Plus jack Dempsey's are nothing like this fish. I appreciate you looking out for the best interest of an animal. I am too a fish lover.. but by your example id need hundreds of gallons of water per each pair. It's simply not true... Each species is different.
Rainbow cichlids
- Thread starter Teejg
- Start date
Sure they move out into the flood plains each year with the rains; many or most species do. When they have a chance to disperse it opens up new food sources and supplies, which in turn is just what's needed for breeding.
They live well enough in the crowded conditions of the dry season, because they have to...although they will not be as crowded as in an aquarium. They spawn once they get some elbow room...and they want that room. I wonder how many Rainbow Cichlid nests...or any other species of cichlid nests...are found 30 inches apart in the wild? So...why force them or expect them to tolerate that proximity in a tank?
They live well enough in the crowded conditions of the dry season, because they have to...although they will not be as crowded as in an aquarium. They spawn once they get some elbow room...and they want that room. I wonder how many Rainbow Cichlid nests...or any other species of cichlid nests...are found 30 inches apart in the wild? So...why force them or expect them to tolerate that proximity in a tank?
They're not cans of beans that you can stack up on a shelf in the pantry.
They are 8 fish that are going to breed...by building nests and guarding the eggs and young fry from all comers...in, what, 7 or 8 square feet of space? Their evolution hasn't designed them for that; they might, if you/they are lucky, manage it, but there will be definite stress, likely aggression and possible damage and death.
Again, it's what they are...regardless of what you want them to be, or artificially force them to try to be.
I'd say the problem with them breeding is they don't actually make nests. They eat at the top of the water and swim mid-level. That's a lot of water for them.. I know they'll be ok. I've been doing this for a long time... Before them , mbuna..
You'll be fine. I have 4 pairs of Honduran red points currently spawning in a 3 foot by 1 foot tank, a 4 x 1.5 footprint is more than enough for your 3 pairs of rainbows.
"From his observations, Baylis (1974) derived the following hypothetical life history pattern: Herotilapia multispinosa breeds in the ponds during the dry season, at the end of it, many juveniles and adults are found. When the ponds are flooded by the river, the cichlids spread over the flooded grassland in small schools. When the flood recedes, they remain in depressions or move actively into the draining fields. Some of these areas may dry up, but many ponds persist until the next rainy seasons. These are the centers of reproduction and dispersal, the peripheral river population may serve as a ‘buffer‘, if the pond population should be destroyed in extremely dry years."
"Herotilapia multispinosa is well adopted for living in the ponds by its small size and the ability to cope with hypoxic conditions."
From crc
I read that too. I know they'll be fine. I don't think I have 4 pairs yet but at least two. I was given such random sized fish from 1.5 all the way to 3.75. so the dithers became themselves. They have the ability to change colors and not become a threat. I have two very orange fish and the rest greenish, speckled.
Well, there you have it; a "hypothetical life history" has to be the best kind of all.
So, their hardiness in non-optimal conditions allows them to survive and even spawn in these ponds cut off from the main flow. Somehow, the "hypothetical life history" extrapolates that those individuals comprise the core population; all those fish that return with the receding waters are relegated to the status of a "peripheral river population", serving merely as a "buffer". That life history is hypothetical, indeed.
Do they hypothesize how close together those clutches of eggs are laid in even the most crowded conditions in the wild?
But it sounds like you have it under control; you know they'll be fine, they have lots of room. That being the case, I won't wonder why this thread, and the original question it posed regarding "mysterious" aggression, even exists in the first place. Cheers, and good luck!
So, their hardiness in non-optimal conditions allows them to survive and even spawn in these ponds cut off from the main flow. Somehow, the "hypothetical life history" extrapolates that those individuals comprise the core population; all those fish that return with the receding waters are relegated to the status of a "peripheral river population", serving merely as a "buffer". That life history is hypothetical, indeed.
Do they hypothesize how close together those clutches of eggs are laid in even the most crowded conditions in the wild?
But it sounds like you have it under control; you know they'll be fine, they have lots of room. That being the case, I won't wonder why this thread, and the original question it posed regarding "mysterious" aggression, even exists in the first place. Cheers, and good luck!
