Electric Yellow With A Mouthful Of Fry!

[Kenzzzie]

I normally let my electric yellow fish just spit into the tank naturally but usually only 1-3 fry survive that way so I was thinking about stripping her for the first time..
What is the best method of doing this without stressing the mom out too much/injuring the fry?
Also, I can SEE the fry in her mouth their eyes and faces but how can I tell if they are free swimming yet (have fully absorbed their eggs)?
I first noticed her holding around August 1st...

If anyone can help out or give me any advice that would be greattt

thanks!

 

[dthoffsett]

If you noticed her holding around august 1st, the fry should be ready to go.

This is the best method of stripping that I'm aware of: [URL="http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/stripping.php"]http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/stripping.php[/URL]

Labs are a little difficult to strip due to their small mouths, if you can't open her mouth with your fingernail, a flattened toothpick will work, just make sure it isn't sharp.

 

[Kenzzzie]

here's a short movie clip of the mother I'm talking about if it helps anyone..

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http/www.youtube.com/v/Brl1eWE7waI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http/www.youtube.com/v/Brl1eWE7waI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

here's the link if that doesn't show up:

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brl1eWE7waI

 

[kribensis12]

Wow, she is a gogeous fish! I dont raise Mouthbrooders , yet ( hopefully soon i will), but i know a guy who raises all kinda of Africans, and he says that he puts her in a small bowl, and grabs her ( gently), and tips her upside down, with her head in the water, and opens her mouth with his fingernail. He has been very succsefull this way.

 

[Kenzzzie]

dthoffsett- thanks a lot for the link on stripping!

After I strip the fish, if I put the fry in a breeding contraption that connects to the top of the main tank... appx. how many days would the fry have to be contained in there before I can release them with the adult yellow labs? Will they be able to survive in that on crushed up spirulina flakes for that time period?

Wow, she is a gogeous fish! I dont raise Mouthbrooders , yet ( hopefully soon i will), but i know a guy hwo raises all kinda of Africans, and he says that he puts her in a small bowl, and graps her ( gently), and tips her upside down, with ehr head int eh water, and opens her mouth fish his fingernail). He has been very succsefull this way.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[tangokitty]

That's so cool! i didn't know that they were mouth brooders!

 

[kribensis12]

dthoffsett- thanks a lot for the link on stripping!

After I strip the fish, if I put the fry in a breeding contraption that connects to the top of the main tank... appx. how many days would the fry have to be contained in there before I can release them with the adult yellow labs? Will they be able to survive in that on crushed up spirulina flakes for that time period?

Wow, she is a gorgeous fish! I dont raise Mouthbrooders , yet ( hopefully soon i will), but i know a guy who raises all kinds of Africans, and he says that he puts her in a small bowl, and grabs her ( gently), and tips her upside down, with her head in the water, and opens her mouth with his fingernail. He has been very succsefull this way.

Thanks for the tip!

Your welcome, sorry for the poor spelling, I'll fix it.

 

[Kenzzzie]

Thanks for all the great advice.

Does anyone know about how many days the fry can be left in a breeding contraption at the top of the main tank before they can be released with the adult electric yellows?

 

[Kenzzzie]

I JUST STRIPPED MY YELLOW LAB!!!

I could not capture a video of the actual stripping since my hands were full and it was my first time ever trying this...
I did get a video and a few pictures of the fry!!

Here's the video:

<a href="http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6hsetYvPss" target="_blank">http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6hsetYvPss</a>


I can't get the pictures to upload on here from photobucket...
maybe these links will work:

Mother before stripping:

http/i4.photobucket.com/albums/y117/KNZRBN/DSCN0820.jpg

Fry after stripping:

http/i4.photobucket.com/albums/y117/KNZRBN/DSCN0821.jpg


=]

 

[kribensis12]

Wow, the fry look beautiful, and the mother, WOW. I am jealous( thinks aboutt he offer i got for free breeding stock Yellow Labs). Your female has such a lovely color * is memorized by female yellow lab and cannot talk further*

 

[Kenzzzie]

Wow, the fry look beautiful, and the mother, WOW. I am jealous( thinks aboutt he offer i got for free breeding stock Yellow Labs). Your female has such a lovely color * is memorized by female yellow lab and cannot talk further*

Thanks so much!
When I was stocking my tank I looked for the brightest fish =]

 

[kribensis12]

Well she definately is Bright.

 

[dthoffsett]

Sorry I wasn't on here sooner. Congrats on the successful brood. Those net breeding traps aren't a good idea w/mbuna because the adults can and will suck the fry right through the net and eat them. Not only that, but IMO the fry should be around 2 inches before reintroducing them to avoid predation. Lab fry are really slow growers, so for the best chance of survival, you'd need a cycled fry tank.

It doesn't have to be anything fancy, a good sized plastic tote box (around 10gal) would suffice if you don't have an extra tank. It can be bare bottom with a heater and a sponge filter. Until you have one set up, try putting a little gravel on the bottom of the breeding trap, a fake plant or two so the fry have places to hide, and to make it harder for the adults to get to them. To avoid having to cycle the fry tank, you can run it's filter on your main tank for around 2 weeks, then move it and the fry over.

 

[Kenzzzie]

Sorry I wasn't on here sooner. Congrats on the successful brood. Those net breeding traps aren't a good idea w/mbuna because the adults can and will suck the fry right through the net and eat them. Not only that, but IMO the fry should be around 2 inches before reintroducing them to avoid predation. Lab fry are really slow growers, so for the best chance of survival, you'd need a cycled fry tank.

It doesn't have to be anything fancy, a good sized plastic tote box (around 10gal) would suffice if you don't have an extra tank. It can be bare bottom with a heater and a sponge filter. Until you have one set up, try putting a little gravel on the bottom of the breeding trap, a fake plant or two so the fry have places to hide, and to make it harder for the adults to get to them. To avoid having to cycle the fry tank, you can run it's filter on your main tank for around 2 weeks, then move it and the fry over.

Thanks a lot, currently they are in a plastic breeding contraption that is a pretty nice one it cycles the tank water through the bottom and it is closed off so they cannot escape and the adults cannot suck them out. However, they probably will need a larger contraption/seperate tank to allow them to grow bigger I was just planning on keeping them seperated until they were about an inch 1/2 or until they seem bigger and faster so they can fend for themselves? I have plentyy of rocks in the main tank.. no plants though =/
I wish they made some kind of huge isolation tank (such as a 5-10 gal) that could float in my main tank because my main tank is so well cycled and leveled right I would hate to get a new tank and see the babies die =[

 

[dthoffsett]

Thanks a lot, currently they are in a plastic breeding contraption that is a pretty nice one it cycles the tank water through the bottom and it is closed off so they cannot escape and the adults cannot suck them out. However, they probably will need a larger contraption/seperate tank to allow them to grow bigger I was just planning on keeping them seperated until they were about an inch 1/2 or until they seem bigger and faster so they can fend for themselves? I have plentyy of rocks in the main tank.. no plants though =/
I wish they made some kind of huge isolation tank (such as a 5-10 gal) that could float in my main tank because my main tank is so well cycled and leveled right I would hate to get a new tank and see the babies die =[

It will take a couple of months for the to reach 1.5", at least it always did with mine. A larger (around 10gal) tank and frequent water changes (a couple a week) will speed that up a little, but like I said, labs are slow growers.

If you run a sponge filter (they're best for fry because the fry can't get sucked into the filter) on your main tank for a couple of weeks the fry tank will be instantly cycled (called cloning). And with small fry and frequent water changes, there's little to no chance of a mini-cycle. As for feeding, I usually just crush up whatever I feed the adults, just be sure to add small amounts to avoid fouling the water. You can also hatch some baby brine shrimp if you feel like it, that labs will LOVE you for that.

Here's a great link on raising fry: [URL="http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/raising_fry.php"]http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/raising_fry.php[/URL]