Ps. Saulosi holding

[coldmachineUK]

Hi, I have a female pseudotropheus saulosi who seems to be holding (not eating, and the usual bloated look). This is my first time with spawning cichlids, and I have read lots of things about removing the female, or stripping her, or leaving her, and really I'm quite confused about the best course of action.
Right now, because I'm not worried about having a whole batch of fry survive, and bearing in mind it's her (and my!) first time since she's only 8 months old she may swallow them or spit them anyway, I just wondered if it would be best leaving her in the tank and letting nature take its course? I will remove any fry I see swimming about to increase chances of survival though, but am I ok leaving the female for now?

(Edited: It gets better: my dominant female is also holding! She was obviously not liking being left out lol).

 

[maxwell1295]

That's a tough question and one that only you can answer. First you have to answer these questions:

Do you have a tank that you can put her in until she spits or is stripped?

Do you have the means (read space) to grow out the fry?

Do you have a plan to redistribute the fry when they get to be 1 to 1.5"?

Did she spawn with a male of the same species?


I have a 20 gal tank with 23 1/2" fry in it right now. I chose to seperate the mothers. I stripped the first one (Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos) and the second mom (Pseudotropheus socolofi - albino) spit on her own during the Thanksgiving break. She ate some but 10 of them managed to survive in the tank until I was able to return her to the main tank.

 

[coldmachineUK]

Shucks, I was hoping there'd be an easy quick fix!

Well, here are my answers to those questions:

Do you have a tank that you can put her in until she spits or is stripped?

I have a 10G Breeder, but right now I have an RTBS in there so it's acting as a QT at the moment. I rescued this fish from someone with the intention of passing it on to the LFS (I just need to get there!). One of my females would be happy in there, though it's not big enough for two of them.

Do you have the means (read space) to grow out the fry?

Well I only have an 8G fry tank right now which is on the small side for 1"-1.5" fish. I'd be able to keep 5-10 in there probably without them feeling cramped. It's my intention to replace some of my existing adults with a better ratio of male to female. Right now I've 4 females to 3 males, and of those females two are the 'runts' of the litter I was given (no choice on the matter: I ordered 8 from the LFS and they screwed up the ratio I asked for and some of them were runts). They're not ill or sickly, just small and haven't grown like the others.
I will be merging my two 20G tall into one 34G long tank in the New Year with luck: this will free up one 20G which I'll be keeping, and I could use that to grow out the fry affording them much better conditions and space. I'd also be able to put the holding females in there.

Do you have a plan to redistribute the fry when they get to be 1 to 1.5"?

Apart from the few I'd keep to sort my ratio out, I'm not sure: I would hope that my LFS would be interested, but they may say 'no' in which case I wouldn't know what to do with them... :S

Did she spawn with a male of the same species?

Yes, definitely. I only have the single species in the tank.

 

[maxwell1295]

Sounds like you have a plan for the future. It's best to put the holding in the tank by herself. Some females will be aggressive to any other fish in the tank. There is also a chance that she might feel threatened and swallow the batch or hold them longer than she should. I try to strip only so the female doesn't go too long without eating. The can get dangerously skinny after holding for a long period of time. I stripped the Maingano at 21 days and missed stripping the Socolofi because I was away for he holiday. Most folks strip at 18-21 days. At that point the fry should be free swimming ad able to eat crushed flake foods.