Taiwan reef peacock breeding - Help?

[Dow]

So I have two pairs of Taiwan cichlids, one is slightly larger than the other. I have a 44 gallon tank with those four as the largest fish of 14. All under 4". the tank is planted with many hinding places.

Recently the smaller of the two males has started dancing and digging but the two females, including his own female mate, ignore him. Is there something I can do to help them along?

[supadave]

The two females will probally continue to ignore him until he becomes the Alpha male . This may lead to the two males fighting alot. Also , keep in mind that just because the male is shaking doesn't mean that the females are ready to spawning . The shaking is just something the males will do all time in order to attract the female wheher she's ready to spawn or not. Just let nature take care of everything and you will have more fry than you can handle. But if you do want to help things along... you can always just remove one of the males.

[armthehomeless]

+1

Peacocks seem to bred better in harems wherfe there are significantly more females than males. Depending on how much you want to help them along, you could set up a tank for just one of the males and the two females. That way there would be no distractions.

Frequent water changes, high protein food, mood lighting, and Barry Manilow music may help as well :)