can cichlids mate of different species?

Question

can cichlids mate of different species? is this possible. i have 2 blue african cichlids that r blue with stripes and one all yellow one and another whoz yellow with 3 black stripes

Answer 1

Yes, they can, that's how they came up with that ugly freaking parrot fish. Some of the worst looking ones are so deformed they can't even close their mouths.

The species have to be fairly close in the family ladder to do it though.

Answer 2

African Cichlids Types

Answer 3

It's possible for different african cichlid species to interbreed. An easy way to prevent this is to have 3+ females per male per species.

If you have no idea what species you have, however, keep in mind that numerous african cichlid species are dimorphic, meaning the males and females look entirely different, so what may appear to be two different species can actually be the same (such as kenyi, saulosi, auratus, etc).

Answer 4

Yes, those cichlids can interbreed with one another. Whether or not you want them to is another story; random hybrid cichlids (or "bastard cichlids", as I more commonly hear them called) are worth very little unless you want to use them as feeder fish. Some places won't take stuff like that, so make sure you have arrangements for them before letting them spawn and potentially being stuck with lots of little odd-looking fish that you don't want.

Answer 5

Yes, they can. However, they will only mate if they are of opposite sex of course, and look extremely similar to the females of their species. BUT, and this is a HUGE but, you should NOT breed two different species of African cichlids, or any cichlids. The reason is because these fish are wanted, and used in different aquariums all over the world by serious aquarists. If two different species mate, their fry, or offspring are referred to as hybrids. These 'hybrids' are dispised in the hobby, and when contacted, most hobbiest kill the fish. Which is why you should never cross-breed, and if it happens, kill the babies, or keep them in your tank until they die. Sounds harsh, but it's the right thing to do.

Answer 6

Cichlids of different species can mate and have offspring. I have kept New World Cichlids of different species together and they have mated, had eggs, and raised their young together. Right now I have African Cichlids but they have never mated.

Answer 7

You need to know the fishes latin names,without that information your question is unanswerable. There is one African specie in which the female is blue and the male is yellow. You should probably get a good introductory book.

Answer 8

Yes. Especially some of the African species. You find tons of them cheap in the LFS calling them "Assorted Africans". It's nothing intentional you'd want to do though.

Answer 9

I think so, mollies can.