# Breeding Electric Blue Cichlids



## jj10174

I am new to this forum, so I am going to start with my story. Question to come....

I have a 150 gal tank, that I started up about one year ago. I originally started with 4 Oscars. Sadly the water in my area was harder to treat than I thought and I lost all but one. After getting the water chemistry to a safe level, I thought I would start with smaller (cheaper fish), and ended up with two blue cichlids. When they got bigger I found my self with a male and a female. About a month ago I thought I lost the female (jumped and cat/dog eat her). But to my surprise when I was cleaning my tank last weekend I found her under a rock, with one baby fish.

Now for my question. Now that I know my fish are breeding, and I would like more fish (three fish in a 150 gal tank is lonely). What can I do to help the process? And can anyone tell me more about their breeding time frame (how often to they breed, how long does gestation take)?


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## lohachata

for starters...your oscar being from south america like more acidic water than your electric blues which are from africa and need alkaline water.unless you are using well water;yours shouldn't be much different than mine seeing as you live just down the road.
but ........if you are interested,i can help you stock your tank for very little money.just send me a PM and i will give you the info.


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## lohachata

darn...forgot to answer the rest of your question..
lots of rocks are needed for an african tank.they need places to hide.and also for the little ones to hide so they don't get gobbled up.many of the africans are mouth brooders.if fry aren't stripped they will breed about once every 2 months..if you strip the fry....every month.


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## kay-bee

The oscar is an incompatible tank mate as previously mentioned. 

Are your 'electric blue' the mbuna (melanochromis cyaneorhabdos, also known as the maingano and also known as the electric blue johanni) or is your 'electric ble the 'hap' (Sciaenochromis fryeri, also known as the 'electic blue' and erroneously as s. ahli). 

If your electric blue's are mbuna's you can actually stock a lot more mbuna's in your tank (there are many mbuna species available). A 150gal could easily hold two or three dozen of them. Mbuna's do best in groups.

S. fryeri are a different type of african cichlid and due to their requirements they, as most haps, would be stocked in much lighter numbers.

African cichlids like the electric blue (hap or mbuna) are polygamous breeders ('harem' breeders) and ideal gender ratio's are 1 male per several females.


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