Cichlids had babies?!?

Question

We have a 30 gallon tank with two adult cichlids in it, and today we discovered that there were about 30 babies swimming around! Since we didn't know if they would eat them or not, we put them into a fry holder (it's a plastic container that floats in the tank with vents in the side to let fresh water through). Then we did some research and learned that we most likely have convict cichlids (based on the photos) and that they are excellent parents. Since it's been about 5 hours since the babies have been separated from the parents, is it okay for us to add the babies back to the tank? Or should we keep them separate from now on?

We've had these fish for easily 5 or 6 years and have never experienced this before!

Answer 1

my daughter has these and they do not eat their young. however they do multiply like guppies and rabbits LOL

Answer 2

Now that your convicts have started spawning it will probably be hard to get them to stop.
Just do frequent gravel siphoning and water changes and they'll spawn again.
With Convicts it's probably OK to release the fry back into the tank,but if you are concerned,try releasing a few at a time.
Fry usually don't do well confined in those net things for long periods of time.

Answer 3

if you really want to put them back you can, but watch them, and make sure there are marbles or plants the babies can hide in. In the wild Cichilids will not eat their babies, but when they are bred in captivity they lose some of their instincts which causes them to eat the fry

Answer 4

i would leave them beacasue its better to be safe then srry or leave them until they are 2 times bigger or bigger then any other fish's mouth

Answer 5

i would think they would eat them but who knows.... if you feed them well they might not..... try this site they have many answers http://www.oscarfish.com

Answer 6

not until they are bigger