hey my nimbochromis pair are mating and currently the female has the eggs in her mouth, what do i need to do? how long till they hatch? should i separate the mother from the rest of the tank? cheers help would be much appriciated

Congrats on the holding female. What you do from here really depends on if you want to keep the fry. If not, just leave her to spit in the main tank, if yes, either move her to a holding tank and allow her to spit, or strip her at 10-12 days. They generally hold anywhere from 14-28 days.
Here are some great articles all about breeding and raising fry.

got all the information i need, going to separate her to another tank

cheers v helpful

how likely would it be for her to spit out the eggs if i tried to catch her?

No problem, glad to help.



If you catch her pretty quickly with a minimum of stress she should be fine, if it's her first time holding though she may not be successful no matter what you do. IME it sometimes take mouthbrooders a couple of tries to get it right. I'd go ahead and try to catch her, just don't get too upset if decides to spit or swallow the eggs.