And just like that, all the fry are gone! No idea. What I do know is that the parents ate them. What I don’t know for certain is whether they ate them alive or dead. How do I know they were eaten?
No bodies. If you noticed the tank in the previous post about them, and in the photo above, the tank is bare bottomed. Thus, it is easy to see even the smallest fry – dead or alive.
It did not occur overnight. The 2nd day after noticing the fry, the total went from about 30 down to about 16. The next day there were only about 9. The next day there were 3. And then there were none. Because at no point did I see any dead fry, I think the probability of all of them dying naturally or from any issue related to the tank is very low.
Since I have never kept this species, I know little about their brood care. I fed them the appropriate food, and there is nothing wrong with the tank. Therefore, when I put it all together, I can only conclude the parents ate them alive. Some cichlid species do eat their offspring. I’m going to chalk this one up to “new parent syndrome.”