Kezza Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 OK...so one of my e.yellows has an extended throat, has gone very dark/golden in colour and isn't as keen on a fed as the others....does this mean she is holding eggs/fry perhaps? if so, what should I do? thanks again y'all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 Sounds like she's holding congrats As for what to do, keep an eye on her if shes getting bullied excessively you may have to remove her (I haven't had to remove many so its not very likely). Then you have a few options, if you want to keep the babies you can remove her and allow her to spit naturally in her own tank, or you can strip her after about 2.5 to 3weeks. I usually leave the fish in the tank for just over 2 weeks and catch them strip them stick them straight back in, that way they don't loose their position in the tank or heaps of condition by being removed and waiting for her to spit the babies.. Sometimes they can hold on for a long time and it takes them ages to recover, of course if you have her in her own tank you can ensure she gets alot of food and recovers quickly.. Of course if you don't have spare tanks and couldn't care less you can just leave her and see if any survive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 How do you strip them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Visser Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 http://www.cichlid-forum.com/videos/stripping.php Gets easier with time, patients and practice good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 Yeah I agree it does get easier... And you feel less mean each time too! I use a thin bread and butter knife and use that to hold the fishes mouth open and then stick it on an angle head down and dip it in and out of the water to wash the babies out.. Usually into a guppy trap or similair so I can stick an airstone in to keep them moving if ive striped them early.. Try it a few times and then stick them back into some water for a break, they also seem to hide a couple of babies I usually leave them for a few mins to bring them to the front and get them out When I stick the fish back in the tank I stick it back in head up and open its mouth with the knife again to let the air out of it otherwise they swim tail up for a while lol. Good luck remember to post and let us know how you get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Visser Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 Tooth-picks and pencils work wonders! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 Ive always been reluctant to use anything sharp just in case I hurt the fish but yeah have seen alot of things recommended Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiden Posted September 4, 2007 Report Share Posted September 4, 2007 A piece of dry spaghetti too :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted September 5, 2007 Report Share Posted September 5, 2007 Thin end of a chopstick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kezza Posted September 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 OK.....so now I have a Socolofi and a Demasoni with bulging throats, not eating and generally looking moody (the same as my wife at about the 6mth stage - you other fathers will know what I mean).....and my dom male e. Yellow was back in to courtship mode last night in a big way with one of his hotties......this is going to get crazy methinks and I don't have the room or inclination to go whole hog on a breeding programme just at this stage, but certainly something I want to do in the future. will leaving the tank to a state of "natural selection" be OK or do I need to do something to somehow kirb all this dodgy behavior? cichlid contraception? remove the females?.... cheers y'all!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 You can just leave them to it some may survive depending on whats in your tank and how big it is how many hiding places etc, if you want to make it easier on your females you can just strip them into the tank and let them recover faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kezza Posted September 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 cheers for that... now is there an easy method to catch out 'holding' fish without disturbing the rock work, which there is quite a lot of....tank is 300lts and I'm sure I'd be adding to the stress levels if I was to chase the fish around the tank for a few hours with a net?....how would you do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 Sometimes you can just stick a few nets in the tank and leave them and keep on checking what fish are in/around them when you walk past and just nab them, otherwise its chuck a net in and see if you can get the one you want.. Probably better to just leave them unless you can see they're having problems.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kezza Posted September 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 loving this forum....brilliant advice thank you! is it in your experience unusual for all these species to be getting it on all at once?.....or have I just provided somewhat of the "ideal" environment for a bit of community en mass nooky?...is spawning triggered by temp? seasonal changes or other factors in the wild? anyone know? the fish have been in the tank for only 5 weeks...this seems like a short time to become comfy in their surroundings? or are mbuna's just prolific by nature? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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