Kenyi Cichlids.........What to do about babies.

[rich]

I have a question or two, about Kenyi cichlids, and their fry. I started with one small female, purchased at about 1 inch long. Had her for a while, until she reached about 2 inches. Decided to get her some "company", and purchased another female elsewhere(Walmart), also at about the same size of 2 inches. When I placed her in the tank, she was harrased unendingly by the existing female, to the point where after a few days, all the new female could do is hide near a power head, to avoid punishment. It is a 30 gal tank, with about 33% of the tank consisting of granite rock caves I've created. There are a few other small Africans in it - One Melanochromis Auratus(2 inch), one of those orange calico "hard to classify" Africans(2 inch), and one Green Tiger Barb that "survives" nicely, due to his evasive "speed"(1.5 inch), along with two Plecos(2-3 inch)........So, I removed the battered female Kenyi, since half of her tail was missing now. I placed her in a 20 gal tank, along with 2 small 1.5 inch Auratus, and another similar orange calico African. The tank is also heavy on rock caves. She recovered nicely, and in just a week or two, was back to superb health and finnage.........Ok. So I found a male Kenyi, at another Walmart, at about 2 inches long, purchased him and put him in the tank with the now healed female. Of course, immediately the male began doing his "shimmying" routine, next to the female, and the two seemed "agreeable" together. In just a weeks time, the female now had a mouthful of eggs, with the usual disorted looking jaw. She didn't eat for a week or so. I thought nothing much of it until two weeks later, her jaw no longer was distorted, and I couldn't find any evidence of her "guarding" any young, nor could I see any fry anywhere. After another week or two, I finally noticed some of the fry, hiding in the tiniest crevices, between the large rocks. They are some "cuties", looking like clones of the female, and dart in and out of the crevices on occasion. I counted six or seven of them total. The parents, and Auratuses seem unconcerned with the fry, and I don't think they could catch one of them, even if they tried their best. The little fry are about a quarter inch long, and are capable of diving into a crevice when they need to, blindingly fast. They also seem quite capable of surviving, on food tidbits and algae, since they look perfectly healthy...........So, I'm left with a dilema of wanting to save the babies, but find this nearly impossible, since the caves are so extensive(By the way, the male Kenyi seems to "dominate" the tank, and all caves). Because of the caves, it would be impossible to net any of the adult fish also. So, I either "wreck" the tank completely, by removing all rocks, catch all the adults quickly, then hope to find the babies in the remaining "mess". Then I might as well "start over", clean the tank of all algae, clean all rocks, etc/etc/etc. Relocate the adults to some alternate tank(s). Relocate the babies to some 10 gal tank, until they are a bit larger.............This all is quite a major undertaking, to "catch" the babies, and ensure their survival. The other choice, is to leave it all alone, and hope for the best over time, that maybe the babies can somehow continue to avoid getting eaten, as they grow............I know some of you will say I have somewhat "crowded" conditions currently, as far as tank space goes, especially since the Kenyis can reach I think about 5 inches, down the road............I do have a 55 gal tank, that I drained several months ago, after it started a slow drip leak, on one of the bottom side seals. I have a separate question on repairing that leak, successfully. I can now see the leaking seal area, as per a "loose" section of sealant, along a several inch area, on one side wall. I've bought seveal different "tools", to hopefully "remove" the bottom seal material ONLY, and try to reseal same with silicone sealant. It looks like a tricky task to do, and feel "good" about the "integrity" of the repair. If anyone has info on "repairing" a tank, as I'm hoping to do, or knows of a link for tank repair methods/do's and don'ts, I would appreciate it............I also have 2 larger Jewel Cichlids, 2 mated pairs of Convicts(actually they are nice, but pains in the butt, as far as breeding like rabbits), currently about 300ish total "young" convicts(in two different stages of development), and a total tank count of two-5 gal, two-10 gal, two-20 gal, one-30 gal, and one-55 gal(needing repair).............I guess I've proposed a bunch of questions, and am open to suggestions............Mostly I want to preseve the Kenyi babies, if possible. The Convict "mess", is currently occupying too many of my tanks, in general. I'm having trouble finding any store that is in "need" of a supply, of young convicts. They are certainly not worth much money, and I'll probably end up "giving" them away, to a store that's willing...........Thanks in advance, for any comments or help...........(Also, if I get my 55 gal going again, I'm tempted to make it exclusively for the 3 Kenyi cichlids. I'm just not sure whether the two females will "get along" together with each other, and with the one male.)

[rich]

Well, it's only been a week or so, since I noticed the Kenyi babies in my tank. The total time since I saw the female Kenyi with a mouthfull of eggs is way less than a month. The babies are growing at an incredible pace - In just this past week, they have gone from a quarter inch, to one half inch now. They still hang out in the rock crevices, but have gotten much bolder, venturing 4 to 6 inches away from a crevice, only to dart back in when an adult fish approaches. This is my first time with African mouth breeders. I can't get over how fast these babies are growing, compared to my Convict cichlid babies. Their growth in size is one half to one third as fast. Meanwhile, I noticed as of this morning, that the female Kenyi is carrying a load of eggs again, in her mouth. She stays closer to the mean male Kenyi during this time, and he seems to allow her that grace. Otherwise, when she's not carrying a load of eggs or fry, he chases her away from "his" caves. So, I now have a rapidly growing 5 or 6 Kenyi babies, and another batch "on the way". I can't believe they may do this every month. Even my Convicts, will "hold off" for several months, if I leave them to tend to their fry. I learned long ago with them, if you take them away from the fry, they will "do it again", quite quickly. These Kenyi don't seem to "care" for their young, and they are left to "fend for themselves".........I've now found quite a bit of literature on repairing my leaking 55 gal tank, and feel much more brave about attempting to reseal the bottom. For the moment, I've left the 20 gal tank "as is".........Hopefully by the time I get the 55 up and running, I can remove all the rocks from the 20 gal, relocate the adults to the 55, and catch the "two generations", of Kenyi babies. I guess there's no easy method of salvaging the Kenyi fry, in any sort of tank arrangement, if you prefer to provide your fish lots of caves. I have read a little bit about catching the female when she's "holding", and trying to open her mouth carefully, to get the fry out. This sounds much easier said, then done. Perhaps I may attempt it some day, when she's grown to some 5 inch length, when the process of netting and holding her, might be a lot easier.