Does My Cichlid Have Eggs In Its Mouth?

storm45

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hi, i woke up to find that in my tank 2 cichlids were dancing around and now one of the cichlid looks like it has something in its mouth and wont open it, does this mean they are eggs? also if they are eggs what the best thing i can do for them? thanks, really need help because i have no idea what to do

UPDATE: i am 99% sure there are eggs in her mouth, because i just fed the fish but she was the only one that didn't eat anything... any help as to what i should do next would be much appreciated, thanks
 
What sort of cichlid is it?

I would recommend googling whether you should feed it while it has eggs and how long they hold for, best leaving the fish to carry the eggs herself, but please check on the feeding. I lost my 4 female frontosa and their fry through feeding the wrong thing (prawn).
 
she always eats the hikari pellets, but today she didn't even touch one. They are african peacock cichlids. Also will i need to buy something like Marina Fish Multi Breeder 5 in 1 Breeding Trap? to protect the fry?
 
I know nothing about how long they carry for or if they need to be fed during their holding period. a breeding trap or spare tank maybe a good idea for the fry, but if its her first time holding she may swallow or spit out the eggs before they hatch.
 
ah ok, from what i have read you are supposed to put the mother in the trap then the fry fall through into a separate compartment where they are safe. I am not sure if the mother would fit in the breeding trap, well she would but won't it be very uncomfortable because the trap in length is only 20cm, and the mother is around 3.5inch..? thanks
 
The only other thing is then a seperate tank so she can release the babies in safety (I read this is ok for frontosa). Best of luck
 
Ive had some labs and peacocks have babies. In my experience it worked well for me to separate the fish to another tank with no other fish or just shimp for example. I just do so straight away when I know it has eggs or fry in its mouth. Once the babies are free in its mouth then it will start to take food in but it wont be eating any of it, just the babies will. She should hold the babies in her mouth for 10-14 days in my experience at which point she will start to release them. Sometimes only 1 or maybe more at a time. She releases them when she cant hold them anymore or I would guess knows that they are ready. When they are all out then take the mom and put her back in her original tank at which point she should eat like a pig. I have a 25 gallon with 12 baby labs right now and a bunch of sunburst peacock babies that just came out to go back into the main african tank. expect 10-15 babies

I have never tried the trap but Ive seen them on the net. From what I can see, the problem with them is that the fly leave the trap and enter the (just as dangerous) main tank and likely get picked off

Kyle
 
I only have one tank, i have access to another very small tank but it doesn't have a heater or filter, this is why i thought the trap would be a better idea for me.. thanks for the info
 
Absolutely. I dont have any experience with traps so Im sorry I cant assist with any advise there. In my case I always have extra filters and tanks sitting around so I have a lot of options. Best of luck with the fish. Hope you can keep a few :)

Kyle
 

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