Acei holding eggs - a few question

[DG]

Hi all,

I though all my fish were males, but yesterday (24/4) i noticed one of my acei had eggs in her mouth.

I've read the other thread about holding fish but ever since i've had the acei, they've always stayed around the middle to top of the tank, whereas the rest of them are bottom to middle swimmer. Its this the same with all acei?

They dont make 'nests' like the others, so will the fry be just spat out in the open water and get eaten or should i seperate her. And if i do seperate, do i also need the male acei as well?

cheers

DG

[SGypsyMermaid]

if you want to save the fry, separate her after about 2 1/2 weeks. you should be aware that they may be hybrids. since she is possibly the only female in the tank, she could have spawne with any male. you don't need the male--he fertilizes the eggs during the spawning dance.

[DG]

I've seen them spawning and it is the male acei. If i'd had suspected hybridization i wouldnt have even bothered to post! These two have always been as a pair since i bought them.

[DG]

Also, will she eat? Or no food until the eggs have hatched?

[SGypsyMermaid]

she is not likely to eat while she's holding, although some females will suck in a bit of food here and there. mouthbrooders do not form pair bonds.

[DG]

so once the male has done his business, he's off?

[DG]

just thought of another question while eating a chelsea bun!!

So these 2 acei are not a "breeding pair"?

[SGypsyMermaid]

yup--once he's fertilized the eggs, he's superfluous, and might harass the female. your acei are a male and a female of breeding age, but malawian mouthbrooders are polygamous harem breeders...they may hang out together because acei seem to lean towards schooling, but they don't form pair bonds.

[DG]

Yeas, i've got many pairs of different fish, but the two acei's have always stuck together.

[tom]

Originally posted by DG
ever since i've had the acei, they've always stayed around the middle to top of the tank, whereas the rest of them are bottom to middle swimmer. Its this the same with all acei?

That's been my experience with acei, DG, particularly when they're in groups of four or more. The schooling mbuna, I (and no doubt others) have called them.

[DG]

her mouth bulge is getting smaller and smaller :( I think she's only got a few eggs left, but i will try and save what i can.

[tom]

DG

As the eggs turn to fry, the female's buccal cavity may appear smaller, softer: It doesn't necessarily mean any would-be offspring have been lost.

[DG]

i cant see much inside here mouth but she's still defintely holding something

[Tony]

DG : If she is not eating then she is holding.Put her in a ten gal she may not want to let go with other fish in the tank..... Tony.

[DG]

Put her into a seperate small tank. But i'm away for the weekend :( So i'll see what happens 2morw. I've seen some black dots which are probably eyes, but not sure whether inside the eggs or fry

[aharris]

I noticed the buccal cavity thing with my furcifer. I thought she was gradually eating her eggs, but now her buccal cavity is getting larger again, and I may be starting to see eyes. I'm going to try to persuade her into a net breeder sometime this week after lights out or first thing in the morning.

[SGypsyMermaid]

good luck!! i have also noticed that oddity about the buccal cavity, but i never realized what was happening...i thought that maybe some of the eggs had been spit or swallowed, but then it turned out that they still had a mouthful of fry.

[DG]

cheers. I've put mine in a smaller tank. The tank i put inside my big tank. But i'm sure the male acei is missing her because he's hanging around her and she comes close to him :)

I had a quick look inside her mouth and it looks like theres only 1 or 2 eggs inside.

[DG]

Good news. She finally dropped the babies 2day:party:

There must be about 10 ish and i think she's holding a few. So once she's let them go, i can release her :)