Babies upon Babies!

[Built2Prfctn]

 

[Demeter32]

They are milking the female, taking the eggs from her before they are developed.

This is not something I recommend because fish learn from each other. Baby fish learn to be good parents from their own parents. If you artificially rear baby cichlids and they don't get parental brood care, the babies lose the knowledge and quite often become egg eaters or spit the eggs and eat any babies.

It happens all the time with angelfish from Asia. The eggs are separated from the adults as soon as they are laid. This encourages the parents to lay again and provides more eggs to hatch and grow up. Unfortunately the baby angelfish have no idea how to look after eggs or young so when they breed, they eat their eggs and young.

There is no reason to artificially rear any cichlids unless the parents die or can no longer care for them.

Well, reason being it's a tank full of cichlids. They will be eaten by everyone else in the tank. Mouthbrooders will incubate their young in their mouth until they are ready to be spit out and once they are out, they are on their own. There is no parenting or care beyond this. It's our only option, and really, the only option for the baby fish's survival. It is what it is. To me, the sole act of keeping them alive, SAFE, and healthy are the only "rules" to live by, and I will take your recommendations as just that - "recommendations."

We take every precaution we can given the resources we have...hence the incubator to keep them moving and safe from being eaten in this situation. It is VERY non-typical that eggs come out like this. Usually when they are separated from the female, they are practically fully formed with little to no egg sack to absorb. Is the separating process stressful for the fish? Absolutely. Though, do you think a guppy pushing out between 30 and 70 babies at a time once a month is stressful? For sure! It's nature's way, and we always do everything with the utmost care.

From my understanding I thought the eggs in the tumbler were found/abandoned. I am perfectly aware of what stripping mouth brooders is and means as I've done it a few times myself to ensure I get a batch going before Mom spits them in the main tank.

Also @Built2Prfctn it is better to start your own thread for questions like that, you will get more views and more answer that way.

 

[pjwilford]

My guppy is about to burst to!!! Should I remove her from the tank before she gives birth? Not sure what to do now lol

I agree! A separate post would be more beneficial to you! However, to answer your question, if you think she is about to pop, it may not be a bad idea! Keep us updated

 

[pjwilford]

From my understanding I thought the eggs in the tumbler were found/abandoned. I am perfectly aware of what stripping mouth brooders is and means as I've done it a few times myself to ensure I get a batch going before Mom spits them in the main tank.

Also @Built2Prfctn it is better to start your own thread for questions like that, you will get more views and more answer that way.

You are correct! Thank you! Yes, they were found/abandoned and we are trying our best to save them. Removed the discolored ones today.

 

[Craycray]

Babies abound!! Here are some peacock cichlid eggs we found and incubated.View attachment 90658
Here are some peacock cichlid babies that just started free-swimming:
View attachment 90657
And we have a guppy that is about to BURST!
View attachment 90659

How did you use your tumbler? I have 2 different style tumblers and both let my angel eggs fall through the holes then my emerald cat fish eggs fell through

 

[Demeter32]

How did you use your tumbler? I have 2 different style tumblers and both let my angel eggs fall through the holes then my emerald cat fish eggs fell through

Angel eggs don't really belong in a tumbler as they are not mouth brooding cichlid. The parents simply fan the eggs and can for the fry as they absorb the yolk sacs. For artificial hatching I'd simply take the object the eggs were laid on and move it to a separate tank complete with a heater and air stone positioned just above the eggs. All you really need is water movement over the eggs and you're good to go.