Lab holding

[garfy]

My yellow lab has been holding now for about 2 weeks and I was thinking about putting her in my hatchery until she spits to try and save the fry.
Is this a good idea?

 

[garfy]

Well I caught her and put her in the hatchery.But 20 mins later she jumped out.It took me 20 mins to catch her and I had to remove 15 large black rocks and 15 cichlid stones along with all the plants and bogwood.She's on her own lol

 

[Bully405Customz]

On her own in the hatchery or back in the main tank?

 

[garfy]

She's jumped back into the main tank pppffftttt lol

 

[Bully405Customz]

Yeah I'd just leave her too.

 

[garfy]

Yeah I don't want to stress her too much.
But while she was in the hatchery I got a good look in her mouth and I could see the eyes of the babies

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

aww! why not let her have them in her mouth for 3 more days then move her to the hatchery and strip her? xx

p.s i never just leave a cichlid in a hatchery. it has a weighted lid, a large shell or a clip-on barred lid to stop them jumping out! lol

 

[OsciTheOscar]

Yea definitely try to keep as much stress as possible off her... I waited 22 days before i stripped the fry from mine, got at least 35... Hard to count those little active fry!

 

[garfy]

She will have to wait another week now for my next pwc.But I will try and strip her then.

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

have u attempted it before?

 

[garfy]

No never but it's my first brood so I don't really want to lose them

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

have i sent u my list of stages before? cant remember x

 

[garfy]

No you haven't but I did see your instructions on another post and it doesn't sound too difficult.It was so cool seeing the little fry eyes inside her mouth

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

i know!! dont do it too early, i lost 23 babies form over excitement. the adults didnt mind the snack though.
i love seeing the babies fall out its adorable, they are all like 'what where what huh?' lol!

 

[garfy]

Lol I'll try it next weekend along with my pwc as I remove all the plants,rocks,cichlid stones and wood so as to get at all the fish poo with my gravel vac.It took me nearly 2 hours in total!!!!

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

when i do the Big Daddy pwc, i do this AND majorly shake up the substrate cos so much gets trapped in the dense sand i have.
how did u get the cichlid stones?
and 2 hours, all dedicated to fish happiness. think of it that way

 

[garfy]

Lol yes I am dedicated and I shake the sand up too to try and get it all.My ammonia and nitrite levels are always 0 but I always have a little nitrate in there.
I got my cichlid stones from the states for $40 whatever that is in pounds but for some reason customs opened the parcel and it got sent to my local depot.I had to pay £22.50 to get it aggghhhhhhh.
There are 15 stones in the pack 2 large and the rest a mix of medium and small.

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

mm good deal! i need to find a store that does them, cos i like to pick them out personally for the special touch.
what about a full tank shot? so we can help u pick a good females colour

 

[garfy]

There is a full tank shot in my profile pics but it's hard to get a decent one as I only have my I- phone and it's hard to get a close up in my room.I can only just get the whole tank in by getting right back against the wall lol

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

u have a black fish with white on the top fin. its beautiful, what is it? xx