how do i

[betta_CT]

hiya all
just need a little help here im thinking of striping my female yellow lab of her kinda fry eggs in her mouth as i dont want anything to eat the fry when they hatch and get spit out. does anyone here know how to do this without harming or stressing out the fish?
any help would be great

 

[Angry_Platy]

The only way you can safely protect her and the fry is to move her to a tank on her own. Doing so may make her feel stressed and she may spit the eggs/fry.

 

[betta_CT]

i dont realy have a tank just for her but i do have one with 3 female bettas in but even then i bet the bettas would have a munch on them.

 

[freddyk]

Stripping her is easy, you just need to be careful. Sometimes being stripped can be less stressful for the fish then readjusting to a new tank too.

How to do it? First, wait as long as you are willing to risk it. The longer you wait, the bigger and stronger the fry will be when they're released. I'd wait 25 days or so from when she first started holding.

Hold her firmly but not tightly, using your whole hand around her body so that you're not pinching her. Some people find using the net to hold them gives a better grip. Then use your thumbnail to gently force her lower lip down. As you do this, dunk her head in and out of the water. The fry will eagerly swim out, while she'll eagerly resist. It may take a couple of tries your first time.

The other option is, of course, moving her to the fry tank and letting her spit themselves. More often then not this is the wiser route to take. The only reason to strip is if she refuses to spit and it's been too long, or she's showing other health problems.

 

[betta_CT]

wow thanks for that i just tryed and she very willingly spat the fry, they are so big than what i thought.
still have abit of egg sak on them are they ok if they still have it?
they are swimming about and resting on the bottom.
ive place them in a spot where the water flow isnt fast but is getting to them.
i was going to feed microworms but at that size im going to have to give bbs, i havent got many eggs left but im sure they will do fine.
when should i start to feed them?
once the egg sak is totaly gone?

 

[freddyk]

once the egg sak is totaly gone?

Yup.

Stick to the bbs, it's safer then the worms for these guys. You can also feed them the same dry foods you give the adults, ground into a powder - a mortar and pestle worked well for me. They did well on a diet of a powdered spirulina/pellet mix, and a supplement of bbs. There are prepared dry fry foods too.
I placed an algae carpeted rock from the main aquarium in with them too - fresh food and instant cycling.