First Holding Fish!

[nicosia31]

My kenyi is FINALLY holding eggs. She moved a ton of sand around, this morning i woke up and there were mounds of sand moved to where she normally hangs out. She didn't eat this morning and her cheeks look swollen. Ill add pictures as soon as i can.

I have a 29g that im using to grow out 3 johanni, theres also a pleco in there. Im pretty sure the johanni are ok to move in the main tank, freeing up the 29 for these fry.

Im not sure about the correct practice for moving her over. Should i net her now and go ahead and put her in the 29 while she holds? Or wait a week or two? Also, i need to do a water change tonight, but i dont want her to get stressed and spit the eggs early. I just really want this to work as this is my first holding fish. I know this is getting wordy but im excited and want to be sure i handle this the right way.

Thanks for any help at all!

 

[CraigMac]

Hi and congrats!

First of all, keep up wit the water changes! It's important. If you're worried about stressing her, just don't vacuum up every inch of the tank. But still do water changes and get up most of the gunk!

With that being said, a lot of times a female cichlid will accidentally swallow her first batch of eggs, they have to get the hang of it. So don't be too disappointed if this batch doesn't result I fry, she will be holding again soon enough!

My first female holding I left in my main tank the whole time but only had one fry survive. I then had my Kenyi and red zebra holding at the same time. I waited a couple of weeks then moved them to their own tank. So, I would wait a couple weeks but it's up to you.

Be sure the tank you move her to is fully cycled. I would run the filter for that tank in your main tan for 10 days or so to get some bacteria growing on that filter media.

Good luck and keep us posted!!

 

[nicosia31]

Thank you! I have read that swallowing the first batch is common. It may have already happened because my girlfriend fed them this morning and she said the female in question ate a little bit. But I'm not so sure. She's still has this 'chewing' movement all the time, like she's juggling something around in her mouth. I have 6 kenyi in there and ony one is yellow so my girlfriend may have been mistaken. My 29 is fully cycled, its been running for several months; but I tested just to be sure. Ill have to keep an eye on her and see if she really is eating. If not, I'm going to wait about 10 more days and move her. Would this be enough time for the embryos to develop enough to where if she spits in the moving process they may be mature enough to survive?

One question though, is ther any trick I can use to net her? Without her swimming up to eat id have to take all my rock out to even have the chance.

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it ver much.

 

[CraigMac]

I don't know what stage the babies would be in but I doubt she would spit them. It would be more likely that she would swallow them. Her instincts are to keep the eggs safe and when she senses danger the safest place is in her mouth.

As far as netting her, good luck! I've netted 3 holding females so far, and none have swallowed the eggs . But the bad new is, it's not easy catching them and you may have to remove a lot of rocks. As far as tricks......try during a water change when the water level is low or, keep the lights off for an hour and try to catch her at night when she's in a sleep-like state.

Good luck and keep us posted!

I just noticed one of my acei are holding again!!!!!

 

[nicosia31]

Congratulations! Thanks for your help craig. I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I took care of the wc. Now, ill have to see if she eats when I get off work tonight!

 

[CraigMac]

Cool, keep us posted, update tonight on if she eats or not. Did she still look like she was holding when you did the water change?

 

[nicosia31]

Will do. Honestly I didn't see a whole lot of swelling around her mouh but she's making this chewing motion. Like she's juggling something around in her mouth.

 

[nicosia31]

Ate like a beast... :/

 

[CraigMac]

Darn! Do you think maybe she wasn't holding in the first place?

Either way, I hope you find her holding soon!

 

[nicosia31]

Possible I guess. But she did dig herself a nice cave under a rock in her space. I know she was refusing to eat for a few days. And it seemed that she let the biggest male (and the only one that's solid yellow) hanf out a little closer than the rest. She's very particular about her 6" territory. Anyways thanks for the help!