The Mouthbreeders 



C. J. HEEDE, Hidoklyii. 



THE mouthbreeders, Paratilapia 

 multicolor, belong to the fish 

 family called Cichlids. They are found 

 wild in ponds near Alexandria, Egypt, 

 and were first introduced into Europe 

 as an aquarium fish at the beginning of 

 this century. Their size is about two 

 to two and a half inches long. The female 

 is more heavily built than the male in 

 the fore part of the body, especially 

 back of the head, where the breeding 

 bag is located. In this bag first the eggs, 

 and later, when hatched, the young 

 mouthbreeders are kept. 



The color of the male of this species is 

 very beautiful, especially at the breeding 

 time. The body, 

 tail and fins are 

 marked with yel- 

 low, violet, red, 

 blue and green, 

 and the fish 

 looks as though 

 adorned with 

 precious stones, 



— indeed it is a 

 regular living 

 gem. The male 

 has a red spot 

 on the anal fin; 

 the female is without this red marking, 

 and otherwise not so well colored. 



The temperature of the water in the 

 aquarium where mouthbreeders are kept 

 must not be under 65 degrees Fahren- 

 heit, in breeding time 75 degrees. When 

 the female is about to produce her eggs, 

 as can easily be seen by her enlarged 

 body and head, the pair build their nest 



— a shallow hollow in the sand — 

 between the plants at the bottom of the 

 aquarium. The bottom of the aquarium 

 must be covered by about two inches of 

 sand, and no clay or soil should be used, 

 as otherwise the fishes will make the 

 water muddy in arranging their nest. 



PARATILAPIA 



Di-awiiii' t'riiiii life 



After the female has laid her eggs, the 

 male fertilizes them, and then the female 

 gathers them into her mouth and by 

 moving her jaw as if she were chewing 

 something, constantly keeps fresh water 

 circulating around and between them 

 until they are hatched. This takes from 

 fifteen to twenty days, during which 

 period the mother fish will not take 

 any food. 



The number of young varies from ten 

 to fifty, or even more. Like the young 

 of other spawning fishes, their first food 

 is infusoria. The young fish go out to 

 hunt this food, particularly at night- 

 time, and when frightened, swim back 

 into the mouth of the parent fish. In a 

 few days they will be able to care for 

 themselves, and 

 the mother fish 

 must then be 

 taken out of the 

 aquarium, as 

 otherwise she 

 might attempt to 

 eat her young. 

 At the time 

 when the moth- 

 er fish takes the 

 eggs in her 

 mouth, the 

 male must be 

 removed from the aquarium where his 

 mate is confined, otherwise he will 

 disturb her in her work of caring for 

 eggs and young. It is not advisable 

 to let the fishes breed more than 

 twice in a season or it will weaken 

 them, especially the female, on account 

 of the fasting while the eggs are in her 

 mouth. 



These fishes are generally kept by 

 fanciers, not alone for their beauty of 

 color, but also for their highly interest- 

 ing breeding habits and their hardiness. 

 In the aquarium they should be fed, 

 besides fine aquatics such as Riccia and 

 Salvinia, live food as Daphnia, Cyclops, 



MULTICOLOR 

 liy E- ^- VonNG. 



