Yellow Lab Mating Behavior?

[Gooseberry]

Hi all, we have just bought a couple of Yellow Labs and have also bought them a little cave type ornament to hide in etc. They have taken quite well to the cave and are in and out of it constantly, the question we would like to ask is, are they mating? They are taking it in turns to go in the cave while the other gards the entrance, the female goes in and fumbles about, then the male goes in and flicks his tail fin on the sand, flickering around, then they swap back and the female goes in and sifts through the sand then they dart off round the tank

If they are breeding, what is the best course of action? Leave them in the tank for the time being? When should we move them to prevent the babies getting eaten?

Thanks!

 

[drobbyb]

A good thing about African cichlids is that most of them are mouthbrooders. A mouthbrooder is a fish that picks up the eggs after they have been fertilized with their mouth, and holds them there for a period of time, and finally releases them into the tank when they are large enough. It's easier to strip the female of the babies and raise the fry in another tank until they are big enough to fend for themselves, but if this is not possible you will probably still have survivors, especially if there are enough hiding places.

 

[vonnie06]

hi by the sounds of it they could be breeding if you look at the female is her mouth shut like she holding something in there?if its the first time they have breed then the eggs might not be fertile or she may swallow the eggs.you can leave them in the tank for a little while but make sure theres lots of hiding spaces as the male will try and breed again and be a bit aggressive for her to stress,if you want to take one of them out your best turning the lights out for a while then when you turn them on again try and catch the male because if you try and catch female she is more likly to stress and spit eggs out or swallow them.i cant remember how long she holds them in her mouth but i do remember when you see them wiggling in her mouth and you see eyes in her throat then it isnt long before she spits them out.when she spits them out then she can be with them for 1day then thats when youve got to catch her as she will try and eat them but anytime befor that day she'll put them back in her mouth again so the babys aint in danger,feeding them fry food or crushed flake would work and plenty of water changes and cleaning up of the food they leave.sorry for the essay but its the best thing to watch and see the progress hope all goes well

 

[Gooseberry]

Thanks for the advice! We will keep a close eye on them, I hope they do breed, will keep posted!