The Auto-Magic
Breeder Report Writer

A super easy way to write an article for GCCA's Cichlid Chatter newsletter, or use it to keep records for the future.

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Input into the fields	Instructions
	Enter Your first and last name
Petrotilapia nkhata "small blue"	Enter the latin name of the fish
Small Blue Petrotilapia	What is the common name for the fish?
yellow with a powder blue coloring and black markings	Describe the color and shape of male fish
yellow with black mottled markings	Describe the color and shape of female fish.
	How big do male fish get?
	How big do female fish get?
These fish are moderately agressive and will attack other members of the species. Males will do damage to other males and females, so provide cover and lots of hiding places.	Write a short paragraph: What is the temperament of the fish? Are they aggressive? To other fish or only the same species?
rocky shoreline of Lake Malawi, Africa	Where is the fish found? (lake, river, country, location)
sub-tropical with temperatures in the mid 70's to 80's	What is the climate in the native habitat?
	What is the water chemistry in the native habitat?
	When did you successfully spawn the fish?
	How big was the spawning tank?
	What was the water chemistry of the spawning tank? pH, temperature, etc.
	What kind of gravel (if any) did you use.
Cryptocryne wendtii	Did you use plants in your spawning tank? What kind?
Power Bio-Wheel Pro 30 and a Supreme Aquamaster	What kind of filtration was used?
	How often did you change the water?
	How much water did you change (%)
	What kind of lighting did you use?
	How long were the lights on per day?
	Where did you obtain the fish? A store? An auction?
	How many fish did you start with?
	How big were the fish when you got them?
Doromin, earthworms, and frozen brine shrimp	What did you feed the fish? Flake? What brand? Did you use any special foods to condition the breeders?
	How do the fish breed? Are the mouthbrooders, substrate spawners, etc.
The pair cleaned a piece of slate together. Next, the female laid an egg and picked it up in her mouth. The pair assumed a "T" position and the female then bit at the egg spot of the male fertilizing the eggs.	Write a brief paragraph: Describe the courtship and breeding process if you observed it.
	How old were the fish when they bred?
	How large (inches) were the fish when they bred for you?
an inclined piece of slate near the center of the tank	Describe the site where the fish spawned
When spawning, the blue color of the male intensifies. Females change to a bright yellow and the brown markings fade a bit.	Write a small paragraph: Describe the spawning colors of the fish.
	How many eggs were laid? What color were they?
After spawning, the female retreated to a hiding place to avoid harassment by the male.	Write a brief paragraph Which fish (male, female or both) cared for the eggs after spawning? If a mouthbrooder, describe how well or not the female held the eggs.
I moved the female to a thickly-planted twenty gallon tank containing zebra danios and platies. This tank provided lots of hiding places to make the female feel comfortable.	Write a brief paragraph What kind of care did you provide for the fish or eggs? Did you hatch the eggs artificially? How did you do it? Di you move a mouthbrooding female to another tank?
	How long did it take before the eggs hatched - or - how long did the female hold the eggs?
	How many eggs hatched?
	What percent of eggs hatched?
The fry were a yellow-tan in color and about 3/8 of an inch long and looked very similar to their parents.	Write a brief paragraph: Describe the young fry. Were they wrigglers? Did they have yolk sacs? Were they free swimming? How big were they?
	What did you feed the newly hatched fry? Baby brine shrimp? Flake? Cyclop-Eeze?
	What was the second food that you fed?
	When did you start feeding the second food?
The fry didn't require any special care on my part. I left them in the 20 gallon tank with the danios and platies after moving the female to another tank.	Write a short paragraph: Did the fry require any special care? Did you move them to another tank?
Once the female released the fry, she did not exhibit any tendency to care for the fry.	Did the parents care for the fry? How did they care for the fry?
	How did the fry grow? Slowly? Quickly?
a Second Nature power filter and a Tetra sponge filter	What kind of filtration did you use in the fry tank?
When breeding this fish, you have to patient. It takes quite a while for the males to mature. The females also seem to eat a couple of broods before settling down and holding eggs well.	Write a small paragraph: Describe any interesting habits or observations you have to share about the fish. Is there any social behavior that is interesting?
This was actually the hardest mouthbrooder I have bred. I lost four spawns before finally figuring out that I couldn't leave the fish in the original tank or strip her. Dither fish, I found were necessary to get the female to hold her eggs.	Write a small paragraph What can you tell us about this fishkeeping experience? Was it fun?
While breeding Petrotilapia nkhata "small blue" was challenging, I would recommend them to other keeps of Africans. They are beautiful, if aggressive, fish.	Write a small paragraph Would you recommend this fish to others? Why or why not?
Be prepared to deal with very aggressive males and offer lots of cover both at the bottom and top of the tank. My dominant male beat up both males and females on a regular basis requiring me to remove the injured fish to other tanks to recover. Males will attack brooding females, so is best to remove her to a well planted tank with some dither fish. Despite these challenges, you should give this fish a try.	Write a concluding paragraph: If you were to breed this fish again, would you do anything different? What would you tell others that you haven't already mentioned?

The Greater Chicago Cichlid Association — GCCA — is a not-for-profit, educational organization, chartered in the state of Illinois, dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of information relating to the biology of the fishes in the family Cichlidae, with particular emphasis on maintenance and breeding in captivity. We are simply cichlid hobbyists who love cichlids.

The Auto-Magic Breeder Report Writer

A super easy way to write an article for GCCA's Cichlid Chatter newsletter, or use it to keep records for the future.

The Auto-Magic
Breeder Report Writer