what to put where? fish is going to spit. I want to keep the fry

[wadman]

i think my Pundamilia nyererei is holding.( i would like to try and raise the fry) it is in a 75 gallon tank with 1 other female and 1 male. what should i do? put just the female that is holding in the 15 gallon till the fry come out? this will only leave the 1 male and 1 female together and i am worried this male will chase her to death. i have a 125 gallon tank with 16 munbas in it 6 yellow labs, 6 Metriaclima estherae (red zebra) and a 4 Melanchromis cyaneorhabdos. i could put the 2 in there i have been told? i all ready know i should have 4 females with this one male and am working on that. but what should i do right now? thanks

also can you post a link to a good fry tank set up thread or video? thanks

[wadman]

some fry tank setups i found.

http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com...o/frytank.html



i still need to know how to split there 3 up.

[wadman]

she might have lost them? ate them? spit them? or some thing she is not looking big in the mouth any more. to bad. i wanted some fry.

[wadman]

she just had her first batch. i just found out tonight. i went to feed her and seen a little fry. then i looked and seen her put about 10 back in her mouth. i watched for 20 min and nothing. then i left for ten mins and when i came back they where out and swimming on the bottom. so she sucked them back up again. should i strip her or let her be with them in this 10 gallon by her self? i want to keep as many as i can alive. thanks

[ZeroSystem]

I would probably try to make her spit if you really want to keep the fry, but that is easier said than done. I have only done it a couple of times, with mixed results. The problem is that if you scare her too much trying to catch her she may eat the fry (more common in new parents)! There are a few different ways to make her spit, I only know of one myself. It requires catching the fish and holding her a certain way (not sure how to describe this part.. you want to hold her in a position that will point the mouth down towards a bucket with tank water while still keeping it relatively open.) I then used a spray bottle to gently shoot a stream of water into the fishes mouth and flushed out the fry. It can be a pain but apparently if you get the techniques down it gets easier with time. My description probably isn't the best of help, so you may want to try googling "Stripping Malawi Cichlids" or something of that nature. Good luck!

[wadman]

thanks man. there free swimming and already out but i only see like 6, i don't know if there is more in her mouth? i know she was sucking them in when i came near the tank but would spit them back out to let them do there thing. when should i remove the Pundamilia nyererei mother from the fry tho? she had them naturally and i don't think she ate any but could she turn and eat them all? should i strip her now or and then put her in a nother tank or leave here in there? thanks