They
separate right after spawning.
BROOD CARE
Cichlids take care of their young in several different ways. Six "family" forms are common
among cichlid parents.
1. Nuclear
or Parental Family: Both parents equally share the duties of caring for the young. Nuclear families are usually formed
by monogamous, open-water brooders, although exceptions are common. It is generally very difficult to distinguish
between the sexes.
2. Matriarch/Patriarch
Family: The female watches over the brood, while the male defends the territory. When the fry become free-swimming, the
parents bear the tasks of parenthood equally.
This family form is usually formed by monogamous, open-water brooders. Sexual
dimorphism and dichromatism is common.
3. Patriarch/Matriarch
or Male-with-Harem Family: The male defends a large territory, which includes multiple spawning sites of several females. Each
female assumes the responsibility of her own brood.
The male is polygamous, and clear sexual dimorphism is present. This
form takes place among cavity brooders.
4. Matriarch
Family: No bond is formed between the pair.
The female cares and guards the eggs and the fry. In this family pattern, the fish are
agamous, and usually the female is an ovophile mouthbrooder.
5. Patriarch
Family: As with the Matriarch Family, no bond is formed between the parents. The male carries the eggs and
the fry. No sexual dimorphism or dichromatism can be found. Only one mouthbrooder forms a true patriarch
family, Sarotherodon melanotherow.
6. Extended
Family: The parents as well as the offspring of previous spawning care for the young. Extended Families are formed by cavity
brooders of Lake Tanganyika, including the fish belonging to the generaJulidochromis andNeolamprologus.
BREEDING
Cichlids have highly developed brood care and reproductive behavior. Nearly all Cichlids lay their eggs on
some substrate, whether it be rocks, plants, or sand.
Cichlids are now characterized into two breeding groups; Open and Shelter
Brooders.
·Open brooders lay eggs on an open surface, such as rocks, sand, and plants. The
eggs can number as high as 10,000 from one laying.
These eggs are usually small and clump together. Clear sexual dimorphism and dichromatism
is usually evident. Examples of open water brooders includePterophyllum, Symphysodon, and most species
ofCichlasoma.
· Shelter brooders can be divided up into
two groups. Cavity brooders and mouth brooders.
In general, shelter brooders lay substantially less eggs, usually not
more than 300, and have larger more colorful eggs.
These fish are easier to sex because males are larger and more colorful.
· Cavity brooders lay their eggs in caves. The
parents participate in brood care and may become aggressive towards other fish while caring for the eggs and the
fry. Examples
of cavity brooders include Apistogramma,
Julidochromis,Neolamprologus, and Pelvicachromis.
· Mouth-brooders are fish that, at some point
during brood care, will take their eggs or the fry into their mouths. Mouth-brooders are divided up into two
further categories depending on when the parents take the eggs/fry are taken into the mouth.
Ovophile or "egg-loving" mouth-brooders - The male makes a pit in his territory,
where the eggs are laid. The eggs are sucked up into the female's mouth usually, but occasionally, during spawning. After
hatching the fry remain in the safety of the mother's mouth until they can fend for themselves. The male, of some of these species,
often has colorful, oval-shaped marks on its anal fin.
These spots serve an important role in the fertilization of the eggs
and are known as egg spots or egg dummies. After the female has laid her eggs and sucks them into her mouth. She
sees the eggs spots on the males, and thinking they were eggs she missed, will try to suck them up. At
this moment the male releases sperm which the female sucks up into her mouth, thus fertilizing the eggs. Examples
of Ovophile mouthbrooders include;
Aulonocara, Haplochromis, and Pseudotropheus.
Larvophile or "larvae-loving" mouth-brooders lay their eggs on a substrate. After
the eggs hatch, the female picks up the fry and keeps them in her mouth. Sometimes the parental protection stops
after the fry are released from the mouth.
Examples of Larvophile mouth-brooders areGeophagus andSarotherodon.
