Reproductive success of the zebra cichlid Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum in relation to parental care and body size

The zebra cichlid Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum is a species famous for its behaviors of biparental care. This study was conducted to examine the effect of parental care and their size on the reproductive success of this fish. Hatching rate (HRs) has significant difference (p<0. 05) in four parental care treatment، 1. bi-parental، 2. female-only، 3. male-only and 4. no-parental care. Mean hatching rate was 94. 81، 93. 36، 86. 15 and 84. 44، respectively. There was no significant difference in HRs between female-only and bi-parental care as well as no-parental with male-only care. Also، there were significant positive correlations of egg numbers (ENs) but not HRs to standard lengths (SLs) of parent (p≤ 0. 01). These results suggest that reproductive success of this fish primarily depends on bi-parental care and greater size.