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Wild caught Saulosi femme is holding

Started by repeej, January 03, 2006, 07:36:51 PM

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repeej

January 03, 2006, 07:36:51 PM
Came home tonight and fed the fish.  Noticed that my female Saulosi was not partaking in the feast.  After a closer look, I noticed the mouth full of marbles look and she was drawn back in a corner by herself.

Just wish I knew who the papa was.  I have 1 wild caught male and 3 non-wilds.  One of the non-wilds has really coloured up all of a sudden so I'm suspecting he might be the dad....much to my shagrin.

So now what should I do with the female.  The tank is slightly...err I mean heavily overcrowded so should I leave her in there and hope for the best or should I get a bachelor pad setup for her.

Any advice for me would be appreciated.

Cheers!

darkdep

#1
January 04, 2006, 01:22:18 AM
You will likely not have many/any survive in your crowded tank.  If you care about raising the fry, catch her and put her in a small tank by herself.

However, before doing that, I would suggest you wait a week or two to make sure the batch "holds"...I find some of mine get a mouthful of unfertilized eggs on occasion which she seems to swallow a few days later.  Also, sometimes they simply swallow them out of inexperience.

If she's still got em in say, 10-14 days, get her into a nursery tank and she'll do the rest.

FishBuddy

#2
January 04, 2006, 01:57:34 PM
darkdep, on top of moving the female to another holding tank, is it wise to move the dad as well????  Isn't is true that parenthood for Africans comes from both parents???  I am new in this (as you know)....  Thanks...
72 gal bow tank

darkdep

#3
January 04, 2006, 02:10:09 PM
NO do not move the Dad.  

Although in many species (not all) the father does show some protectiveness of the fry, it's merely "herding".  The mother will actively protect them; she will pick them back up in her mouth when she feels danger is nearby, may attack nearby objects (like your finger!), and, will sometimes seemingly put the fry's fate above her own.  

My recent batches happened when I was home and could observe the whole birthing process, and after a couple days when I tried to capture the mother, she would actively scoop them up, hide in a rock, and spit them into a corner...as if she feared for her life but wanted to get her babies to safety first.  Absolutely fascinating to watch.

I prefer to leave the mother in the tank with the fry for about 7 days.  As soon as you see fry, start offering the mother food...she may not eat much at first, but she'll slowly eat more and more.  After about 7 days, she's given the fry the attention they want, she's gotten her strength back a bit, and is ready to be transferred back into your main tank.

Some people go the "stripping" route; which is basically holding the female and pulling her mouth open so the fry fall out into the tank.  However, this is definetly a more advanced, deliberate procedure and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who's only casually breeding.

FishBuddy

#4
January 06, 2006, 12:04:18 PM
Thanks darkdep...  Good to know....
72 gal bow tank

pegasus

#5
January 06, 2006, 01:30:55 PM
Quotethe father does show some protectiveness of the fry
What will the uncle do?  :)  Seriously.  :)

repeej

#6
January 06, 2006, 01:50:50 PM
Quote from: pegasus
Quotethe father does show some protectiveness of the fry
What will the uncle do?  :)  Seriously.  :)

He'll probably eat them.  :twisted:
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