First time with cichlid holding

[Harlow]

I didn't do this on purpose but my Arautus cichlid is now holding eggs. I'm new to this so now I need to learn what to do. I'll start at the beginning. My arautus pair share a 55 gal tank with two red jewels, a juvenile buttekoferi, an oblique, a kenyi, and a larger tiger botia. She's been acting very reclusive, which is out of character for her, for a little more than a week. I looked her over and she's definitely holding either eggs or baby fry. I don't know how long it takes eggs to hatch. So I'm not sure which it is, and I didn't want to disturb her too much.

Here's my plan. I want to move her into a 10 gallon quarantine tank, (could arrange for 30 if 10 is too small but it'd be a hassle) and let her do her own thing. I do not want to strip her. this is her first time too so I want her to do it her way. How long before she spits them out and they stay out? When do I need to start feeding them? When is it time to separate mommy from babies? What's the likelihood she won't eat them? What would cause her to eat them? What should I avoid doing? And what are some tips you can offer to better my chances of having these little fellas make it? Thanks for all the advice.

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[mikey5290]

I didn't do this on purpose but my Arautus cichlid is now holding eggs. I'm new to this so now I need to learn what to do. I'll start at the beginning. My arautus pair share a 55 gal tank with two red jewels, a juvenile buttekoferi, an oblique, a kenyi, and a larger tiger botia. She's been acting very reclusive, which is out of character for her, for a little more than a week. I looked her over and she's definitely holding either eggs or baby fry. I don't know how long it takes eggs to hatch. So I'm not sure which it is, and I didn't want to disturb her too much.

Here's my plan. I want to move her into a 10 gallon quarantine tank, (could arrange for 30 if 10 is too small but it'd be a hassle) and let her do her own thing. I do not want to strip her. this is her first time too so I want her to do it her way. How long before she spits them out and they stay out? When do I need to start feeding them? When is it time to separate mommy from babies? What's the likelihood she won't eat them? What would cause her to eat them? What should I avoid doing? And what are some tips you can offer to better my chances of having these little fellas make it? Thanks for all the advice.

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Far more experienced people on this forum, but in my experience----
-the 10 gallon will be fine for the holding female
-21 to 28 days holding time
-seperate the female from the fry as son as she has spit them all (you can gently pry her mouth open to check, lots of you tube videos on how)
-start feeding the first day (very small amount of super fine crushed flake food)
-feed 2-3 times per day
-sponge filter only to avoid sucking up the fry
-lots of water changes ( I do every second day about 25-30%) and I vaccuum the bare bottom on the off days.

I haven't had any of my females eat the fry.

Good luck, enjoy the little ones

Mike

 

[Harlow]

Hey, thanks for the input Mike. You answered a bunch of questions and gave some useful insight. So I take it the tank has to stay super clean for the fry huh? Not sure what you mean by sponge filter. I've got a small hob filter for the 10 gallon with a built in carbon sleeve. Should I take that out and use something else? I've got other filter media I could use like just the cotton stuff but they'd all be hob filters.

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[mikey5290]

Most people use sponge filters, powered by an air pump. But any filter will work as long as precautions are taken to make sure the fry can't get sucked into the filter intake. HOB filters will work as long as the intake is small enough or wrapped in a sponge of some type. You can always DIY the intake if needed, I just use coarse filter sponge.

Cleanliness is super important and that's why I find the bare bottom tank easier for maintenance until they get a little bigger.

Mike