Question About Cichlid Holding Eggs In Her Mouth

[svtcobra24]

so earlier today my ob peacock cichlid and my venustus cichlid spawned and now the venustus is holding the eggs in her mouth. my question is how long will it take for her to spit out the fry and while shes holding the eggs is it ok to do any type of water change. this is my first time that i witnessed spawning

 

[akfox18]

It varies. I usually have to wait about 3 weeks. After just over a week I can usually see tiny little fishies in there. I've read some where that's it can be anything from 14-28 days. I do normal weekly water changes and I've never had problems. I'm no expert so I'm hoping someone more konwledgable will clarify this all for you!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

My experience is limited to the only African cichlid I have ever kept. P nicholsi. No problem with water changes, but I had to remove the male once I saw the female holding, he will harass her mercilessly. Down the road he did kill her. I learned that the mom doesn't care for the fish after she spit, she ate them all inside 48 hours. The mom would let out the fry for bit and take them back in before she actually turned them out for good.
 
I didn't pay close attention to the time but it seemed she held the eggs/fry for more than 2 weeks.