Peacock cichlids cross breeding???

[NICKOLAS]

Hey guys i have asked a bit of questions before but this will be my biggest. Its about cross breeding. I have a 75 gallon tank its new and cycled. So far i have 3 trios of african cichlids. These include eureka reds, electric yellows and alfa cobues. Im planning to get more but mainly a red rubin peacock. I want to breed all my fish but i dont want to cross breed and create hybrids. I heard that if you mix peacock cichlids that there is a high chance they can cross breed. So my question is, what african cichlids cross breed and whats safe? Like is there species i shouldnt mix. Can i add another peacock species in my tank or will that cause cross breeding. I have heard a bit but everyone gives you different answers. I want to have straight breeding with the pairs of fish i get rather then them swimming off with other species creating hybrids. Someone help please.

 

[Colin_T]

any cichlid that resembles another species will cross breed. All the different peacocks have similar coloured females and the males aren't fussy about who they breed with. So if you are trying to breed them, only have 1 species of peacock.

No idea what alfa cobues are, please add a scientific name with common name or colour form after that.

Don't hybridise species because most shops won't sell them and most cichlid people don't like them.

 

[NICKOLAS]

The scientific name for them is cynotilapia afra. There blue with black stripes going downwards and a bit of orange on there head. So any similar cichlid will cross breed?. So for peacocks all females look similar is that why they will crossbreed

 

[seangee]

When you say breeding do you mean:

1. Commercially
2. As a hobby or
3. Putting a bunch of fish in a tank and hoping you'll end up with a few more.

As your tank is new it may be worth taking some time out for a little research before diving in head first. Aside from understanding the species you are planning there are a lot of other questions you need answers to, such as

• What am I going to do with all the offspring, will someone guarantee a price or to take them
• How many tanks do I need vs how many tanks do I have (spawning tanks, fry tanks, grow out tanks), and where will I put them
  
• How am I going to feed the fry and what will it cost
• How am I going to manage the water changes. If you want them to grow quickly you NEED to change 80% every single day (as a very minimum).

There are plenty more but it will be a lot less stressful for you and the fish if you start on a solid footing rather than trying to use a forum to address problems after they happen. (e.g. the time to find out about mixing species is not when you already have 3 and are thinking of a fourth).

 

[Colin_T]

The scientific name for them is cynotilapia afra.

Thanks
They will be fine with Labidochromis caeruleus (electric yellows) and some peacocks.
Get a group of 3 or 4 of each (1 male and some females) species. Have 1 type of peacock only (1 male and 2or 3 females).

Any young should be pure species.

The afras might cross with the electric yellows but it's unlikely and if any young L. caeruleus are not yellow, destroy them.

 

[NICKOLAS]

Yes i have done a lot of research i know a fair bit about breeding. I have a 4ft tank and planning to have 20 max fish with 2-3 females for every 1 male of a species. I was just confused about which fish cross breed. I have bred my electric yellows before in a separate but smaller tank I recently upgraded to my 60 gallon tank. I have small fry tanks with sponge filters cycling with one of those tanks containing 4 week old electric yellow fry. But my plan is to now have around 20 fish all breeding in one tank and for me to strip the females and place the fry in separate tanks depending on how old they are. The last thing i want is to raise 4 week old fry to realise there hybrids.

 

[Demeter32]

As a general rule all mouth brooding Africans will cross with other mouth brooding Africans. I've had a male yellow lab spawn with a female peacock and produce the male in my profile picture. I've also had a male blue ahli hap breed with a female peacock. Female peacocks really don't care who they breed with so long as both parties are willing and able.

If you are set on breeding pure species then stick with one species of peacock in a tank and you should be able to keep another non-peacock species without cross breeding provided there are enough females/males of each single species.

My mixed species tank has mostly males and a few females but the females only spawn with their respective male counterparts (mutt mbuna/peacocks with mutts and OB peacocks with OB peacocks). With your tank and mixed peacocks I would bet the dominant male peacock would end up with most the females.

 

[NICKOLAS]

Ahh yea okay thanks, not planning to have more than 1 peacock species. Im planning to have 2-3 females for every male sp like 1 male electric yellow and 2 females then ill do that with the other species of fish i put in.

 

[Colin_T]

Just avoid mixing species where the females look similar.

 

[Kadakas]

Guys guys, I must say try to do this short and sweeet it amazing to me how many people dont use their heads these days and only listen to what they are told by hobbies.
First yes I agree with it maybe best if your going to sell fish to customers who want specific fish not to interbreed.
Let's no mistake it please use your mind and think what exactly makes African cichlids so amazing is not only the fact that they are among the most beautiful and colorful fish on the planet but also the fact that 90% of them are hybrids. Naturally the crossbreed in the wild there's no sides of the lake isolating us humans crossbreed the same.Think what exactly is a OB peacock? do you believe all those amazing colors come from just 1 fish? Secondly there are over 1800 different species and every day to month scientist discover new species with a new name never seen before.
Can this cause genetic issues yes same as in human race some of the most beautiful people are half breeds.
The guy with the yellow lab hybrid amazing looking fish nice .
All ima say is enjoy the hobby you maybe the first to create a dream fish that everyone wants to own same as dogs all crossbred.
Stop listening to everything your told form your own mind and opinions most importantly open
your mind last but not least what is a red shoulder mostly blue so my guess blue regal crossbred with german red or Ruben blue Genetics that were most dominant. Good luck guys and happy fishing.