CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

How do you know when the fish are getting ready to have babies mine have been actining strange dinging in the back of the tank for the past two days.They have dug a hole down to the glass.

How large are they and how old?
Oscars don't always dig just for a breeding spot, they also do it out of boredom. They might also just be practicing the art of making a nest. I had a pair of O's that did that quite alot with all the dancing and lip locks but never did lay eggs. The were also in a tank with other fish and might not have felt comfortable either. but anyway, back to your fish, I'm not sure and correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe that O's mate if they are under a certain size. (6or8").

I'm sorry, I forgot to ask if they were oscars or not.

No they are not oscers they are african cichlids we have had them for about 2 years or more and they are pretty good size fish.I not shure what they are doing but i hope they are making me some babies.

There are all sorts of african cichlids.

Some are egg-layers, others are mouth-brooders.

Specifically, what kind do you have?

If you could say what kind of africans the are, it would be helpfull. But it sound like a type of psuedotropheus which would be a mouth brooder. They usually breed after water changes, they circle around each other vibrating(mostly the male) the female will drop the eggs and pick them up in her mouth, the male will keep vibrating at her, showing her the eggspots on his anal fin, she will tug on his anal fin and he fertilizes the eggs in her mouth. She will keep the eggs in her mouth until they hatch and then let them out every now and then for exercise until they become to big to fit in her mouth. It takes about 3 weeks for the eggs to hatch. My advice is, if you want to keep the baby's, to put the breeding pair in a seperate tank with lots of rocks and caves until the mating is done. (You can tell this by the bottom of her jaw will be puffed out a bit instead of flat). Then take the male out and back into the main tank. The female usually does not feed while the eggs are Incubating.