Talk:Amphilophus

breeding section

This only comes from skimming but it seems the style of the breeding section doesn't match up to the rest of the article, it might need some style/tone changes. Ryan shell (talk) 16:36, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

Aquarium breeding

{{how-to|section|date=December 2014}}

Anyone with any experience owning fish can breed the Amphilophus. When small, it is difficult to sex the fish, but as they mature you will see that they will begin to pair off. It is recommended that you take the pair out of the community tank and house them in their own individual tank. This way they do not kill any of the other fish. Water temperatures should be on the warm side, I prefer keeping my tanks at 78 deg that way the fish build tolerances to slight temperature changes. I have also noticed that the fish do not seem to get sick as do other fish in warmer water. To get the fish to breed, it is recommended to feed the female food with high protein, this way she has a greater chance of producing more eggs. During this process, I would keep a close eye on the pair because the female might not be ready to breed which can cause the male to turn on the female and kill her. If this is a concern, then a divider which allows free movement of water (still allowing for fertilization) should be put it. It usually takes about 3 days for the eggs to become wigglers and about another 3 days for them to become free swimming. I would not encourage breeding cross species because as a fish keeper, we would like to keep original strains.