help! these things are stubborn!

[cyndi13]

what on god's green earth do they like to eat? ive tried like 4 different foods including sinking cichlid pellets! flakes, tropical flakes, floating pellets, like whats up with these guys? they are one breeding pair. help!! the guy at the fish shop here says they eat pellets, we have the same pellets. sheesh. i know they dont eat when they are spawning, but she has babies in her mouth.......................... i freakin out!

[Vallisneria]

In my experience haps and mbuna will eat pretty much anything, from the crappiest brand of pellet to veggies. The only time I've had africans turn down food is if they are sick or holding.

If your guys aren't eating there might be something wrong.

If the female has babies in her mouth she may or may not eat with them in there. You can tell if she has babies if her throat is big(like a pelican)

Do the fish attempt to eat but spit it out? Are they interested in food at all? Is their poop looking normal or white and stringy?

[cyndi13]

In my experience haps and mbuna will eat pretty much anything, from the crappiest brand of pellet to veggies. The only time I've had africans turn down food is if they are sick or holding.

If your guys aren't eating there might be something wrong.

If the female has babies in her mouth she may or may not eat with them in there. You can tell if she has babies if her throat is big(like a pelican)

Do the fish attempt to eat but spit it out? Are they interested in food at all? Is their poop looking normal or white and stringy?

their poop is normal for a fish, the female is definately prego, looks like a pelican, holding? does that mean hes waiting for her to spit out the babies? or? that word ive never heard used, to me holding means in a tank for illness. seperately. they do attempt but spit it out, the male does anyways!

[RD.]

By giraffe haps, do you mean N. venustus? http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1160

What size are these fish, and are they still in your 33 gallon tank?

The female typically won't eat when she's holding, and this species does not breed

in "pairs". 1 male per 4 females would be far more ideal, in a 75-125 gallon tank.

Edited August 3, 2008 by RD.

[Vallisneria]

People use the term "holding" to describe a female mouthbrooding fish with babies in her mouth.

The male doesn't wait for the female when she is holding. Once he breeds with her his job is done and he is off to find more females to breed with.

RD is right, these fish dont' breed in pairs. You need to have more females then males or the male can harrass the lone female too much causing her stress, physical damage and/or death.

Fish that attempt to eat but spit it out could be sick. I think I remember that being a sign of "bloat"(google Malawi bloat).

Have they ever eaten for you? How long have you had them? Is your tank established(finished cycling)? Have you tested the water? Are they looking skinny?

[cyndi13]

By giraffe haps, do you mean N. venustus? http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1160

What size are these fish, and are they still in your 33 gallon tank?

The female typically won't eat when she's holding, and this species does not breed

in "pairs". 1 male per 4 females would be far more ideal, in a 75-125 gallon tank.

rd, threy are male is 3 or 4 inches and the female is 2 or 2.5, they are the only 2 in the tank, someone also said they are ob peacocks, im confused, any of you in edmonton that wouldnt mind having a look at them? i clicked your link above and looks similar to the oicture but look more like ob peacocks. they are both in the 33, believe it or not it might be bigger than that. the guy at aqua giant didnt say nothing about these guys, hes susally good when there is special things that needs to be done, he tells. i know not much about cichlids, my hubby does tho, but ev1 is confusing him lol

[cyndi13]

People use the term "holding" to describe a female mouthbrooding fish with babies in her mouth.

The male doesn't wait for the female when she is holding. Once he breeds with her his job is done and he is off to find more females to breed with.

RD is right, these fish dont' breed in pairs. You need to have more females then males or the male can harrass the lone female too much causing her stress, physical damage and/or death.

Fish that attempt to eat but spit it out could be sick. I think I remember that being a sign of "bloat"(google Malawi bloat).

Have they ever eaten for you? How long have you had them? Is your tank established(finished cycling)? Have you tested the water? Are they looking skinny?

the female is carrying fry in her mouth for sure. these guys could be ob peacocks or giraffe haps, i will check out bloat in google, they are not skinny, they are not sick so far, the tank is finished cycling and water is ok. id love someone to come by for coffee and have a peek if anyone is in edmonton and could help me out? i am going to take a picture and post these guys.

[Vallisneria]

A picture will definately help ID them. OB peacocks and Venustus are very different.

OB peacocks more of an orangy with black random blotches and a sheen of blue. They look like this http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&q...sa=N&tab=wi

Venustus have a blue head and a yellow body with dark "giraffe" looking pattern on the sides. They look like this http://images.google.ca/images?um=1&hl...hromis+venustus

Where abouts in Edmonton do you live?

[RD.]

Keep in mind that the male may not have gotten his blue head yet (they transform as they mature) and female N. venustus will never get a blue head.

Either way, 1 male & 1 lone female in a tank that size is eventually going to be a recipe for disaster.