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I walked by the tank this morning and thought..."Hmm, you guys look dark today.." Ha ha...

So I've had my group of Rainbow Cichlids for almost a year. Started with 11, didn't get any pairs. So gave up and just kept the four prettiest ones because I couldn't sex them. They've been healthy and happy and beautiful in my 55 for months. One is obviously a dominant male. The others all look alike so I figured either females or subdominant males. Then I decided to switch the 55 to a rift lake African tank. I left the male in the 55 but needed somewhere to put the other three. So I just stuck them in my 10 gallon feeder guppy breeding tank (which also has cories and ottos) figuring that they would enjoy some live food while I decided what to do with them. Its 78* vs 73* in the 55. Well, guess what happened...?

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c348/super_cow82/Fish/eggs.jpg

Yeah... So we have eggs now. In a seriously overstocked 10 gallon. The female responsible for this...incident..is guarding the eggs and has the other two rainbows stuffed in a corner and my poor cories are taking some serious heat. She's going to lay waste to that tank if those eggs hatch. I really think the other two are females, but maybe?? Would a fish lay eggs even without a male present?

Anyway, what do I do now?! I don't have room for this! I tried to catch the two 'spare' rainbows to put them in with my convict but everytime I get in there with the net all three huddle together right away, and I definetely can't tell them apart when they're not displaying. I could set up another 10 for all the community fish in there so the one rainbow could have the tank to herself. I think the easiet thing would be to just pull out that rock and get rid of the eggs as I don't have room for fry and growout and all that. Its not that I don't want more tanks, I simply don't have anywhere else to put them!

I wanted them to spawn SO bad months ago but now I am mad at all the trouble this fish is causing! Why couldn't she have done this three days ago, BEFORE I got the Africans?

Is there still a rainbow cichlid in with the malawis? If so, get it out. If its alive.
Remove the non-parent rainbow from the 10g (and any other fish) and either house them elsewhere or ask the LFS if they'll take them.
A convict will most likely kill the rainbows, if its of similar size (and maybe even if its not).
Mez

Ah, sorry I should have clarified...

I have Tanganyikans, and they're all juvies. The rainbow in there is BIG and there is no doubt he's boss fish in the tank. I'm setting up a 29 for him and the convict within a few weeks.

I did get the other two rainbows out of the 10 and they are in with my con. He is bigger than them but he's a super cool fish. He's blind so he's no trouble for any fish as long as they can stay out of his way. I've had him for a long time with lots of different fish, he's my favorite.

So do you think these eggs are fertilized? All three of the smaller rainbows look identical... They don't look at all like my big male.

sorry for butting in on a side note,i just has a few questions about your fish thats blind.
did you mean the convict,
how does he go eating and swimming?
how did he go blind.
does he navagate ok around the tank,without bashing into things.
i once got given a oscar,who had been BADLY flooged by 2 jags,they just about about killed the him,hes eyes were thrashed,and as a result he was blind too.
once i took out a few things in the ank,and made it a bit more simple,he was fine.
when he herd the lid come off,he used to swimm toward the sound,and i used to drop the pellets rite near his nose,and boom it would be gone just like a normall oscar.

"did you mean the convict,"
Yep

"how does he go eating and swimming?"
Just like a normal fish, except I've noticed that he's growing slower than some of my other cichlids because he just isn't as competitive for food. He always gets something to eat, but they get more.

"how did he go blind."
He's my 'rescue' fish. lol. I found him at Petco, extrememly sick. He had no equillibrium, both eyes were infected, he was starving, staggering around like a drunk. I had a weak, sentimental moment...He's the picture of health now, a gorgeous specimen, but his eyes were ruined. One cool thing about him is he always displays, because he's always feeling good about himself. He never sees anything to stress him, I can walk up and press my face to the glass or wave my camera at him and he doesn't hide like other fish. He's super easy to net too. lol

"does he navagate ok around the tank,without bashing into things."
Yes! Fish still have other senses; their lateral line helps with balance and orientation I think, and the sense of smell helps with finding food. He zooms about with great speed, and seems to have his favorite haunts memorized, he'll cruise right through his favorite group of rocks. He does hit stuff, but never with much force, just bumps softly into things as he's finding his way about, kind of like a blind person using their stick. It always takes him some time to adjust when I rearrange the tank though.


"when he herd the lid come off,he used to swimm toward the sound,and i used to drop the pellets rite near his nose,and boom it would be gone just like a normall oscar. "
I tap on the glass at the spot where I drop the food and he comes swimming over to investigate. That's how I let him know its dinner time. It has to be sinking food. Then he sifts around through the gravel and finds all the pieces. All the other fish respect his temper and take care not to bump him, or he'll strike them. The rainbows try to display to him sometimes, but of course he doesn't react. If they tried to push the issue they'd get a good bite for their trouble. He attacks plants too(not eating them), "how dare you touch ME!" He'll kind of fight the leaf for a few seconds then swim off victorious "Ha, I showed him!"

He's a super nice fish, but I would never put him in with anything truly aggressive, like other cons. I only put him with fish he doesn't have to worry about. I don't want him to be stressed, or worse, shredded!



On another note:
The eggs were not fertilized. They all went white and got eaten up. Yay! Why would she lay eggs without a male in the tank?

lol,well its sounds like hes in good hands.
also from what youve said,are you sure he %100 blind,when you said he zooms around with no probs,and goes threw the rocks!
he mite not be totally blind,he mite still be able to see shapes and shadows of certain things...just a thought i could be wrong thoo..
i havent got any cons ATM,i wouldnt mind another coocky male..
anyway with regards to the eggs,i dont know why females lay eggs without partners,its not uncommon.
ive had a slew of female cichlids that have layed without a partner.
my geuss is,basicly they are happy with things.,water,food,filtration,home,are all on point,so she givbes motherhood a try...