nikki_stikki Posted February 23, 2013 Report Share Posted February 23, 2013 Hi all, A couple of weeks ago I put one of my demasoni into a plastic breeder/quarantine box (in the main tank) as I noticed she had been beaten up and had not much tail left. I had been feeding her, she'd been eating a bit but not heaps, so I didn't suspect anything. Anyway her tail was healing nicely, and two days ago I fed all the fish and notice about 10 babies sitting on the bottom of the breeder! I had no idea what to do but as I was 5 minutes from leaving for work I decided to leave it til I got home. Anyway, just before I leave I check on them again and they've all disappeared, but I noticed her mouth has the bulge so I figured she's taken them back in. Get home from work and they're still in her mouth. This morning when I feed my fish she's spit them again! But of course it's just as I'm heading out the door again. 5 minutes later she's taken them back in! I've had the lights off in the tank to hopefully not stress her out. What I'm wondering is, is it better for me to keep her in the breeder box with the fry, or release her into the main tank? I'm scared that she'll keep being attacked, as one or two of the dems in the tank have been trying to hassle her through the breeder, and I'm unsure if she's back to proper condition (in regards to her tail and not eating properly). I'd like to keep as many fry as possible, would she eat them if I keep her in the breeder with them? Thanks heaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarletmonuka Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 from what i've read from other people (have never kept dems myself) they have big inter species agression... how many do you have in your tank? people say you need to keep them in at least groups of 10 so the agression gets spread around. she is spitting them out to eat by the sounds of it? how long has she been holding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 the malawians don't eat while they have fry in their mouth so will spit them to feed so in your case i believe it's a good thing. Tanganyikan species will eat while holding. from the info you've provided It sounds like normal behaviour to me but i would strip them or catch them when she spits and let them grow up in a net. i expect that when you attempt to catch them is she may suck them back in so stripping may be the only way. It is quite easy although doing it on a dem first up may be a little challenging due to their size, here's a vid that shows it clearly. I always stripped my malawians so they don't loose too much condition. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/videos/stripping.php removing her from the colony could cause an issue when you reintroduce her. You have removed her from the pecking order, the females have a pecking order just like the males so when she goes back into the main area there could be problems. I think you just need to wait that out as they simply need to sort it out again and that may mean she or other females get injured. I found it best not to remove the females for any length of time, catch them when you want to strip and then return them straight back after removes a lot of dominance drama. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilwis Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 :gpo2: smidey i totally agree with everything there also whenever i separate a fish i don't use breeders as they stress the fish i just slide a pane of glass across the corner of the tank to make a triangle section and put the fish in there they are much happier when they can reach the ground Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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