Malawian With A Mouthfull

[dalewatkinson]

hello there i really could do with some advice
we have got 3 tanks a 39 gallon with angels a 42 gallon with a malawian set up and a 13 gallon which was empty
our angels looked like they were going to breed so we moved them into the 13 gallon they have been there for 3 weeks now and have showed no further signs however we have recently noticed that one of our mbuna has a mouthfull of eggs now i dont know whether to leave her in the tank and hope for the best or remove our angels and put her into the 13 gallon what is the best method when breeding mbuna?
also how long untill she releases the fry?
should i remove fry once they have been release as we have a red tailed shark and i dont want them to be dinner
will my other mbuna prey on the fry?
sorry about all of the questions you guys really know what your talking about and i want to get it right
thanks in advance xxx

 

[kribensis12]

A 13 galon is WAY to small for a breeding pair of angels. I'd putt hem back in the bigger tank. THe small amount of space is probably why they didnt continue to breed. I would put the Malawain in the 13 and wait for her to release the fry.

 

[dalewatkinson]

thank you x

 

[dalewatkinson]

ok so ive moved the female in but should i also move the male into the same tank or keep the female on her own while she is holding?

 

[helterskelter]

How long has she been holding the eggs, as a move can cause her to spit them out the eggs and give up.
I've seen yellow labs hold the eggs/fry for 3 weeks or longer befor.

While the eggs hatch after 10 days or so fry released early will have a better chance to surive but eggs will not.

 

[chishnfips]

just keep the female in the tank on her own without the male, once she pits them you can either keep her in there with them for a few days so she gets her strength back, even better would be to move her to her own tank, but not everyone has the spare tanks to do that.

 

[Snake42490]

I would put the female in the small tank if you do infact want to keep the fry. Good luck on near future.. my fish wont stop breeding i finally just let them spit in the tank and if they live they live as bad as that sounds. I keep some though. The female should be placed alone in the smaller tank. I have never had them spit once moving the tank because of stress. I have seen the mother though once she knew it was safe spit the fry and let them swim a bit then take them back in. Its quit a site to see. Even if the mother does spit for any reason as long as the eggs didnt get damaged i bet they would still survive.
Once the mother spits you might want to separate her from the babies or put her back into the main tank. I would put a separater in the 13 gallon tank and let her eat a bit before putting her back into the main tank because she is probably very week from holding and not eating. After keeping her in there then you can put her back into the main tank.. I bet you will see the male try breeding right away again haha... Have fun with that : <. The babies if they have any egg sac present you will know what im talking about when you see them. Dont feed them at that point because they will most likely not eat at all. Once the egg sac is completely gone you could do baby brine shrimp. crushed flake crushed pelet.. Just about anything that you can mash up. I have used all of them. I mostly just do the flake or pelet just because its easier and not as much of a mess as doing baby brine shrimp all though i thought the fish grew faster when i used the bbs. Good luck with this process! its a lot of fun

 

[chishnfips]

I would put the female in the small tank if you do infact want to keep the fry. Good luck on near future.. my fish wont stop breeding i finally just let them spit in the tank and if they live they live as bad as that sounds.

lol I know what you mean, I have had to share my fry tank with two batches of fry!!, and there are about another 8-10 in my main tank with more on the way fom my yellow labs too many to keep tabs on so I am letting them stay in there and nature will do the rest and if they survive then away to the shop they'll go if they are good enough.

 

[dalewatkinson]

well we moved the female into the little tank and gave her a cave to hide in.. well its a boat with a hole in it lol
anyway all she does is hide away in it all day and does not come out at all. ive tryed feeding but just stays put in her cave does this mean the eggs have suvived in her mouth?? from what ive seen of her she keeps her mouth closed in the large tank she had it open alot. now she keeps it tight shut, but she does have a large bulge under she so i guess thats cos of the eggs too.
guess i will have to wait a few more weeks to see what happens. even to see if its her eggs or eggs of the cat fish who share the main tank with her.
thanks for all your replys

 

[kj23502]

You don't need to feed the female while she's holding...most likely she won't eat and in some cases eat the eggs while eatin food, i think.....

anyways, I know you don't feed them while they're holding.

Good Luck!!! Please keep us posted!!

 

[dalewatkinson]

hi guys good news my mbuna has got babys
we moved her into a a 13 gallon on her own when we found out that she was holding and i looked in the tank today and there are at least 15 little ones swimming around. i just need to know were to go from here to make sure that they are healthy should i remove the mother?
any advice will be greatly appreciated
thanks