I have to Kenyi Cichlids in my tank one male and the other I am quite sure is a female (darker shade of blue then the juvie males and has no egg spots). Anyways, every once in a while, I catch on or both of them shaking... almost as if they are being electrocuted. Is this some sort of fish seizer or is it a part of the spawning cycle? If it is a part of their spawning, at what size should this happen because the female in question is only about 1.75" long (I guess around 4 cm). The male is certainly mature... he's around 4" but I am just curious about the female's size and her ability to spawn.... thanks!

i have no experience with african cichlids but i assume they share some behavior with south and central americans. what you described sounds like part of the mating ritual some cichlids will display. i am going to move this over to the african forum so you can get a better response.:)

That's definitely a mating ritual, im with cich1 as a havent kept africans but my rams used to do that just before the female was about to spawn. As for the females size i would assume if she is engaging in mating rituals im pretty sure she will develop eggs soon and will most likely be approaching complete sexual development, even if she is half the size of the male!

Sounds like a love shimmy to me.

definatley fish love going on there my friend.just wish my females would make up their minds. All the best for the outcome..

darren

All my males do that. It's kind of funny to watch.. good luck..

Guys.... this is all very confusing to me. I thought by now the female (?) would have remained in her adult colors. She is about two inches long but starting to show yellow on the top edge of her dorsal fin and her tail fin has a hint of yellow. Does this mean that it is actually a subdominant male or do Kenyi females naturally have a little yellow in them anyway? It doesn't have any eggspots and I thought for sure that that meant it was female. Is this wrong to assume? Thanks guys.

my convicts di the same thing.....except mine dont do it when breeding but when you are looking into the fishtank up close he freaks out........but i agree its a mating thing...

~Jazz~

Subdominant male. When fighting they do a very similar display as when mating
Your probally better off to males and no females anyways if it was just a single small female in with a single male she wouldn't last long. With two males if the tanks big enough they should both survive just one a little happier than the other