Jewel Cichlid Pair?

[Cherees]

Hi guys,

I have had these two jewel cichlids for more than 6months now and they have laid eggs around 20times no with no success! They lay eggs almost every two weeks (they keep eating the eggs)

Do I have a pair or two females??

 

[Metalhead88]

The male is the one on the left with the black dot on its gill. Sometimes it takes a while for cichlids to get it right. Jewels are normally great parents.

Are there any other fish in the tank?

What color are the eggs?

 

[Cherees]

The male is the one on the left with the black dot on its gill. Sometimes it takes a while for cichlids to get it right. Jewels are normally great parents.

Are there any other fish in the tank?

What color are the eggs?

No other fish in the tank, I’ve always kept them seperate for the purpose of trying to breed! The eggs are yellow when they are first laid and then turns white (which is the stage where they eat them).

They went through a stage a few months ago for a few days where they bit eachother badly but all well again now!

I do water changes weekly and parameters are good aswell.

 

[Cherees]

here is another photo showing the other one more (also has black dot)

 

[Cherees]

here is another photo showing the other one more (also has black dot)
View attachment 102429

another old photo of when they first started laying eggs

 

[Metalhead88]

Hmm... In the past I've found that females either have a smaller dot by the gills or none at all. Males of similar age will be more colorful and larger.

I still think you have a pair here.

Fertilized eggs will be brownish in color. Unfertilized eggs will become moldy and as you experience, the female will eat them.

So both fish gaurd the eggs?

 

[Cherees]

Hmm... In the past I've found that females either have a smaller dot by the gills or none at all. Males of similar age will be more colorful and larger.

I still think you have a pair here.

Fertilized eggs will be brownish in color. Unfertilized eggs will become moldy and as you experience, the female will eat them.

So both fish gaurd the eggs?

Yeah I’ve done so much research about them but everything doesn’t seem to match up!

At the start only the one gaurded the eggs, and then the other one slowly began to join in. Then there was a stage where they fought as I pointed out above where one tried eating the eggs and the other one protected them.

Now they both protect the eggs but don’t seem to be as interested in protecting them as they were at the start. Eggs go white within 12-24 hours

 

[Metalhead88]

After the female lays, she'll only let the male nearby. I still think you've got a pair. And for whatever reason, they aren't getting it right.

Keep on feeding them quality food and keep on with maintenance and hopefully you have better luck. They are beautiful fish either way.

 

[Metalhead88]

They will fight often before spawning. My old jack Dempseys used to beat each other up badly and then lay eggs the next day.