Yellow Lab holding eggs

[AmyChris]

I have a Yellow Lab that has been holding eggs. It will be 3 weeks on Sunday since I first noticed her big chin but what I would like to know is what would be the best thing to do for her? First of all shes very skinny and Im scared she will stave herself to death. I also would like to keep the babys when they hatch but I have a few bigger fish in the tank and I dont want them to eat the babys. I have a breeder that flots in the tank if I take the mom when the eggs hatch and put her in the breeder (she is small enough to fit) will she spit out the babys. If so should I keep her with the babys so she can get back to good helth before adding back to the tank.

Thanks for the help
Amy

[Heyguy74]

Don’t worry about her starving just yet. It’s normal for most mbuna to hold for 3-4 weeks. Fish can last for months without food. The eggs have already hatched. They hatch after the first couple of days. Put her in the breeder net ASAP. I don’t think I'd keep mom in the breeder net for more than a day or after she spits the babies out for good (Once she no longer allows the fry back in her mouth). She may spit them to allow them to eat but will allow then to reenter her mouth. You should start feeding the fry small foods. Baby brine shrimp (live or frozen), Cyclops (frozen), crushed flake or prepared fry food like First Bites by Hikari.

I would also add some of the substrate to the bottom of the breeder net. You'd be surprised how many babies can be sucked through the bottom of the net by larger fish.

[LuckyCricketMafia]

If you don't separate her the chances of any fry surviving are slim. The breeder would work, but if you have a small 10 gal laying around that would work better. If you don't have one you may want to invest in a 10 gal tank and a sponge filter especially if you are going to raise the fry. Heyguy gave you some pretty good advice the only thing I can add is feed several times a day and keep their water really clean. Yellow labs seem to be slow growers (in my experience), but get their colors fairly quickly. I feed all my fry crushed flake 2-3X a day and baby brine shrimp every other day and do water changes every 2-3 days.

Good luck :ok:

[AmyChris]

Well I have had mama fish in the breeder for a few days now and still no babies. She dosnt open her mouth much and she still isnt eating. I hope she spits them out soon cuz I cant wait to see the little guys :D

Here is a picture of mama fish.


http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2007-05-22/191897-001.JPG



Amy

[AmyChris]

Well mama spit out one baby today. Her mouth still lookes a little big so I hope theres more. The baby that she did spit out swims very good but when its not swiming its on its side. Is it cuz its a baby or is there something wrong with it?


Amy

[chahala]

All the babies will be sucked through the net by the other fish. If you have anything smaller then a 90 gallon go get a divider for the tank. Make sure that it is very tight to the sides as the babies are so small they will just go right through. (been there). Best is to get a 10 gallon. I would just strip her. If she has spit at least one out, then they are probably ready. I had to make a breeder net in a breeder net as all my babies at first were sucked through, or sucked and killer. So I got me a 10 gallon and have had over 300 babies now. Good luck.