I GOT BABIES!

[Mbuniac]

Several months ago I bought two mbuna from a tank of "assorted african cichlids" they looked a little bit like female Kenyi, but were more blue/gray than most that I've seen. Gypsy finally helped identify them as Labidichromis chisimulae. Well.....as time went on, one of them started changing in jaw shape and coloration. About a week ago I started to suspect that the one might be a female Kenyi. My male Kenyi who has always been a trouble maker started terrorizing everyone in the tank, so I put him in solitary confinement in a 20g. Last night I sat in front of the tank to get a closer look at the suspect fish, when a baby swam out of her mouth and I fell over backward on the footstool :shock: Then I saw another baby swimming at the opposite end of the tank and hiding in a plant. Early this morning I stripped everything out of the tank and found four of them. I put them in a 29g. The female is not holding anything, should I have put her in with them? I know how hard it is to reintroduce one after she has been gone for a while. I'm exhausted after moving everything! I had forgotten how hard being a parent is :D
Oh yeah, I put the male Kenyi back in the 125g. and he is no longer a big problem. May have something to do with the fact that I put an 8" male Dimidiochromis compressiceps in the tank right after I took him out.

[SGypsyMermaid]

Last night I sat in front of the tank to get a closer look at the suspect fish, when a baby swam out of her mouth and I fell over backward on the footstool Then I saw another baby swimming at the opposite end of the tank and hiding in a plant.

:lol: :lol: :lol: congrats sam-i-am!! great story.

[Mbuniac]

Thanks Gypsy! These are my first babies (fry) and it's kinda cool! Looks like I'm probably going to have more, the male Kenyi is after the female constantly. I'm still not sure whether I'll keep him or not, he sure keeps the tank stirred up. It wouldn't be so bad, but the reason that I originally removed him is because so many of the fish stayed in hiding constantly because of him, and it's happening again. We'll see.........

[WOLVERINE]

Mbunic,
Congrats finding babies is always cool. You might want to try adding a female Kenyi or two so the male has someone else to chase :wink:

[Mbuniac]

If I keep them, and at this point that is a very big "IF", that would be a good idea.
Thx, Sam