African Cichlid Breeding

I have two bumble bee cichlids in my tank that are breeding. I know that africans keep the eggs in their mouths. A friend recently told me that he tries to "milk" the eggs out of their mouth after a while, but it didnt always work real well. Does anyone know a better method or when to try this "milking" method?

The good knews its that I now have one newborn fish that has spawned on his own!

 

cichlids4ever

I am not dising on 3reef.com I think it is a great site but I would suggest asking that question on cichlids4ever.com forum

 

that's actually a nice little freshwater forum. not a lot of users yet but very specific and knowledgable of cichlids.

 

Last time cichlids were in the house we put the momma in a separate tank with a divider where the babies could escape from her, and so she could heal up and replenish her body. They don't eat a single bit while they have the eggs and babies in their mouths. If you give them to long or don't move them to a separate tank only a couple with survive. Our tank inhabitants ate all but three of the first batch. The only way we knew they had babies was when we saw the three huddled in a corner during a water change. Good luck with them.

 

Yeah I've only had the one survive so far. I'm not really try to breed alot of fish but a friend of mine wants a few, so I thought I would try to save some for him. I think its gonna be kinda tough to find and protect them.