General information on breeding butterfly cichlids
© Steffen Hochdorfer
Butterfly cichlids spawn very quickly and often. Most of the time, a pair will spawn shortly after being placed in the aquarium and will spawn about every three weeks thereafter.
Microgeophagus ramirezi are usually pit spawners. But they also spawn on all sorts of flat surfaces. When the pair starts to defend a small territory and clean certain spots there, it usually doesn’t take long before spawning begins.
In the female, you may be able to see the laying tube, which protrudes brightly in the anus region.
However, they need very good water conditions for successful offspring. Water hardness and pH must be very low. The breeding temperature should be relatively high, i.e. around 28°C.
Normally, butterfly cichlids take turns caring for the brood. The male is usually the more active partner.
Many animals were bred out of the brood care instinct. The brood was reared artificially for generations so that the animals could not learn how to care for the brood. It is therefore difficult to find a good caring couple. It is best if a pair finds itself from a large number of young animals.
Artificial rearing is not easy either. Eggs are easily damaged during suction. Private breeders should refrain from artificial rearing.
Top4 for breeding SBB:
Requirements for successful offspring
© Carmen Brehm Butterfly cichlid in front of a clay jug
A breeding tank for butterfly cichlids should be about 100 x 40 x 30 centimeters.
The bottom should consist of fine sand. The tank should not be planted too much so that the animals can be observed well. Some plants should be in the tank because butterfly cichlids also like to breed in a dense echinodorus on a leaf.
Some flat rocks or slabs of slate should be available in addition to spawning.
The breeding tank must have plenty of free swimming space and free floor space. There the larvae can be deposited in sand hollows after hatching. This also makes the pool easier to clean if you have to provide the little ones with plenty of food after swimming freely.
Suitable water parameters for breeding:
The water must be very clean. The use of a UV clarifier makes sense. The number of germs in the breeding tank can thus be significantly reduced.
2 pairs are placed in the breeding tank. 2 to 3 guppy females or similar fish can be added as enemy fish. It must be easy for the butterfly cichlids to control and catch the companion fish.
Where butterfly cichlids spawn
Butterfly cichlid © Carmen Brehm
Butterfly cichlids spawn on flat rocks, roots, potsherds, plant leaves, etc. If no suitable spawning ground is available, they dig round spawning pits about 3 to 4 centimeters deep in the ground.
They push sand or fine gravel like small bulldozers with their snouts from the inside out. Males and females participate in digging the pit.
Why the spawn can disappear
- Parents may eat the eggs out of inexperience or lack of brood care instincts.
- The eggs can B. break due to unfavorable water parameters.
- Other fish, e.g. B. armored catfish or catfish eat the eggs.
- Other roommates, e.g. B. Shrimp or snails eat the eggs.
- Due to too much stress in caring and defending, the parents will eat the eggs themselves.
Sometimes a night light helps to prevent the clutch being eaten by fellow fish, snails or, for example, Amano shrimp. The parents can then better defend the brood.
Some parent animals only learn to care for and defend the brood properly after several attempts. 2 to 3 unsuccessful attempts are often sufficient. However, 8 or 9 unsuccessful attempts may also be necessary.
Butterfly cichlids defend their brood.
Butterfly cichlids can act aggressively when defending their territory and their brood. In a 60 liter aquarium there may not be much space left for other fish.
Video SBB caring for the brood
(© Michael Petersen)