Keyhole cichlid unfertile eggs

[Mhmd]

Hello, i have a keyhole cichlid couple in a 55g tank with 12 ember tetras, 6 hatchet fish and a male nannacara anomala.
My keyhole cichlids been breeding every 2 weeks for like 3 months but the eggs turn all white after 2 days and they end up eating them, are the eggs not being fertilized or its just the fungus taking over?
Water Ph is 7,0 to 7,3 with lots of tanins.

 

[Mazan]

My guess is that you have two females.

 

[MacZ]

Please show a picture of both fish, so we can rule that out.

Otherwise, with that pH the amount of humic substances is irrelevant. GH/KH are much more important to know.

 

[Mhmd]

Please show a picture of both fish, so we can rule that out.

Otherwise, with that pH the amount of humic substances is irrelevant. GH/KH are much more important to know.

My gh is 24 and my kh 9 or 10

 

[Mhmd]

My gh is 24 and my kh 9 or 10

First pic is what i think is the female and third pic is the male.
Second picture is of them both.
I had 6 keyhole cichlids that i raised for a few months and had this pair form up, they started breeding and the female would stay close to the eggs and the male would chase off other cichlids on larger area

 

[Mazan]

Well I must admit that from a group of 6 it would be unusual for a same sex pair to emerge, and the behaviour you describe is typical of a true pair. But the constantly infertile eggs lasting just two days is typical of when two females spawn together and in this case one can behave more like a male.

Do you still have any of the other keyhole cichlids?

 

[MacZ]

Well you clearly do have a pair, but I see the problem.

My gh is 24 and my kh 9 or 10

Those are not helpful conditions.
Many fish, among them Cleithracara, have adapted to very soft water to get around the problem of bacteria destroying the spawn.
And this is the case here. They will spawn in these conditions but I doubt there will ever be any fry hatching.

 

[Mazan]

Yes, that does seem to be the case here, though somewhat surprising in a species that has been bred in captivity for so many generations.

 

[Mike Wise]

I agree with you, Mazan. But that really depends on where the fish originate. If Florida (do they even produce them in Florida anymore?) then they should be able to adapt & breed in hard water. If imported from Southeast Asia, as many Neotropical species are now, then hard water could be a problem.

Mhmd, if you are truly interested in getting viable eggs, then I recommend slowly making your water softer. Good luck, Keyhole are really neat fish.

 

[Mhmd]

I agree with you, Mazan. But that really depends on where the fish originate. If Florida (do they even produce them in Florida anymore?) then they should be able to adapt & breed in hard water. If imported from Southeast Asia, as many Neotropical species are now, then hard water could be a problem.

Mhmd, if you are truly interested in getting viable eggs, then I recommend slowly making your water softer. Good luck, Keyhole are really neat fish.

I had my nannacara breed in these water parameters several times and eggs were hatching every time.
I will try reducing the hardeness of my water by mixing tap water with ro water from my local fish store, thank you

 

[Mhmd]

Well I must admit that from a group of 6 it would be unusual for a same sex pair to emerge, and the behaviour you describe is typical of a true pair. But the constantly infertile eggs lasting just two days is typical of when two females spawn together and in this case one can behave more like a male.

Do you still have any of the other keyhole cichlids?

No i gave the other 4 to a hobbyist, he told me 1 of the 3 was a male and the rest were females

 

[Mazan]

Nannacara (if it is N. anomala?) would also prefer soft water but I don't think they are restricted exclusively to blackwater in the wild as are keyhole cichlids, so may not be quite as sensitive to water conditions.