34 Breeding and Agression: "Help! Why have my angelfish (or kribs or African cichlids) started killing
Description
This article is from the Aquaria: Good (and Bad) First Fish; Breeding FAQ, by Dean Hougen and Elaine Thompson
34 Breeding and Agression: "Help! Why have my angelfish (or kribs or African cichlids) started killing
"Why did my female platy just turn around and eat her babies?"
"I think my tetras spawned. Where are the eggs?"
Parental care in the fish world varies widely. Parents can be anywhere
on a continuum from eating all their eggs or fry, to both parents
fiercely guarding their eggs and fry.
Many fish parents show some common behaviors, so I will discuss them
here.
Most fish consider any and all fish eggs and young to be a tasty
treat. Therefore most fish will not hesitate to snack on any they
find, including their own. This means that egg scatters and many
substrate spawners really cannot be bred in a community tank, as the
eggs will quickly be eaten by the parents and other fish. Marine fish
and invertebrates also eat eggs. Livebearers are especially notorious
for eating their young.
A few fish ignore their eggs or fry, and so can be bred in a species
tank. White cloud minnows can breed this way, and many killifish will
at least ignore the eggs. Baby killies are fair game, though. Guppies
will also often ignore babies.
Other fish have one parent that guards the eggs and fry. Most
bubblenest builders and mouthbrooders operate this way, as do some
substrate spawners. The responsible male or female stays with the eggs
and young, until they are free swimming. With bubblenest builders, the
male tends the nest, blows bubbles as they pop, and keeps any falling
eggs or fry in it. He will also defend the nest against other fish.
Mouthbrooders simply hide their eggs in their mouths, and some
substrate spawning catfish will hide the eggs underneath them. Certain
substrate spawning cichlids also have one parent care for the eggs and
fry.
A more common setup among cichlids is to have both fish guard and care
for the young. This setup can be really fascinating to watch. The
parents will take turns fanning or blowing fresh water onto the eggs,
and removing any fungused eggs. They will also fiercely defend the
spawning site, which can often cause injury or even death to other
tankmates. Once the eggs have hatched, the parents will also guard the
fry. Some fish will even move the fry to a different place each day.
Once the babies are free swimming, some fish continue to guard them,
while others end their parental duties. Many African cichlids guard
their babies until they spawn again. Discus even feed their babies off
of their slimecoats.
A more extreme version of guarding is practiced by some Tanganyikan
cichlids. There, older siblings will stay around the nest and help the
parents defend subsequent spawns. The babies are allowed to stay until
breeding age, when they are driven off.
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