Mouth Brooders

There are two basic types of mouth brooders. In some species, the female fish carries the
eggs and/or larvae in its mouth. The female in this group receives a mouthful of sperm
from the male, and the fertilization takes place in the mouth of the female. In the second
type of mouthbreeders, the females lay the eggs on a substrate and guard these eggs till
they hatch. Once the eggs hatch, she picks up the fry and carries them in her moth till the
fry have become a little bigger. There are also paternal mouthbrooders where the
offspring is carried by the male fish.