Surprise Eggs! What do I do now??

[HomesickAlien33]

Ok, so I have this Cichlid that I bought from Petco a few weeks ago... I'm not exactly sure what it's name is, but I can get back to you on that when I go back.
So... I noticed this little fish acting strangly, and rubbing up against one of the mugs I have in my tank. Later I noticed that it had something hanging out of it's "butt" ... I thought maybe it was a shrimp that I have given it. Anyway... it turns out I have a lot of eggs on the side of my mug, and I don't know what to do now. I have 5 other Cichlids (all of different species) and 2 Goramis...
Is it possible for a fish to just lay unfertalized eggs? Or does it mean I will have a ton of fry soon? And if so, what should I do? Should I seperate the mom from the other fish? Or should I seperate the other fish from the mom? Ack!! I really don't want anyone to die!
Thank you so much to anyone who can help me!!

~ jo

 

[farm41]

you need to tell us more about your setup and inhabitants :?

 

[HomesickAlien33]

I've discovered that the eggs are missing... :cry: I don't know if the momma (a Gold Survum) eat the eggs, or if someone else did, or if she just moved them...
She's much less aggresive, and doesn't seem to favor and one spot in the tank... *sniff*
The other Cichlids in the tank are: Hemichromis Bimaculatus, Nimbochromis Livingstoni and 2 Kenyi Pseudotropheus...
I really hope that helps... and I hope I got all the names in the right order... :roll:
I also have 2 Goramis, one Catfish and 3 fiddler Crabs.
Thank you so much....

 

[skwelch]

go and buy three more large tanks and you might be getting somewhere

your severum is from the amazon and will get very large and very aggressive towards other tank mates if they cant stand up for themselves, and anything small enough will become a tasty snack, is your tank big enough for this fish, adults can be as big as 25cm. not very good tank mates for gouramis

pseudotrophues kennyi (lombardoi) is an mbuna from lake malawi, it also gets quite big, maybe upto about 20cm, they are aggressive towards other fish as they are very terratorial due to the environment they are from, very busy densely populated areas of the lake, they require large amounts of rock for them to make a territory of their own, and will be unhappy without large amounts of rock caves.
they also require very hard alkaline water, pH 7.8 is a minimum, over pH 8 is better, and hardness is critical too, GH above 20 is a good start. males are yellow, females blue. if there isnt enough space and rocks, 2 yellow males will fight to the death

hemichromis jewel cichlid is from africa too but from completely different areas and has completely different water requirements
this cichlids also requires caves/rock for territory and will get aggressive towards other fish if spawning

and your nimbochromis livingstonii, it comes from the same lake as your kennyi (lake malawi) but from completely different areas, it is large (over 30cm) and is found in open waters over sandy substrates, not a good idea to keep it on tanks with large rocks as it is very clumsy and will hurt itself, it is also quite timid on cichlid terms, so will not like the constant battering from your other cichlids and when adult will put a massive strain on your filter system (assuming you have one?? im scared to ask)
this also requires very hard alkaline water and lots of space

unless your tank is the size of a swimming pool this mix of fish will NOT work
you may need to return the cichlids to the shop and ask them to suggest an appropriate replacements,
if like me you love cichlids and im guessing you do from the amount you have purchased you really need to provide them with the proper homes with the correct water and think before you buy, ask the shop staff about wether they will get along with your current inhabitants before taking them home
or an even better way, read up on the fish you intend to keep before you even go to a lfs, use the internet, there is lots of good info on cichlids and how to keep them properly

good luck but act fast otherwise you'll soon have lots of dead fish