Egyptian Mouthbrooder
The Egyptian mouthbrooder is truly a fish to catch the eye. Not only is it very neatly colored, but its breeding habits are most unusual. The habits of breeding are similar to those of the other cichlids only in that a hole made by the fish for itself—usually by fanning the sand—is used for depositing the eggs. The male entices the female over the hole and she drops a few eggs into it; they are then quickly fertilized by the male. However, following this the process is quite different. As soon as fertilization takes place, the female swoops down and gathers up the fertile eggs in her mouth. She may continue to do this for some time, but as soon as her mouth is full, she will no longer go near the hole. Sometimes this irritates the male and he will nip at her; the female, with her mouthful of eggs, is helpless to fight back, and unless the merciful intervention of the aquarium manager saves her, she may die with her brood still in her mouth. For this reason it seems wise to remove the male as soon as possible after the female exhibits signs of leaving her position over the hole.
Day after day, the female keeps her eggs in her mouth, sucking water in over them through her mouth and blowing it out of her gills. She will steadily refuse the most tasty morsels offered her, never daring to take anything into her oral cavity. This refusal to eat may
last as long as two weeks, during which time the young fish hatch and live off their yolks sacs. The mother may at times allow her brood to swim around her out of her mouth, but at the slightest noise or disturbance she will open her mouth and the young will swim directly in. During this time the female fish may appear to lose all her flesh; she will get very thin and emaciated, and her eyes will seem to bulge from their sockets. So strong is this mother's instinct, however, that, as hungry as she is, she would rather starve to death than eat her own young. After about two weeks, the young are too large to be able to fit into the mouth of their mother, so they take off on their own, searching for the protozoa or other infusoria that should be placed in the tank for them.
One odd thing about the Egyptian mouthbrooders is that they will attack and kill any of the swiftly swimming fish that may be present in their mating tank. This is undoubtedly a precaution they take, fearing that a fast-moving fish might swoop down upon their brood before they get a chance to seek refuge in their mother's mouth.
After she has served her purpose, the mother fish should be put in a small tank alone for a few days so she can regain her health without being bothered by stronger fish attacking her. She should be fed small amounts of daphnia or tubifex at frequent intervals, but not too much at once as she may become ill.
The optimum temperature for the breeding of the young and the mating of the parents is about 78° F. The young should be fed live food as often as possible for quick maturation.
Sex in these fish is easily discernible by the larger head of the female and the more brightly colored anal fin of the male during high color.
