mj Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 gwen one of my 3 electric yellows (brad and jen being the other 2) all of 5 centimetres (if she's lucky) ... she hasn't eaten in close to 2 weeks, she segregates herself from the rest of the tank most of the time and seems to prefer to "rest" at about a 70 degree angle (head up) ... she doesn't look sick and as she is sooooo small I cannot tell if her mouth is puffy enough for her to be holding (which is my first thoughts)... having said that I do think her mouth is larger than usual I think she is maybe 6-7 months old - I'm trying to get some pics but she is really well hidden as far as getting a good camera angle is concerned does this sound like usual "holding" behaviour? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 Sounds like normal holding behaviour to me, except for maybe the rest at a strange angle most of my fish go and hide but some chill out in the back corners of the tanks.. Other signs she is holding: Mouth not opening as much as other fish in tank.. Gill plates opening more than other fish (helpful if you can only see her from behind etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted February 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 yeah she doesn't open her mouth, gills seem to open a fair bit - I think the "resting" is just her happy place ... I guess time will tell - I just find it odd as she is very young ... oh I forgot to mention I recently "rearranged the tank" and noticed that one of them had dug out a massive "trench" so I guess that is where "the business" was done so if she is holding and at my guess has been for close to 2 weeks now, should I be concerned about moving her to her own tank in a week or so ? or should I just leave her in their - her tank mates include one other female yellow and a male, 3 empresses, 4 baby lumpheads (2-3cm) and 2 baby red jewels (2cm) I have a nice bunch of java moss I could put in their - Tyson (the alpha male of the tank) will definitely gobble anything he can fit in his mouth (as I found out with 2 poor baby kribs that never saw it coming) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Yellows can breed at 4cm TL so don't be surprised if she is quite small and holding.. She wont have many fry though maybe only 8-10. Generally they hold for 3-4weeks before they spit some of them hold on longer though. You can strip her anytime from now on if they aren't fully free swimming you just need to stick them in a guppy trap or small tank with an airstone to keep them moving around, if the egg sack is quite small then they can just go into a small tank with sponge filter or guppy trap for a few weeks (I usually do this if I can to feed them up while they're small). There are a few advantages to stripping one is the fish doesn't as run down because they are only holding for around 2 weeks as opposed to 4 weeks. Another advantage is you don't have to remove her from the tank as you do when you let them spit, this means she wont loose her place in the colony so it will be less stress on herself. When you stick her back after letting her spit she will have to fight her way back into the tank and may be bullied, some fish are ok some aren't so it can be a problem. Or you can stick the mother in her own tank to spit when she is ready to, the java moss and a few rocks will be ok, some people say they do eat their own babies some say they don't I usually strip my fish so don't know. Yellows are pretty good survivors you usually see a few in most peoples tanks if they let them spit but you won't have good numbers survive or you might have none at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted February 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 my only current option for tanks is one 80ish litre tank (currently holding the 30 odd rest of my baby red jewels, blue dolphins. kribs and lumpheads and another 80-100 litre tank which currently has george and mildred (my 2 crash test dummy "goldies" (cannot remember their names right now as I am drugged out on meds that make me all happy slow and sleepy :lol: so stripping basically involves getting her out, putting a toothpick or something in her mouth to open it and then dunking her in the water so she releases them? I really appreciate your help (I really needto find someonein welly with a nice SLR to get some good pics of my tank as it is really coming along nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 No need to get a DSLR you can take good pics with a point and shoot, well not good pics but good enough ones.. Stripping the fish is pretty easy hold her with your left hand and use something to open her mouth and dunk her in the water in and out until she releases the fry. I use the end of a bread and butter knife as I find tooth picks etc too sharp and just never have any lying around. Best way to do it is into an ice cream container strip a few fry then stick her in a net (otherwise she may swim around and pick up the babies again) in the ice cream container to rest and move the fry around then go for a few more. After a while you and the fish get good at it and spit the lot in one go but smaller younger fish are harder to do. Sounds like you have been doing alot of breeding a rather interesting mix you have in your tanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 do it as ryan described but i have found success with pumping the gills closed while stripping which makes them come out quickly. i use a tooth pick with the sharp end broken off, hold the fish in your hand with its head between your thumb & index finger & tail toward your wrist. open her mouth with tooth pick in the other hand then gently but quickly squeeze the gills closed & repeat the squeezing until empty. some fish are better than others to strip, my yellow females are so easy, the last time i got about 45 fry from 6 squeezes. my red zeb female fights for every fry so she is much harder to strip & the baenschi freaks out the moment you put her in a net & spits em stright away. only problem with that is you have to net her almost straight away or she will spit in whatever tank she is in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 was going to move her tomorrow but it seems she spat and ate today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 she may not have, sometimes they hold the eggs further down their throat if they are not totally full which makes them look like they have nothing in their mouth. i have also seen holding females taking small amounts of food into their mouth while holding so it may not be over yet. if she has eaten them it may not be long before spawning again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 na she is out eating like crazy ... oh well next time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 the time will come when you will have more fry than you can get rid of so you don't need to be worried about loosing any or culling anything that isn't perfect in your first few batches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted March 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 weird thing now - since introducing a few other fish I'm not 100% sure but it seems that I have 2 males and one female ... I can tell the two "males" apart but both are very yellow with excessive black fins - guessing since I added a dominant male red jewel that had a 10 minute "arm wrestle" - mouth locked with brad who I thought was the only male, now apart from some distinguishing facial features brad and "jen" both look the same, very vibrant yellow and striking black fins mmmm need new names :oops: (and more females) could it be the introduction of bigger males of different species that has brought this on? [edit] mystic will remember - she was like me, definitely 2 females and one male Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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