeding cichlids

[Milo]

Hi Everyone,

Right now I have a 55 gallon african set up. My current occupants are 2 male ps. saulosi's and 1 female ps. saulosi. I also have 1 wild caught male msobo, 1 wild caught female msobo, and 2 female msobos. Also in the tank is 1 pleco, and 1 red tail shark (don't ask, its my husbands and can't get rid of the shark).

Anyways, my female ps. saulosi has become pregnant a few times but always spits out her eggs within a few days. I have since picked up a "holding" tank for her, for the next time she becomes pregnant. It is a 10 gallon (i hope it isn't to small) and am basically hoping to have her in there the next time she becomes pregnant. It is currently cycling. I have filled it up half way with the water from my current tank and the rest have put in regular tap water, so it may already be done cycling.

My question is this, should I place the female saulosi in the holding tank now to fatten her up and then either introduce her back into the 55 gallon, or should I have the male scoulousi moved into the 10 gallon as a "breeding tank" with the female or should I leave her until she becomes pregnant again and then move her into the holding tank.

Thanks everyone.

[Milo]

Here is a pic of the 55 gal tank.

[SinisterKisses]

Well, to answer the question, yes, a 10gal tank is okay as a holding tank for a female saulosi, and you should leave them alone in the tank they're in until the female is already holding, THEN move her.

On a side note...msobo and saulosi are not a good mix in one tank. Males of one species are very, very similar looking to males of the other, and females of both species are practically identical. The chances of hybridizing in this tank are extremely high, and personally I don't feel you could ever trust any of the fry they produce. On top of that, even if you keep the fry and grow them out, the species are so similar in appearance that you probably wouldn't even be able to tell they were hybrids as they matured.

[Milo]

Hey Sinister,

I did read that somewhere as well. It said that because they are both a dark blue and light blue in color, the saulosi does not like it and will show more aggression towards the other fish. Unfortunately i found this book after the fish were purchased when I was reading up more on the species. I have to say though that in my tank there is no aggression towards the msobo and the saulosi. If anything both the male saulosi's are in a territory fight with each other on each side of the tank. They seem to work things out though.

Also, I am not to concerned about the fish creating hybrids with each other as I do not plan on selling the fish, it is only for my own personal recreation of the fish. I have been able to notice subtle differences in the female fishes, although they are both yellow in color, they do have different face structures, the msobo has more of a pointed mouth, while the saulosi has a more round mouth. I do think it would be kind of cool to have a hybrid of a saulosi and a msobo.

Thanks for getting back to me on the holding tank and on whether or not I should remove the fish or not. I will keep her in the tank until I see signs that she is holding and then go through the remarkable task of removing the rocks from my tank to retrieve her.




EDIT - On a side note, do you think that this will help the female in keeping her eggs and not spitting them out early?