Hey all!

Have a 55 gal. tank and thought it would be good to have a cichlid community tank. Well. I'm down to a breeding pair of P.elongatus and one remaining Iodotropheus sprengerae. The interesting thing is I have 4 babies (elongatus) in the tank now. She has what looks like a pelican chin. Is she still holding in her mouth. I read some do a cave thing and others in the mouth. The babies seem to arrive at different times and they are pretty much all different sizes. As I said, what's going on.



Motorinwind

Hey motorinwind, welcome to ACF!!

"Pelican chin" is a great description, have never heard that before.

The elongatus is likely holding fry in her mouth, and it sounds like you have some previous generation(s) fry in the tank.

I agree. Probably some survivors from earlier spawns are starting to make their appearance. Fry will hide out for a while and as they grow you'll start to see survivors that didn't get eaten come out more and more after food, etc. Sometimes they eventually get picked off at this stage, though, depending what else is in the tank and how good their hiding places are.

Thanks for the replys If you know where I can find specific info on gestation periods, etc., that would be fun reading. Cichlids are egg layers, right?

Here is a pretty decent Link about mouthbrooders.

Thanks Crowned!

That was a good article. I registered too.



Motorinwind