Two Questions.

Q&A about Lake Victoria Cichlids

Moderator: Pam Chin

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Fish Guy
Posts: 79
Joined: Fri May 07, 2004 10:44 am
Location: Newfoundland

Two Questions.

Post by Fish Guy »

#1 I decided to try and strip one of my female Kyoga Flamebacks, she seemed that she was ready to spit any day now according to my count. But I must have been off by a lot. When the first fry came out it was still super small with a lot of its egg sac still not absorbed. Unable to get to it in the stripping tank, I decided to put the female back in the main tank. The female is still holding swimming around fine BUT what can I do with the lone fry????? At the moment I have the fry in a small container of water with aeration and a small nano heater going. Oh the fry is not even fry swimming yet either.

#2 This topic brings me to the second question. What is your opinion on stripping versus placing the female in a nursery tank and letting them release their fry naturally and care for them. I have tried both with success, but at the moment I am trying to decide either to strip my Flamebacks and White Labs or remove them to individual nursery tanks ( 10 US gallons ). Also if I do go with the nursery how long should I leave the female in there with the fry after released for good. Of course I'll provide hiding places for the fry.

Thanks Pam.


Matthew
matthew penney
Pam Chin
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Re: Two Questions.

Post by Pam Chin »

Hi Matt,

Once the egg has hatched and the head and tail have popped out but they have a big egg sac it is hard for the to stay up right, as they absorb the egg sac, they will get better at swimming. At this stage, probably about 15 days post spawn, it is not necessary to tumble them, a clean tank like you have provided should be fine. They don't need to be fed until the egg sac is 99% gone.

Stripping fish and letting them hold naturally is a controversial subject. It is a personal choice. It really is whenever you are prepared to take over the rearing process. It can be a lot of work if you are stripping eggs and tumbling. Most people do this when after several spawning are not successful, the female swallows the eggs, etc. It could be the only way you can get fry from some species. But if your females are holding there is nothing wrong with letting them hold. Most species will hold for 21 - 28 days, get a calendar and mark it down so you can keep track exactly when you first notice a female holding.

After the female spits, it can be a throw of the dice, most will tolerate the fry a few more days, they may even pick the fry up again, others will turn around and immediately eat their own fry. So just keep an eye on them and two days is probably too long.

Next time you catch a fish that is holding, hold them upright, pull down the lower lip and take a look at the fry, you will be able to see how far along they are, and decide what is going to work best for you.

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