The cost of parental care in Haplochromis argens' (Cichlidae)

The cost of parental care in the maternal, mouthbrooding cichlid, Haplochromis `argens' was measured in terms of parental survival, fecundity and breeding frequency. In comparison with non-parental females, those that mouthbrooded eggs for a period of 16 days took 33% longer to respawn. Parental females also grew more slowly between spawnings, and this may affect their future fecundity. These costs were attributed to the cessation of feeding by parental females while mouthbrooding and/or the hormonal inhibition of oogenesis (DBO).