I Have Babies!

[dthoffsett]

My female lab has been holding for 4 weeks now and I was starting to get kind of worried about her. She's gotten really skinny, and her poor little mouth was just bulging with fry. I'm not too interested in breeding, so I decided to strip her so I could feed her up. Man was that scary. I don't have a separate tank, so I stripped the fry into a breeding net, so she would pick them back up again. I was so scared I would hurt her and I'm sure I stressed her out more than it scared me, but I did it. I got about 10 fry from her before she really started freaking out and wouldn't spit anymore. So I let her go, and wouldn't you know, she's still got at least two more in her mouth. I'm sure she hold them until adulthood just to spite me. The fry are about 1/8", and they don't seem to have their egg sacks anymore. Well, gotta go to work, I'll see if I can get some pics when I get home.

 

[ringham]

Congrats on strippin' your fish. My mozambican's just had fry like 2 days ago. I never had the guts to strip them incase I harmed my fish. Mine gave about 100+ fry I am amazed that you only got 10! I got about 80 captured because she spat them out in my tank but about 12 of them have since died . They are so cool when you first get them lol. As you have already said after 4 weeks they use up all of their yolk sac and I currently feed them on crushed flaked and carnivore pellet mushed up lol. What bout you?

 

[mamafish68]

to the new fry!!!!

hope you get a ten gallon soon!!

 

[dthoffsett]

Well, pics didn't work, I've really got to get a camera with macro. I recounted and I have 12, they're all still fine. "Mama" is still holding onto the 2 she has left, and I figure I'll let her have them, she deserves them.

Ringham, yellow labs have one of the smallest mouths of mbuna, so 14 fry is about average. I sympathise with you fear of stripping. I was terrified, but I was more worried about getting the female back to eating than saving the fry, not that it worked sinches she wouldn't give up the other two. Oh well, at least her poor little mouth has some more room. I start out feeding mine crushed flake, when they get a little larger I supplement with daphnia and crushed NLS.

mamafish I'm setting up my 75gal this month and moving the adult labs over, I'll be leaving the fry in the 29gal until they're large enough to be moved over. In future breedings I'll be letting nature take its course, I just don't have the room for several breeding and grow out tanks. Something to try in the future though.

 

[clareriley]

Awwww congrats, sounds like you did a great job

 

[ringham]

What do you feed your new fry?

I feed crushed flakes.

 

[dthoffsett]

I feed crushed flakes, supplemented with frozen daphnia and brine shrimp.