cichlid stripping mandatory? (dead mom)

[FishOCD]

I adopted a tankful of cichlids when I bought a used tank 4 weeks ago. I discovered one of the hap obliquiden sp 44 red tails holding shortly thereafter. I decided Mother Nature knows best and left her in the tank. Although frighteningly emaciated she seemed perky... until this morning when I found her dead. So my question: is stripping eggs or fry essential (if so how do cichlids in the wild survive?) And how the heck do you catch a holding mom without her panicking and swallowing/spitting out eggs in the net/tank? Any advice you can give would be helpful as the gorgeous and randy male has been with the other 3 females.

 

[TCTFish]

I have a feeling the mother died not to starvation (or starvation alone), but to the stresses of it's home being torn down and put into what she thinks is new territory. Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Post results please.

I'm personally against egg stripping. I do feel it is unnecessary stress unless the mother is fatally injured and stripping is a means to save the babies. To keep the females from thinning out too much while holding, make sure they get a good staple diet all the time. It's very natural for the females to fast. If they are fed well with a good healthy diet, thinning out would be minimal.

If you chose to rear the babies in another tank, just net her out gently and place her in an established tank for her to spit the babies out. Once the babies are out, she can go back into the main tank. Of course this would most likely require removing a good protion of the landscape in the tank.

A trick I found helpful is to understand their movements and predict their next move. Don't have the net swooping up their butts too quickly either. You'll never catch them...LOL. Keep a light swish of movement away from the target fish, but close by in a sort of loose corral. Coax her near a corner and come up from underneathe the fish and gently start moving up. Tip the handle end of the net down as you go up and then at the last moment, swoop the open end down and the handle end up as you make the final move for capture. If there's another fish in the path, get him too. You can release him back into the tank. If it fails, try again, but watch her moves and adjust strategy. They will do the same thing over and over and over again. Once you get that pattern down, you'll be able to get them with less disruption to the landscape...LOL. I've been chasing african cichlids in tanks for gosh...15 years. It does take practice LOL. Have fun It'll sharpen the way you 'see'. Almost like how a hunter conditions to see his target among all the others. Africans cichlids are clever. You need strategy more than speed to catch them LOL.

 

[FishOCD]

Thanks, TCTFish. She never seemed stressed and had been the bully of the tank even though she was the youngest and smallest -- only about 2.5" -- so she may not have had enough meat on her to survive her maternity fast.

Water parameters are all normal: ammonia/nitrates/nitrites 0, pH 8, temp 80. The tank was only down during the move last month for about 4 hours. It didn't have a cycle problem as I reused all the gravel, rocks, filters, and much of the water.

Her mouth was wide open when I found her (tankmates hadn't snacked on her) and since I know she had been holding for a month, I wonder if there is a baby or two hiding somewhere. Doubtful, but I'll be looking.

If I couldn't catch an emaciated pregant female, I doubt I'll ever net a healthy cichlid short of draining the tank. (How do they know what a net is, anyway? They don't run from my hand or incoming tank decoration.) It's impossible -- unlike other fish they stare right at me defying me to catch them. Grrrrr.

 

[Zagz]

Sorry to hear about your loss, keep looking for the babies. Does it seem as if there are some eggs or fry still in her mouth?

 

[TCTFish]

The world to an African cichlid inside an aquarium at a LFS is a constant witness to this thing swishing in the tank taking out other fish. Then one day, it's after them!! LOL.

Looking for fry loose in the tank can be a challenge too. Look toward the back and areas the big fish ignore and into the gravel. Around the rocks in any little nooks and crannies. If they keep themselves out of reach from the adults, they'll grow up and one day you'll see one of them cruise on by.

 

[DeFeKt]

ammonia/nitrates/nitrites 0

nitrates 0 as well?