labidochromis caerlus fry

[juanveldez]

hey guys I just found A single fry from my labidochromis in my 75 I think that he made it by hiding in a spot that nobody would have ever guessed..... right in front of my friggin nose!!!! now to my prob I know nothing about raising him I have a 10 gallon that can be set up in a hurry, but I am also thinking that he hid in dads cave and that maybe there are more in there but it is so darn hard for me to see in there to tell, and since I know nothing about raising him is it possible that dad has been protecting them in his cave for the past week and a half?

 

[smb]

Being mouthbrooders, usually what you would want to do is remove the female from the tank as she doesn't really protect them or provide for them anymore.

Since the 10g isn't already cycled I would leave everything as is this brood. The fry has no chance at all to live if you move it to another tank that's uncycled and you will only stress the male and female and the ammonia will eat at their gill plates if you move them to an uncycled tank imo.

I would set the 10g up with the exact same parameters as the show tank with a couple sponge filters and a heater. Once she is holding next time, I would move only the female to that tank and cover it up. The first couple of times it might take a few weeks for her to release but after a few broods it should take less time. Once you see she does release move her back to the show tank with a divider for a week or so until she's put weight back on and is stronger. More mature females might eat while holding but younger ones won't, IME.

 

[juanveldez]

hey smb the tank is already cycled I have been useing it in the past as a hospital tank for my sick cichlids and instead of treating all of my fish in the show tank I just keep the 10 set up so that I can move them right into that one and treat them there but I ran the regular external filter for a few hours today and did a partial water change to get any risidual meds out of the water. then I added a sponge filter so that the babies don't get sucked up and when I find my other one that I have around here I can both of them going in the tank.

and here is the other problem, I don't need any other males I already got 3 so do you think that if indeed one or both of them are males I should check with my lfs to see if they would take them?

 

[Xxzsdrklakdfj]

aight Juan!!! i told u 3rd times the charm, and now next time that will be 15 fry, lol. man IMO when it comes to mbuna once the fm releases, she'll take them back for a few days, then it's every fry for themselves!!!! From my experiences the male is as eager as the other community inhabitants to catch that easy meal!!!and if u only see one fry i'd say they allready did so go ahead and move it to the 10gal. Just a lil advice tho when it comes to fry tanks. I've NEVER left an empty tank up and running. If i need it i just set up my 10, get 10 gallons of water from the fry's original tank, then grab a sponge filter out one of my tanks and throw it in there w/ them. I've done this tons of time w/ absolutely no prob. matter of fact i just did it bout a week or 2 ago w/ my n. caudo. fry w/ no problems. But if u use ANY new tap water then i'd say your in for some trouble cause bewborn fry are VERY VERY fragile IMO when it comes to stuff like that. peace...........................................

 

[juanveldez]

actually letters when I went in there to siphon up the youngster I found out that dad had a visitor in his cave it was one of his fry so I have 2 now but I will tell you what that was harder than I thought cause they can get into palces that I never thought possible

 

[juanveldez]

now I am going to raise them up to be big and strong and if they are males they are going to take a trip to my lfs to trade. but if they are female I am going to keep them I just found out this week that one of my fish that I thought was a female is actually a male although he is at the very bottom of the ladder and he actually looks like my female only bigger.

 

[smb]

This is exciting! Make sure you keep updating us on how it's going. Daily if need be. I find this info very good and I love hearing how others do with cichlids.

 

[juanveldez]

okay now I got the problem of what to feed them.... I have been feeding them really finly crushed flakes, and I have yet to see them eat. I was thinking of baby brine shrimp but unsure about growing live ones cause I have never done it and don't know anything about em what should I do?

 

[smb]

okay now I got the problem of what to feed them.... I have been feeding them really finly crushed flakes, and I have yet to see them eat. I was thinking of baby brine shrimp but unsure about growing live ones cause I have never done it and don't know anything about em what should I do?

I would feed them with live baby brine shrimp and some crushed spirulina. They are succeptible to bloat so make sure most of their diet consists of plant matter.