Hobbies And Interests
Courtship
Territorial males aggressively defend sand castles they construct during breeding season. These can be more than four feet high with a seven foot base. Other mating constructions include craters large enough to accommodate scuba divers. To entice females, males construct small, two-foot-high platforms within the craters. They chase females and do a shimmying mating or "kissing" dance. Females are highly selective and the parameters of male success depend on the intensity of their coloration or the quality and form of their mating structures. For example, females of one species prefer red-finned males while females of another species prefer males with the largest castles.
Egg Laying and Fertilization
Females enter territories of courting males and lay eggs. The eggs are immediately picked up in the mother's mouth, where they are fertilized by the male. It's sometimes theorized that the male's "egg spots," which are small, round, yellowish spots on the anal fin, aid in egg fertilization. Supposedly when the male shimmies the spots look like eggs that the female hasn't yet collected. When she attempts to do this, the eggs that are in her mouth are fertilized by the male. New mothers have small batches of about 10 eggs, while mature females have up to 30 eggs.
Mouth Brooding
The majority of African cichlids are mouth brooders. The eggs are held and develop in the mother's mouth. In this way, she protects the eggs and fry from predators and allows them to be aerated by the continual movement of water through her mouth. It takes three to five weeks for the eggs to hatch and the yolk sacs to disappear. The offspring remain in her mouth until it is no longer large enough to accommodate them. The female does not eat during this period. Some clever female cichlids deposit their young into a brood of catfish young and tend to them collectively with the catfish mother.
Captive Breeding
Captive breeding isn't as simple as obtaining a male and female of the same African cichlid species. African cichlids breed much better in a harem, or breeding colony. With only one pair, the male may be too aggressive towards the female, resulting in stress and potentially death. Harems must have only one mature male, as two will attach each other until one dies. Aquariums should have plenty of caves, rocks, shelves and crevices that cichlids can choose as their territory. The male may eat the babies when they are released so it is best to separate the mother before her eggs hatch. A 10 to 15 gallon tank is recommended for mother and babies.