Archive for the 'African Cichlids' Category

Frontosa Egg Development - Week 2

Wednesday, April 18th, 2007

It’s been a little more than a week since I placed these eggs in the tumbler. I have not lost any of the babies at this point. Typically, 10-20% of the eggs will simply not make it. You can see that the frontosa fry are starting to form their stripes. The bodies of the fish [...]

Cyphotilapia frontosa Eggs in Tumbler

Tuesday, April 10th, 2007

I emptied my 125 gallon frontosa tank of all rocks and decor so I could catch the Kigoma seven stripe female that was holding these eggs in her mouth. Mouthbrooders incubate their eggs in the mouth and swish them around until the fry are fully developed. The egg tumbler mimics this swishing motion and keeps [...]

Breeding Frontosa Cichlids

Monday, October 9th, 2006

Another female was holding so I decided to go to the trouble of catching her and stripping the fry. The process takes about 30 minutes because I have to pull all of the rocks out of my tank in order to catch her without stressing her too much. The last few times I had females [...]

Labidochromis caeruleus Holding Eggs

Tuesday, June 20th, 2006

Labidochromis caeruleus is one of the most popular of the african cichlids. The bright yellow color makes it an instant favorite at the local pet store. The common name is in fact “Electric Yellow”or otherers may know them as “Yellow Labs”. I have a few of them thrown in with my adult frontosa. Recently, I [...]

Cyphotilapia Frontosa from Lake Tanganyika

Tuesday, June 6th, 2006

One of myfavorite hobbieshasbeen keeping andraising rare breeds of african cichlids. A few years ago I purchased a colony of 12 wild-caught Kigoma Frontosa from an exporter in Africa. They are the seven stripe variety of the very popular Cyphotilapia frontosa. They are known for their very deep blue colors and long ornate fins. The [...]