cichlids
 

hi i am trying to breed cichlids the ones i am trying to breed right now are peacocks I have 3 pairs i was wondering what the easiest way is they are in a section on a 125 that is split with other cichlids there are some rocks a fake log and it is coarse sand as substrate. andy imput would be great thanks

Most cichlids do best when there is a ratio of 1m/3f. This helps to keep the females in good shape as the male can actually kill the female if she is unreceptive to his advances. If you have them in community tank it is ok. I have a community Malawian tank with a plethera of different fish. There are spwning in the tank , but I usually strip my female after she has carried the eggs for about a week. That way no fry are in the tank to be eaten by the others.

i was wondering about water conditions like temp and all that stuff

For my Africans, I keep the water temperature right at 80 degrees Farhenheit. I am blessed with having neutral water (pH7.0). My breeder tanks are filled via a reservoir tank that is being filtered with (2) Magnum 350's using crushed coral as a media.These tanks are filled via a replenishing system from the reservoir using "auto top-off" valves. The pH usually runs about 7.4-7.6. If you have wild breeder stock, the pH will have to up around 8.0-8.4. I do this for most of my Victorians since many of my breeders are wild caught or F1's. It is doubtful that your stock is wild caught. I do not pay attention to GH or KH for Africans.

My "community tanks" are filled with tap water. I use a modified ugf so that the fish cannot uncover the filter plate. I use (4) Marineland 1140 reverse flow powerheads, both internal (Fluval 4+) and external power filters (Emperor 400's), and (2) Magnum 350 canister filters. The tank itself is 300g. I also use crushed coral as a substrate and provide "safe areas" by using lace rock to build caves and outcroppings. The tank is very full. I do not use the 1" rule as I have found that by having these crowded conditions, aggression is much lower. My theory is that the aggressor "loses" the fish he is chasing in the crowd. It's worked for over 20 years, so I see no need to change my approach.