Fish fry or caviar

The other day I had a friend ask me if I had checked my tank for eggs. My fish are too young for that. Or so I thought. The reason I was asked is that my fish had paired off and hung out in different parts of the aquarium.

I got to thinking and did some observation. The two larger fish really were hanging out with each other a lot. Then they became rather aggressive. They stressed one of my other fish (the smallest one) by chasing it around a lot, and they killed it this week. My other small cichlid only comes out of a small corner to eat, also showing signs of stress.

I was watching the belly on one of my fish. It was a bit wide, but not bloated. Could it be that it was a she, and she was getting ready to lay eggs?

Today I came home and said hi to my other tank, but didn't go in and see this tank until I had been home for a while. I noticed something immediately about it - there was a big pit dug in the gravel. That was not there this morning. I was looking at the large aquarium ornament primarily to make sure that it wasn't in danger of tipping, as the pit is actually in front of and under one of the ends. I thought something was different about the color and texture of it. I grabbed a flashlight. I'll let you see what I saw...

This is the fish that had the belly that was getting larger. See what's on the surface of the ornament behind her?

Here's what it looks like without her in the picture...
Notice the number of eggs, and the pit they dug. The pit is where the baby fish (the fry) are raised after they hatch, or so I read. This is all rather new ;).


Dad and Mom. Dad looks lighter in the picture. He's a bit washed out by the flash. The flash does reveal the colors that are on his scales. This is one of the ways you can tell this is Dad. Compare the number of colorful reflections on his body in these pictures to Mom's picture above.


Dad again.