Kenyi Cichlids breeding...

[nitroglyc]

I have a male and 3 female. The male will corner one in the caves that I have built for them, and start to shimmer. The female swims away like she has just been offered McDonalds over Steak. Also the male stays in the caves, but the females tend to stay at the top of the tank. Am I doing something wrong? Should I remove the females for a day or two then put them back in? Any suggestions would be great!

[davidtcb1]

I think it will happen, when least expected. Just gotta give it time. A cool water change may also help. With a 1:3 ratio, they'll figure it out eventually!

[angel]

The female has to be gravid too. If she doesn't think she's got the eggs ready she won't be interested in laying them.

[nitroglyc]

After reading some other posts, especially at a MB that I used when I first started keeping fish, I am changing some things about my tank. currently I have little or no kh, so I am adding some Baking Soda to bring that up to proper levels, then I am going to find a natural buffer to get my ph up from 7 to at least 8. Today I added 3-4 more caves and plan to add more. I have heard but am not sure, that the females will shimmer too when they are ready and then will begin camping in the caves till a male comes along. I don't know how true that is, but one person told me that. Any input to these changes I am going to be making will be utilized and considered. If I am wrong in making these changes, let me know.

[angel]

If you make these changes, be sure you can do it SLOWLY and that it won't drop back down. Fluctuating Ph will kill your fish pretty fast. Do you have any holey rock? It's a good buffer. For most of my tanks I don't bother with baking soda just aquarium/rock salt. For some I add epsom salt as well. Only for my Lake Tanganyika fish do I put in baking soda and keep it as hard and high ph as I can. I don't have trouble getting my mbuna to spawn with just salt.
Don't shock them to death. Whatever you do, go slow.

[angel]

My females don't shimmy.

[nitroglyc]

One of my females was shimmering today... and their stripes are getting darker... one in particular is getting quite aggressive, but they don't go near the male, and the male is now staying mainly in the caves and chasing anything that comes close to the rocks.... these are really fun to watch. Hope that they breed soon, I would like to raise the fry.

[angel]

Did you just get these from me a few days ago? I'm thinking it must be you. If so, and you notice any of the females turning yellow, then they were subdominant male disguised as female. There's always that slight possibility when stirring up the tank with a net. If so, you'll just have to get a few more
Do make sure he's not too stressed. Does he eat? If he stops eating or gets white to clear thready poop, it could be stress-induced bloat and will need treated. Again a remote possibility but everything needs to be covered just in case.
Most likely, he's just now claiming his territory and will get around to attracting his women when they've made some eggs.

[nitroglyc]

forgot to mention, no I don't have any holey rock, I can't really afford to go and get any right now either.

[angel]

Then my personal choice would be to not change the ph of the water at this time. If you add ANYTHING add aquarium or rock salt, but nothing more. It's too risky if the ph rises and falls, as you probably already know.
Rome wasn't built in a day, either. So if they don't breed this week they may next week. It's a lot better to keep them healthy and coast into the spawn than to change something and have it bounce right back and kill them off.
If any others disagree with me there they'll say so keep watching.

[oneyoda]

Check around at ALL your area garden centers for holey rock. They may call it washed limestone. I got some awesome pieces for $0.30 a pound. Took A LOT of digging to find some good ones for a tank. But I make it a point to stop by any new ones I haven't stopped at before. You never know what you may come across.

[angel]

Anything happening with the red zebras? have any of them claimed a spot or looked like they were shimmying? Those ones are virtually impossible to tell male from female. All of thse fish were kept with rock salt only. A handful for a 55 gallon is all I kept in there. Do you have them in the 29 or the 55? Are the convicts kept separate from them? They don't like the same kind of water and if you're going to salt the water for the kenyi and zebras the convicts won't breed, and may get ill. They really should be kept separate from new worlds anyway. The two kinds don't get along, with occasional exceptions when they were tankmates from fry size.

[nitroglyc]

Well, there is one red zebra that has the egg spots on his anal fin, and the others are female, maybe one more male, but def. one strong male. He shimmered yesterday, and that was all I have seen out of it for now. They haven't claimed any specific area of the tank, but the male Kenyi has claimed every crack and crevice he could squeeze in. I am working on my 29 to get some things that I need defiantly like a new filter, and an adjustable heater. right now my tanks are pretty much room temp as I only have one heater, and the room temp is usually around 78-83 constant, or gradual warming and cooling. I have noticed that my ph has gone up some since the addition of some new rock, it is now around 7.2 - 7.5 up from 6.5. so hopefully that will do. I usually put about 1 tbl spoon of Aquarium salt each time I change water. I will keep every one posted.

[nitroglyc]

From the looks of it, If I am not mistaken, I have just successfully identified another, sub-dominate Male for the Kenyi, and two... possibly three Males for the red zebras... I will just watch for a while and keep everyone posted.