Editing Cichlid (section)

====Brood care====
Cichlids can have maternal, paternal, or biparental care. Maternal care is most common among mouthbrooders, but cichlids' common ancestor is thought to exhibit paternal-only care.<ref name=Goodwin-1998/> Other individuals outside of the parents may also play a role in raising young; in the biparental daffodil cichlid (''Neolamprologus pulcher''), closely related satellite males, those males that surround other males' territories and attempt to mate with female cichlids in the area, help rear the primary males' offspring and their own.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dierkes |first1=P. |title=Reproductive parasitism of broodcare helpers in a cooperatively breeding fish |journal=Behavioral Ecology |date=1 September 1999 |volume=10 |issue=5 |pages=510–515 |doi=10.1093/beheco/10.5.510 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

A common form of brood care involves food provisioning. For example, females of lyretail cichlids (''Neolamprologus modabu'') dig at sandy substrate more to push nutritional detritus and zooplankton into the surrounding water. Adult of '' N. modabu'' perform this strategy to collect food for themselves, but dig more when offspring are present, likely to feed their fry.<ref name=Ota-2014/><ref name=Zworykin-2001>{{cite book |last1=Zworykin |first1=Dmitry |chapter=Parental brood provisioning in cichlid fishes by means of stirring up of the loose material of bottom substrate: a brief review |date=2001 |doi=10.13140/2.1.1937.5048 |title=Cichlid Research: State of the Art |pages=269–286 }}</ref> This substrate-disruption strategy is rather common and can also be seen in convict cichlids (''Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum'').<ref name=Wisenden-1995/><ref name=Zworykin-2001/> Other cichlids have an ectothermal mucus that they grow and feed to their young, while still others chew and distribute caught food to offspring. These strategies, however, are less common in pit-spawning cichlids.<ref name=Zworykin-2001/>

[[File:Managuense with eggs.jpg|thumb|210px|A substrate brooding female managuense cichlid, ''[[Parachromis managuense]]'', guards a clutch of eggs in the aquarium.|alt=]]
Cichlids have highly organized breeding activities.<ref name=Nelson/> All species show some form of parental care for both [[Egg (biology)|egg]]s and [[larva]]e, often nurturing free-swimming young until they are weeks or months old.
Communal parental care, where multiple monogamous pairs care for a mixed school of young have also been observed in multiple cichlid species, including ''[[Amphilophus citrinellus]]'', ''[[Etroplus suratensis]]'', and ''[[Tilapia rendalli]]''.<ref name=McKaye77>{{cite journal |author= McKaye, K.R.|author2 = N.M. McKaye | year = 1977 | title = Communal Care and Kidnapping of Young by Parental Cichlids| journal = Evolution | volume = 31 | pages = 674–681 | doi = 10.2307/2407533 |pmid = 28563477 |issue= 3 |jstor= 2407533}}</ref><ref name="Ward77">{{cite journal | author = Ward, J.A. |author2 = Wyman, R.L. |year = 1977| title= Ethology and ecology of cichlid fishes of the genus ''Etroplus'' in Sri Lanka: Preliminary findings | journal = Environmental Biology of Fishes | volume = 2 | issue = 2 | pages = 137–145 | doi = 10.1007/BF00005369 |bibcode = 1977EnvBF...2..137W |s2cid = 8307811 }}</ref><ref name="Ribbink81">{{cite journal | author = Ribbink, A.J. |author2 = Marsh, A.C. |author3 = Marsh, B.A. | year = 1981 | title = Nest-building and communal care of young by ''Tilapia rendalli dumeril'' (pisces, cichlidae) in Lake Malawi | journal = Environmental Biology of Fishes | volume = 6 | pages = 219–222 | doi = 10.1007/BF00002787 | issue = 2|bibcode = 1981EnvBF...6..219R | s2cid = 9546191 }}</ref> Comparably, the fry of ''[[Neolamprologus brichardi]]'', a species that commonly lives in large groups, are protected not only by the adults, but also by older [[Juvenile (organism)|juveniles]] from previous spawns.<ref>Steeves, Greg. [http://www.africancichlids.net/articles/neolamprologus_brichardi/ Neolamprologus brichardi.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080505172935/http://www.africancichlids.net/articles/neolamprologus_brichardi/ |date=5 May 2008 }} africancichlids.net. Retrieved 8 April 2008</ref> Several cichlids, including discus (''[[Symphysodon]]'' spp.), some ''[[Amphilophus]]'' species, ''[[Etroplus]]'', and ''[[Uaru]]'' species, feed their young with a skin [[secretion]] from mucous glands.<ref name=Loiselle/><ref name=baensch/>

The species ''[[Neolamprologus pulcher]]'' uses a cooperative breeding system, in which one breeding pair has many helpers that are subordinate to the dominant breeders.

Parental care falls into one of four categories:<ref name=baensch/> substrate or open brooders, secretive cave brooders (also known as guarding speleophils<ref name=Balon>{{cite journal |author=Balon, E.K. |year=1975 |title=Reproductive guilds of fishes: A proposal and definition |journal=Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada |volume=32 |issue=6 |pages=821–864 |doi=10.1139/f75-110 }}</ref>), and at least two types of [[mouthbrooder]]s, ovophile mouthbrooders and larvophile mouthbrooders.<ref name="Keenleyside">{{cite book |last=Keenleyside |first=M.H.A. |year=1991 |chapter=Parental care |title=Cichlid Fishes: Behaviour, ecology and evolution |publisher=Chapman and Hall |place=London, UK |pages=191–208 |isbn=978-0-412-32200-6}}</ref>