So you want to breed dwarf cichlids?

So you want to breed Dwarf cichlids?

By Steven Chester 2010.

In the last few years there has been a noticeable boom in available species of dwarf cichlid to the UK hobbyist, the time has never been better to give these wonderful fish a place in your aquarium! They are small, easy to keep if you follow the rules and when you have mastered keeping them, they are also easy to breed.

Before we start let’s go over the basics, to breed any fish requires the keeper to have a good understanding of the chosen species. So, let’s look at the fish that are classified as ‘dwarf’ cichlids.

The term dwarf cichlid is a term with no scientific meaning, it is a hobbyist term generally used to describe the small, peaceful cichlids from South America and West Africa that measure less than 4 inches in length, again this is not a scientific measurement and many ‘dwarf cichlids’ measure under 3inches and a few reach slightly larger than the four inches that are usually regarded as the maximum; several rift valley lake cichlids can also be classed as dwarf cichlids but do not fit into the general bracket due to major differences in water parameters.

The dwarf cichlids from South America and West Africa are numerous and consist of many genera including Apistogramma, Apistogrammoides, Biotoecus, Congochromis, Dicrossus, Laetacara, Microgeophagus, Nannacara, Nannochromis, Paranannochromis, Pelvicachromis and Taeniacara, there are several more groups but the genera listed here are amongst the more popular aquarium fish and are the fish you are likely to come across as you research this vast group of small cichlids. In total there are well over 500 species and forms of dwarf cichlids with many more new fish discovered in the jungles of South America and West Africa every year, many species are spread across vast stretches of water and have developed individual colours and patterns, these morphs add to the complexity and interest of this huge group of fish.

So where are these fish found? To understand this is the first leap into the world of successfully breeding dwarf cichlids, the vast majority of these small cichlids are found between two of the worlds largest tropical rainforests, the Amazon rainforest in South America and the Congo rainforest in West Africa, these huge rainforests are truly epic in scale and are fed by two of the worlds largest rivers, the mighty Amazon river and the huge Congo river that runs through the Congo rainforest. These vast waterways are gigantic in size and are generally poor in fish species; only the largest and strongest fish survive the main river that is often dirty, silt laden, very deep and very fast flowing. To find the small cichlids we need to move away from the main river and travel the numerous tributaries, as we move through the jungle the rivers gradually become smaller, narrower and slower flowing, it is in these shallow and slow-moving water ways that we can start to look for the small species of cichlid.

These fish are mainly found in small rivulets of still water, jungle pools and small streams, these waters are usually characterised by a sand substrate overlain with fallen leaf litter and drift wood from the jungle canopy above, aquatic plants are rarely encountered due to the lack of sunlight and the water is quite often dark with tannins leached from the fallen leaves but crystal clear. This water deserves special mention as it is the most important part of breeding dwarf cichlids in the aquarium, the rainforests of the world are usually situated on giant floodplains, due to the geology of these areas it is usually found that the earth is made up of mainly sand and many millions of years worth of fallen debris from the rainforests themselves, this means that any neutral and very soft rain water that falls onto the jungle remains very soft due to running over inert substrates, the PH is dropped naturally by decaying vegetation and debris from the jungle itself, this means that most if not all dwarf cichlids are naturally adapted to very soft and acidic water with plenty of cover in the way of leaf litter and fallen decaying wood.

There have been very few detailed studies done into the natural diet of dwarf cichlids but a few details can be found in the literature that tells us that in general dwarf cichlids are omnivorous fish that have a mixed diet consisting of small, shrimp, fish and also algae and higher plant life such as small fruits and berries that find their way into the habitats.

In the aquarium.

Now we should all be aware of what a dwarf cichlid is, where they come from and what kinds of habitats they live in! If we want to keep them alive and well and to breed them in the aquarium we need to follow several well-defined rules when planning their tank.

Firstly you need to have a look around and see what fish are actually available in your country or area, dwarf cichlids are a fairly tricky fish to raise commercially and because of several difficulties are not often available in local fish shops, several species are commercially available and make ideal starting fish for those interested in trying this group of dwarf cichlids, for those that like the rarities and more difficult species I would recommend searching for a hobbyist breeder/enthusiast that specialises in dwarf cichlids, here in the UK there are several different clubs and associations that contain many specialist breeders of dwarf cichlids, these fish are available at specialist auctions across the country and in many cases the search for the rare fish can be almost as exciting as the breeding! When you have located your fish and reserved them with either the breeder or shop you can now turn to setting up your aquarium that will be designed as naturally as possible to allow these small and shy fish to feel completely at home.

What tank to use? Many dwarf cichlids can pair for life but in the initial stages can be quite territorial and aggressive to their potential partner, a larger tank is much better than small, height is not critical and most professional and hobbyist breeders use a tank around 24x12x12, tanks are easy to source and offer enough room for almost all species of dwarf cichlid that you are likely to come across. In this tank you can use a normal aquarium heater set to around 78f, many dwarf cichlid habitats run through very dense forest and run slightly cooler than open pools in clearings and savannahs, filtration is required but we ideally do not want too much water flow, a small power filter can be used but any fry produced are in danger of being sucked into the intake and loosing their lives, far better is a specially designed air powered sponge filter which will provide superb water cleaning potential while keeping the fry safe.

Now we can move onto the décor, the substrate is always essential for dwarf cichlids and needs to be fine grained to allow these fish the small amount of digging to create caves that are essential for breeding, most dwarf cichlid hobbyists use very fine grained and most importantly inert sand, this can be found in several places and children’s play pit and swimming pool sand are utilised by keepers of soft water fish as these substrates do not contain any minerals that increase the water hardness, this is essential if you want to create the natural soft water biotope of these fish!

Remember that in the wild the small dwarf cichlids are almost at the bottom of the food chain, they are predated on by a large selection of both aquatic creatures and threats from above the water such as birds and even humans, they are naturally a shy, skittish and nervous group of fish that absolutely require plenty of cover in the aquarium to feel at home and to be able to reproduce. In a perfect biotope tank you could overlay your sand substrate with twigs and small specially prepared branches from both oak and beech trees, in winter you can also collect handfuls of dried fallen leaves from the same trees, dry them out at home and rinse under the tap before adding them to your aquarium, within 24 hours they will sink and create a perfect South American or West African dwarf cichlid biotope, the fish will find plenty of hiding places amongst the leaves and will have more confidence to patrol the open areas where you can observe them.

If you do not want to work with these natural materials then you are welcome to use a small grained gravel but please spend some time to check if it leaches minerals into your water which will in turn raise your hardness, many gravels do this and this is the reason why so many serious dwarf cichlid keepers keep their fish over sand. If you would like to use plants then feel free and many, many successful breeding attempts have been made in attractive planted tanks.

If you choose either setup you will have to provide a spawning substrate, there are basically two types of spawning strategies performed by dwarf cichlids, the vast majority are cave spawning fish that spawn in complete secrecy, in this case the best item to supply is a cave with a very small entrance, clay flower pot saucers or half a coconut shell are the items used most often in the breeding of fish such as Apistogramma, Nanochromis and Pelvicachromis, a low ceiling is also important, many Dwarf cichlid males are too large to physically get inside the cave and spawn by spraying their milt through the cave entrance, the females spawn on the roof of the cave and a low ceiling allows eggs and milt to make better contact thus ensuring better fertilisation.

Eggs hatch in roughly 70 hours and after a further 122 hours have used up the attached yolk sac and are reliant on fresh food, at this stage the female will guide them out of the cave for the first time and the aquarist now gets his first look at his new charges!

The second spawning method is to spawn in a sheltered but open space, usually on a firm surface, its possible to create a sheltered spawning area that’s easily viewable and many professional photographers create these zones that allow easy photographing of spawning fish, open spawners include Crenicara, Dicrossus, Microgeophagus and will utilise a plant leaf, stone or piece of wood as a spawning substratum.

Caring for Dwarf cichlid fry is fairly easy but does require a little knowledge and experience, firstly you need to feed them, several species can have fry that are too small for newly hatched brine shrimp, these fish will require a smaller substitute food and infusoria is perfect for the first few days, microworms are also excepted. If you have no experience with live foods then several hours reading and studying either online or in a specialist book will pay off here. Once feeding on baby brine shrimp the fry will grow fast, the adult dwarf cichlids will make superb parents and will guide their family for several weeks to several months, its not unheard of to have two spawns in the same tank! Usually in this case the older juveniles are chased away from the vicinity of the second spawn but in a large enough tank they can all get along fine.

There is currently a huge interest in the small dwarf cichlids, availability has never been so good and there are approx. 30+ species available in the UK at anyone time, why don’t you do a little research and take the plunge into these stunning fish? I hope this short article can help you on your way.

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