Kenya Cichlids

I bought a trio of Kenya Cichlids from Pets Galore a while back and now they are getting pretty good sizes to them (the male is about 5 inches long and the 2 females are about 4 inches each). I was wondering if they are big enough to breed and if they are how do I go about breeding them?

close man. I would start doing regular water changes on them. When I say regular I mean like once to twice a week. Don't mess witht eh gravel too much but change like 30%. Water changes is generally the biggest inducer of fish breeding. Hope all works out for you and I would love to see some pics.

Peter VE

Alright thanks Peter, I'll give that a try. I'll try to get some pics here pretty soon!

hey brandon those kenyans are for sure at the right size for breeding, just as peter said i would do the weekly water changes around 30 to 50% add some cool rock formations and feed a good variety of live, frozen and meaty foods and throw in some greens or veggies to fatten up the females so they will fill up with role (eggs) and boom you should be on to some babies, later..

also boost the temp up to around 80-82 degrees and that usually jump starts them as well

wes dude i forgot the temp issue thanks for catching that..

I agree with the previous posts with a single caveat...Boosting temps is not always the best way to induce breeding in your fish....Many species don't require it and may actually have problems as a result...but back to the species at hand, I think it may be good to boost water temp, build rock formations and as for water changes and food...these go hand in hand...If time permitted I would partial my tanks at a rate of about 10% each day. Of course between being full time at UPS, working at the shop and taking classes at UofL I don't have that kind of time. At any rate feed as heavily as you can while still maintaing pristine water, they will reward you for your hard work!

Thanks so much guys sounds like this isn't going to be as difficult as I thought!

hey james dude those red points look sweet, thanks man, and i see what you were talking about on the male red point either a deform issue or an early hump for him, any rate cool, hey i have a couple of folks wanting some of my african cichlids, dude as far as i can see you have dibbs on them let me know which ones you want and there yours, i am getting rid of the 5 yellow labs, 3 demasonii, and 4 lelupi and in time i will give you some of the brevis also way cool on those julidochromis tim recieved, hey after everyone picks threw them can you pick a pair for me and set them aside, thanks man i will see you later..

Glad you like them...did you find the acara I set aside for you to pick from??
As far as the other stuff goes...I want the lelupi and you already know how I feel about the brevis. I'm sure Peter wouldn't mind the labs and the demasonii in his tank but I probably won't be messing with them anytime soon.
I will (hopefully) be pulling several pairs of julies and at least one will be for you. Did you see the Cyprichromis that we got with them?? They are gonna be SWWWEEEETTTTT!!!!!

yeah those were sweet dude, i am currently going to set up a 10gal for a trio of kribs and see what beholds, i cracked my daughters tank and i have talked her into some kribs i think those will be nice for her, dude her tanked crashed real hard and those fancy guppies i got for her all died man i was so upset because those were so sweet and friendly, but as far as what i can guess is that in those neon decor things she likes so much a build up of junk was in there and the ammonia was sky high, and she was so disappointed in all, but i have talked her into a natural setup this time, later dude..

[yeah man i told you brandon kenya cichlids are very easy to breed they will breed even with other fish in the tank so dont wory about the male loosing dominancy cuz they are very mean. When they do breed check the egs or fry and if they are big enough strip them into a ten gallon with the female so she can regain nutrition before you throw her back in with the male if you have any questions just type back.