How to Care for Baby Jewel Cichlids

If your are the owner of both a male and a female jewel cichlid, chances are the stork will be paying your aquarium a visit. Once the baby fish are hatched, they require special care and attention that is imperative to their survival. By taking the proper precautions, you can ensure these fish babies will grow to be welcome additions to your fish tank.

Things You'll Need

  • Fish isolation tank
  • Net
  • Plastic storage bag
  • Flake fish food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Isolate the pregnant mother in an isolation tank if she has not already laid her eggs yet. If she has, wait for the eggs to hatch.

    • 2

      Move all of the babies to an isolation tank with a net as soon as they hatch. Fish are known for eating their young, and jewel cichlids are no exception. Be careful when catching the babies as they will be very fragile and can easily be crushed.

    • 3

      Crush a few flakes of fish food in a plastic bag.

    • 4

      Feed the baby fish with the crushed fish flakes two to three times daily. The easiest way to do this is to moisten the end of a toothpick, stick the moistened end into a pile of the crushed fish flakes, and dip the end into the water in the isolation tank.

    • 5

      Continue to keep the fish isolated until they have doubled in size.

    • 6

      Return the fish to the aquarium.