when breeding bumble bee cichlids

[CichlidOwner]

umm...yeah, i have a 10 gallon tank with 3 bumble bee cichlids; one dominant male, one little female, and one small male. i was just wondering if i still stand a chance of breeding them even with a smaller male in the tank. the 2 males get alonge well, but with some chasing once in a while. can someone help me?

[Lisachromis]

A ten gallon tank is nowhere near big enough for one P. crabro (bumblebee), let alone 3. A good sized male will get to at least 8" and I've seen 9" ones. They get extremely aggressive! You really should have more females than males. Males will try to get a female to spawn all the time, and when she doesn't, he'll turn mean on her and most likely kill her. This is one of the larger mbuna types and should be in a 75g +++ tank. I think that would be the smaller sized tanks to house a crabro properly. They can be bred at a smaller size of course; just like any other mbuna.

[CichlidOwner]

ok, thanks for the information. the biggest size tank i can fit in my room is between a 30-45 gallon depending appon the cost. um... the bumble bee fish are mouth brewers right? i'm not exactly the best person when it comes to fish. thanks again.

[Lisachromis]

P. crabro is definitely a mouthbrooder.