I think I have a fish holding!

[alta678]

Ok, I don't have as much time as I would like to work on my tanks, so I never plan on breeding anything. Today as I was doing routine maintenance I noticed one of my female marmalade cats was hiding towards the back of the tank. Later, when I fed them I realized she had gotten skinnier and though she nosed the food, she would not open her mouth to eat and her jaw was swollen underneath. I don't know what to do! I got several of these at the TCA auction last fall and the males are absolutely gorgeous with their vivid blue blotches and orange edged fins. Any advice would be welcome!

[guppyfreak2]

Congrats

[tsunderl]

They breed like rabbits. Let me know if you want more. :hehe:

[Incaico]

congrats!

[JMatthew]

If you were closer I would say, "how long do you think she has been holding?" and "we could make her spit and I wold gladly raise the babies" but you are a bit of a drive and not so sure I'm up for it right now ;).

[h0ngkn0t2]

Yay for babies! :hehe: Try to look at the bulge in her mouth, sometimes you can see dark spots, which are the fry. Some mothers open their mouths a little bit, others keep it closed tight...guess it depends on how many are in there and how big they are.

If you want to raise the fry, place her in a 10 Gallon to naturally spit the babies out after 3-4 weeks...OR be like me:

I like to strip my females just because I lack the space and don't have extra 10 Gallons laying around... that AND I want my females to start eating again after 2.5 weeks because they get skinny and weak, which increases their chances of getting bullied.

I then place the babies inside a floating hatchery; others initially use the breeding nets...they are $4-5 bucks at Petsmart (but I always lose a few fry when I place them in nets because they hide and get stuck between the frame and the netting)

After they are about .5"-.75" I place them in the breeding nets because they are big enough to not want to hide in the frame and get trapped. (Nets are bigger and will give them space to swim freely...and it gets more circulation of water if you have a powerhead directed at the nets.)

I raise my fry with a mixture of crushed NLS or crushed cichlid flakes once they have absorbed their egg sacs. Once they are 1.25"-1.5" I put them into a tank by themselves or with their parents to cont growing out until they find new homes.

I drive to Southlake often, I can show you how to strip your fish if you would like. Just let me know!

[alta678]

She is keeping hers closed tightly. I do have a 20 I can put her in. I would rather do that than strip her since I have no idea how long she has been holding. I have some java moss I can put in there to let her feel safer and let the babies hide in after they are born. Would that be a good idea?

[fishman76092]

On the question of stripping-
Is her throat black yet (where the babies are)?

[alta678]

No, it is pale.

[kewlkatdady]

wait till you see her actually try to eat...

then strip her.

or you can just let nature take its course.

once she spits...you can siphon them out.

eitherway...good luck and congrats.

[alta678]

Jerod, can I move her to a twenty by herself? I have one ready to go if I need it. I am only home during the week from 7pm on, so chances are if she spits I won't be home.

[kewlkatdady]

sure...
If you are trying to get the babies....yeah. she'll be fine.
I would wait until she's a little further along though.

[alta678]

I will do that. Please explain the black throat reference from fishman. I take it her throat will darken as the fry develop?

[kewlkatdady]

I'm not sure...
I know the throat to get kinda clear once the fry develop and really stretch her skin out....

not sure about the black throat though...

[alta678]

Ok. I will be patient and watch and wait.

[kewlkatdady]

do you have a rough estimate of the day she got knocked up?

normally they will hold for around 21-25 days.

[alta678]

I have no idea. She hides in the back in the holey rock and plants.

alta678 added 0 Minutes and 37 Seconds later...

I will take a picture if I can get her to show herself.

[h0ngkn0t2]

I'm not sure...
I know the throat to get kinda clear once the fry develop and really stretch her skin out....

not sure about the black throat though...

Her skin gets stretched due to the increasing size of the fry. The "black" he refers to is the actual fry inside her mouth... they start to show through her stretched out, transparent skin.

[cichlidkeeper]

the black is usually the eyes, like you would see in eggs that are laid on something like a rock or plant.

[alta678]

It must be fairly new then. Under her jaw is full but there are still "wrinkles" in the skin.

[h0ngkn0t2]

http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd337/h0ngkn0t2/IMG_6786.jpg

My two flavus females holding... notice the black bulge in the female at the top of the picture...

[Venom SS]

Grats

[alta678]

Hong, my female looks like your top one. Is she about ready to spit?

[h0ngkn0t2]

She might be... Whats the update?

[kewlkatdady]

its going to be pretty tough to tell when shes going to spit if you don't know roughly when she was knocked up...

can you guesstimate when she got knocked up?

[Haiven]

Put her in the 20g now. She'll appreciate not having to hide all the time. Don't feed her until a couple of days after the fry are out.

[alta678]

Ok, I finally ended up practically taking my tank apart to catch her. She is in a 30 gallon by herself with some moss and floating plants. No substrate. She is still holding. Her jaw is even more distended now. We will see.

[cichlidkeeper]

its been a while. she may spit this week....

[alta678]

I have FRY!!! :woohoo: I can count about half a dozen fry hiding in and around the java moss. She is still holding her mouth closed though. I assume there are more in there. The fry are much bigger than I expected them to be and a dark color. I am so stoked!!!

[Haiven]

WooHoo! You're finally a fish granny!

[alta678]

Yes Ma'am I am!! Woo HOO!!

[bhughes]

Good for you!!!! Best of luck!!!