I want to Strip... my fish that is

[JDogg]

ok i have a yellow lab who i believe is holding, i also have an empty 5 gallon i can put fry in.

since i have never tried this i would love an explanation of how best to get the eggs/fry out of her mouth, without putting any unneeded stress on anyone (including me :?)

 

[Gillie]

I hold the female in my hand positioned so that I can hold her mouth open waith a fingernail, then I use a toothpick with the end cut off to gently pick the fry out, but if you do not have an egg tumbler wait a couple weeks for the eggs to hatch and the fry to toughen up a bit this is just the technique that I use and it has worked well for years.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I would leave her be until she is about to burst. If she's holding eggs you will need an egg tumbler and IMO causes un-needed stress on the female. I'd wait it out. If one of our females holds for an excessive time period (5+ weeks) we will gently open her mouth from the sides by pushing lightly. The fry will spit out on their own. It's not as stressful and you don't have to worry about eggs.

 

[DeFeKt]

Why not just move the female to the empty 5 gallon?

You might find she will spit them on her own.

If you do need to strip, I would suggest not using a toothpick to pick the fry out, but simply to open her mouth. Then by gently bobbing her head in and out of the water, she should let them go.

Here is my mate Chuck stripping his Christyi, but without the need for a toothpick.
He lets them hold until they are about to burst. The stripping starts, just before halfways through
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v347/Chuckmeister/?action=view&current=Christyispawnmovie2.flv

HTH
Matt

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

I've used the method Defekt mentions: simply placing the holding female in the fry tank has worked pretty well for me. No stress for the female and a pretty simple task of removing her after she's released the fry.

 

[maxwell1295]

There are several ways to do this. One method is to use something to hold open the mother's mouth. The fry will simply swim out on her own. What I've done is put the mother head-first into a turkey baster filled with water (you need a finger to keep the water in the baster). Then I put the bulb on and squeeze gently. It forces water through the gills and the fry out of her mouth. I am not comfortable with prying open the female's mouth.

Here is a pretty good article on stripping mouthbrooders.

 

[triazole]

i had a harrowing experience trying to strip. from then on i follow DeFeKt's method of just letting them be in their own tank.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

We leave the mothers be for about 5 weeks. Usually they spit before then but if they don't, it's time to pull them from the tank and strip. It's not "prying" the mouth open by gently pushing on the sides. Every time we have done this the female willingly lets us do it. The fry come bursting out of her mouth and it takes a matter of 15 seconds.