Rainbow cichlids, little fish with big personality?

[Nm1]

Wanted to give a shout to a fish that has really grown on me. If anyone has ever had a rainbow cichlid they would probably agree they are wildly entertaining. If your looking for a cool fish to compliment your CA tank this is great move. I recently had a surprise batch of fry and the parents do get a bit wild when that happens but such is life. Still learning the fish anyone have any advice for their care or tips for raising the fry it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tlindsey]

Wanted to give a shout to a fish that has really grown on me. If anyone has ever had a rainbow cichlid they would probably agree they are wildly entertaining. If your looking for a cool fish to compliment your CA tank this is great move. I recently had a surprise batch of fry and the parents do get a bit wild when that happens but such is life. Still learning the fish anyone have any advice for their care or tips for raising the fry it would be greatly appreciated. View attachment 1375504

Great looking Rainbow Cichlid. Personally would just leave the raising of fry to the parents. Less work for you and also will give parents experience.

 

[ryansmith83]

They are super easy, like convicts or blue acaras. The fry should take newly-hatched brine if you want good growth from them, or maybe a powdered food like First Bites. Otherwise just give them good water quality with frequent water changes and they take care of themselves. Rainbows are one of the few CA fish that are peaceful enough even to be mixed into peaceful SA tanks. I’ve kept them with things like Laetacara and Heros with no issues.

They will spawn small and young and like most cichlids they are fiercely protective, which could cause problems in small tanks. But that’s a cichlid for you.

 

[Nm1]

Great looking Rainbow Cichlid. Personally would just leave the raising of fry to the parents. Less work for you and also will give parents experience.

Thanks Jex

 

[Nm1]

Thanks Jex

Sorry I meant thanks tlindsey

 

[duanes]

Nice photo.
In Costa Rica during the rainy season, they fan out onto flooded grasslands to spawn, where the fry can feast on mosquito larvae, algae,and other insects and their larvae, and move back to deep water as the grasslands dry up.
As an experiment to sort of mimic nature, I put 7 pairs in a shallow 400 gallon kiddy pool, where they divided the area up between the pairs, and continuously spawned for a few months in their chosen sections.

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[Nm1]

Nice photo.
In Costa Rica during the rainy season, they fan out onto flooded grasslands to spawn, where the fry can feast on mosquito larvae, algae,and other insects and their larvae, and move back to deep water as the grasslands dry up.
As an experiment to sort of mimic nature, I put 7 pairs in a shallow 400 gallon kiddy pool, where they divided the area up between the pairs, and continuously spawned for a few months in their chosen sections.

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That’s a really cool experiment. It must have been quite the love shack lol.

 

[Reiner]

yes very cool fish but I couldn't keep mine with any live plants. They even ate the root ball of a large spider plant that was hanging in the tank.

 

[duanes]

Mine also ate many plants, I believe when in the flooded plain, the adults feast on grasses.
When spawning in the kiddy pool, as soon as fry were free swimming, the other pairs would swoop in and eat the free swimmers.