need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

[finfan]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

thanks sz, i will get some floating plants, she did not actually spawn in my tank, i bought her because i noticed she was holding when i was in an lfs buying some other fish, so i figured, why not buy her and see if she will actually hold, and she did, i can't identify what type of african she is, but i am sure i don't have any other of her type in my mix african tank!  lets hope i can salvage a fry or two

[finfan]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

update, there is still only one fry and it looks like she might still be holding (because the pouch is still showing), so have a few questions:

it has been 3 days since the one and only fry escaped her mouth, he seems healthy, so does that mean she does not have anymore?

does the pouch show even when the babies are out because it has been stretched for so long?

should i try to make her spit the other frys if any?  what is the most efficient/less harmful way to do that?  i have never done it before

[szidlon]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

I have never known the bucal cavity to bulge past the spitting of the fry.  The move may have spooked her into holding onto the fry a little longer.  You can try to strip her of the fry, I think there's a thread on here somewhere about how to do that.  I would give her some more time.  Is she eating?  If she's eating then it's a good guess there aren't any fry left, if she isn't eating I would say she is still holding onto them.

[Zulaab]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

Finfan.. she will spit soon enough... dont worry to much.   Malawi's hold between 23-27 days usually.

[edmlfc]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

I would leave her alone and let her spit. If the pouch is still showing she is still holding. Mine looked like it was about to explode and right after she spit it was back to normal. Just give her time..

[finfan]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

thanks guys, it sounds like i should just leave her alone, she was not eating as of this morning, i will see if she is eating this evening,

btw i figured out that she is an exasperatus (spelling?!) cichlid, can't tell from pix on the net if she is labidochromis or melanochromis (spelling again!!), but looks more like labidochromis, but who knows if the fry is mixed or pure, in the lfs, she was in a tank with other fish like her and some socolofi i think

[finfan]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

houston we have frys    

well she spit all of them, at least 7, they are all about 1/2 inch, i have no idea how she fit 7 of those, she herself is 2.5+ inches, lets just say she has talents  

i just didn't want risking her eating them, so i moved her back to the main tank, i fed everyone, she was hanging out but did not really eat, i hope she gets to eat soon, i want her to do well, she is a good mommy

[FishFan]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

Congratulations Finfan! :)

[finfan]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

thanks ff,  they r adorable like u

[rickykline]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

congrats on the babies... post pics i love fry pics....

[Zulaab]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

The first young from my holding yellow Lab escaped her mouth last night...  and in a very cruel display of his manhood, the dominant male dispatched death to this pour soul within seconds of its release..  I felt bad,   but I dont have a spare tank setup for where they can go and spit in peace..    :(   Maybe one day I will set that  up...  :)   we will see what the future brings.   :) :) :)

[finfan]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

sorry to hear that zulaab, i was just lucky because i had a spare 5 gallon tank and an extra filter running in the cichlid tank (already seeded), so setting up was just moving things around, but if/when i have my cichlid tank with enough hiding spots, and if i get more holding by females, i might leave them there to see if nature would take its course! in the meantime, i hope these few fries i have do survive/grow up, the "first bites" seem too small for them, so i am hoping they will eat the singing cichlid pellets and shrimp pellets as the get soft in the water, the tank does not have gravel, so the food should not sink in anywhere

[finfan]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

so have any of you kept exasperatus?  is there anything special i need to know about the fries? i have not seen these fish much and could not find many profile information on these either!

[PhishPhreek]

Re: need help - how to catch mouthbrooder

When my mouth brooding betta picta was holding, it was a lot easier to move all the other fish out of the tank and leave him all by his self.   They are not aggressive and do well in a species tank but the female wants to breed again and forces him to release early.