Who Gives A Fish Forums

I'm pretty stoked, I think I might have a pregnant red zebra on my hands. I've never had cichlids before, let alone a pregnant one, so I'm totally new to this. I was wondering if there's a way to confirm it's pregnant. I saw it swimming around with my electric lab the other day, and since then it's been doing this weird "chewing gum" thing. It also has these 6 little cream-colored dots on its dorsal fin - I think that's what it's called, but I'm not totally sure. Are these signs of pregnancy? If so, what can I do to help it out? I've heard that water temperature is really important for pregnant fish, and my tank is at a constant 78 degrees right now. Any advice would be super helpful. I've included a video of what I think is the red zebra "chewing gum" - take a look and let me know what you think.

If you're referring to her having babies in her belly, that's not exactly how it works. The male fertilizes the eggs while the female lays them, often in a circular motion, which might be what you saw earlier. What typically happens next is that the female picks up the eggs with her mouth and holds them there until they hatch. She'll continue to keep the babies in her mouth until they get too big to fit, at which point she'll let them out for a swim but will still pick them up again. It's possible that's what's going on with your red zebra - she might have eggs in her mouth. Have you noticed if the underside of her "jaw" or chin area appears to be sitting lower than usual?

I don't think her jaw looks any lower than normal, at least I couldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I did upload a video of her, so maybe you can take a look and see if you notice anything. You mentioned the mom letting the fry swim - are they usually big enough to swim by this point? My mom cichlid is still pretty small, only about 2 inches, so I'm wondering if she's even big enough to be having babies yet.

Well, she won't actually "give birth" as such, but at 2 inches, she's big enough to have her first spawn. The babies will definitely be visible, but you probably won't catch a glimpse of them until they're at least a week or more old. By the way, where did you end up uploading that video of her?

I'm pretty sure I added the video to my first post, but I guess it didn't go through. I'll try uploading it again.

I completely agree with discuslove, it sounds like your red zebra's got eggs in her mouth that'll soon be turning into fry. They usually stay at the egg stage for about three weeks, then move on to the fry stage for around a week before she lets them fend for themselves, although she might give them a trial run beforehand but will quickly scoop them up if she senses danger. Your water temp's spot on, 78 is a good starting point, just make sure it stays between 78 and 80 and you'll be golden, good luck with the new additions.