yellow lab holding???

[barristan]

I have one yellow lab that appears to be holding something in it's mouth and will not eat. I am assuming it is holding fry or eggs.
I have it in a 45G with a few other fish. What do I do? Can I just put it in a small breeder net in the same tank, or should I try some divider type of thing?
Thanks

[SGypsyMermaid]

i think that those breeder nets are too small for cichlids. can you set up a 10 gallon maternity tank?

[Matt V]

i would second that suggetion of a 10g maternity tank if you can.

on top of that, cichlids get pretty cranky in those nets and breeders. IME it just further stresses the holding female.

[barristan]

How about a plexiglas divider for the tank? If I set up a 10g tank it would have to be in my basement. My wife wouldn't be to happy with another tank being setup upstairs.

[punman]

Nothing wrong with the basement. A quiet, dark place is good anway.

[barristan]

I decided to go with the divider. I just bought a piece of plexiglas from Home Depot and cut a square in the middle and cover the hole with pantyhose(for water flow and temp control).
How do I know the fish is holding fry or eggs? Should I leave the male on her side?

[SGypsyMermaid]

no, leave her in her section alone...she doesn't need the male anymore. and he might eat the fry.

[es]

You can get a 10G kit that has everything you need at Walmart for around 30$. The filter isn't the best but it's good enough for a maternity tank.

[barristan]

I guess I have to now.
I put in a plexiglas divider in and all was going well until I noticed that one of my red-sided peacocks was acting strange. I now realize that it is holding as well!
The yellow lab hasn't spit the fry out yet, but I know they are certainly fry because I saw one of them looking out of her mouth at me.