Breeding experience and parental behaviour in convict cichlids (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum )

Changes in the levels of activities by parental female and male convict cichlids were studied over three successive reproductive episodes and within each episode. No evidence was found for behavioural maturation independent of experience. With successive episodes, young survived for longer times, nests were cleaner, males ate less and females more, and males became more aggressive while females focused more on the nest. Within an episode there were also marked variations in activities by each sex. Reproductive behaviour is therefore open in a number of respects both within and across episodes to environmental inputs.