cichlids mouth brooders

[cichlid_tank619]

A friend of mine asked me about his yellow labs spawning.. He described all the actions..

Question: How long will the female hold the eggs in her mouth? How long till they hatch?

Any suggestions on what he should do.. Separate tank for her?

I used to have cichlids that spawned just forgot how long it takes..

 

[Lady_Alia]

My yellow lab holds about 3 1/2 weeks. I don't separate my females, I wait 3 weeks then strip them.

 

[cichlid_tank619]

That's what I thought.. Strip them and set up a small nursery

 

[cichlid_tank619]

So it's been a month and the female is still holding. Can't strip them cause she is too small.

Will she eat the fry in her mouth?
Is there another way to et them out besides stripping?

 

[CraigMac]

Besides stripping all you can do is wait for her to spit. If its her first time, she may accidentally swallow eggs/fry but should spit at least a few. After they spit, they sometimes take the fry back in her mouth for up to a week or so to keep them safe.

 

[kay-bee19]

Most of my mbuna's spit fry during the 18-21 day of mouthbrooding, though I've had some species that have released fry swimming fry as early as 14 days.

My yellow labs for some reason tend to mouth brood for a longer period (30-36 days; I let them spit fry naturally rather than strip them).

Fry are at most risk of being eaten (usually by an immature mother) within a week of fertilization. At this stage she probably won't eat them.

 

[Fready]

My yellow labs also hold more than 30 days.
Kinda a yellow lab thing?
They grow slower? Or there mouth is bigger? Or just more shy?

 

[cichlid_tank619]

Well they are my friends fish. Guess he saw about ten out last night and only three this morning

 

[Fready]

You would be surprised where fry can hide and stay unseen for weeks. Hell months!