holding too long

[Oblivion]

whats the go with females which hold their fry too long.

is it because they dont feel safe enough in their enviroment to let them out? even if they were moved to a fry/brood tank by themselves with plenty of rocks/hiding spots?

what usually causes the fry death, is it a lack of food since the egg nutrients are long depleted and they arent allowed out to eat? lack of oxygen?

i think trying to strip her about 5-7 days too early probably didnt help either. but the one fry that did escape was still half egg half fish, and survived in a breeders net on its own. it started eating food mid week so i assume the others in the mums mouth were probably starving and stripped her yesterday

when i stripped her the fry they come rushing out her mouth in a huge swarm, just dying to get out.

2 were dead and about 5 more have been floating on their side, or laying on the bottom of the breeder net on their side, they flick about if you touch them. but i have now lost two of them in the 24hrs theyve been out. (i expect to lose the other few sick ones but im curious as to what the main cause might be?)

the other ~23 strong, active, healthy fry sure acted like they were starving when they ate their first meal (nls, crushed to dust)

its her first fry, so i hope she lets the next lot of fry out. i prefer them releasing natural, and just fish then out with a net as she spits them.

 

[kay-bee19]

whats the go with females which hold their fry too long.

How long is 'too long'? I'm trying to get an idea how long the mother was mouthbrooding.

is it because they dont feel safe enough in their enviroment to let them out? even if they were moved to a fry/brood tank by themselves with plenty of rocks/hiding spots?

That's definately a possibility. Depending on the maternal instincts of the mother, they will hold when there is no threat to her fry. I had a very protective female metriaclima msobo in her own maternity tank and one day she released all of her fry. She probably didn't appreciate my presence because when I returned to check on the fry a little later there were no fry in the tank! She had scooped them all back into her mouth (for their protection) and then re-released them all again 3 days later, 24 days after the spawning.

what usually causes the fry death, is it a lack of food since the egg nutrients are long depleted and they arent allowed out to eat? lack of oxygen?

I would rule those out. I had some mbuna's mouthbrood for 36 days with no issues (normally mbuna's spit fry at around 18-21 days). Her fry were even a little bigger than mbuna fry spat on day 18. I don't think starvation was a factor in your case (but I don't know how many days they were mouthbrooded.

I would surmise that if there was an oxygen issue the batch would have failed while still eggs.

the other ~23 strong, active, healthy fry sure acted like they were starving when they ate their first meal (nls, crushed to dust)

Most fish eat like they've been starving, even well-fed ones.

Hard to say for sure why you lost a few of the fry. What species?

 

[Oblivion]

electric blue (sciaenochromis fryeri ?)

she held for almost 30 days by the time i stripped her of fry.