Cynotilapia

[Mourinho18]

:woot: :woot: , I think one of my cynotilapia may be mouthbrooding right aboot now. She's clearly not eating but I don't think its because shes being harassed. And by taking a closer look at her, you can easily tell that shes holding something in her mouth. Her color is a little dull compared to the others. I really don't want her to have babies because I don't really have anywhere to put them, but I would be psyched if she did just knowing that I'm providing them with a home they like and feel comfortable enough to live in that they reproduce. Def. keep ya updated. Oh, I won't be stripping her, or whatever the term is. It'll be all natural.

[Mourinho18]

either that, or he/she has a broken jaw because its mouth is sunken down.It also has egg spots, so im kind of confused :confused: I thought female mbunas didnt have egg spots

[Mourinho18]

Guess you guys aren't into the african scene.

[piranha45]

female mbuna can have egg spots. egg spots are still more prevalent in males, but egg spots are not a reliable way of sexing mbuna.

grab the fish, pry its jaws open while its mouth is submerged in water, and voila.

[Loubard]

Sorry no experience in africa's fishes.

[Mourinho18]

i don't know dude about prying her jaws open. I don't want to freak her out. But thanks for the info on the egg spots. Never to sure about that. I'm gonna assume its a she, so she has 3 nice little egg spots, and does it make a difference that her color is a little more drab than the others.

[piranha45]

prying mouthbrooders' jaws open is a very common practice, and is performed by almost all the breeders who want to secure the frys' good health and safety. but anyway, nothing wrong with just leaving her be if ur not interested in doing that.

[blacktip]

It certainly sounds like a female holding a small clutch of eggs. As long as she is not getting harrassed by the other fish, she should be alright, although it wouldn't be a bad idea to move her to another tank after she drops the clutch so she will have time to regain some weight before your male starts trying to do his thing again.

If there are enough hiding spots in your tank, don't be surprised if some of the babies survive. I had a trio of electric yellows in my 100 several years back and by the time I tore down the tank to move, I had roughly 30 babies from 1" to 2" that had survived.

[Mourinho18]

surprisingly enough, the most aggressive fish i have in the tank is a red tail shark and I'm really getting pissed at him because he only seems to be preoccupied with showing all the others who's boss. I really wouldn't have anywhere to move her. I'm just gonna let "nature" takes its course, but i am gonna move the red tail. the little bastard :D

[Mourinho18]

thanks for the info fellas, i'll keep you all posted when i see the little buggers :D

[fsc46]

pile some 2-4"l rocks where she likes to hang out. that way she can spit the fry there when she's ready. most won't make it but maybe 2 or 3 will. oh, and don't expect to see them for 3-4 weeks.

[Mourinho18]

yeah, i'd be pretty happy if a few made it, plus i don't think shes carrying very many anyway. The thing is that she doesnt really have a favorite place to hang around. She just kind of jumps from one spot to another and stays there for a little while. I'll def. add some smaller rocks in there in a corner or something.

[frontosa_man]

belive me they dont look like she will have a lot of fry in her mouth but you wait ,she will have more then ten. my wifes elec. yellows are only 3" and when i flush the babies after 4 weeks she has about 10 to 18 and i keep them in a floating tank for about a week or so to monitor before moving them. and dont worry about her breeding again too fast she will wait until she has fatten up some first, about 2-3 weeks then she will breed. good luck with your fry. :thumbsup:

[Mourinho18]

Hah, my mbuna's are really going at it hardcore. Now I'm suspecting that one of my metriaclima estherae (OB) also has some little guys she's holding onto. :D

[Mourinho18]

I'm having suspicions that that stupid little ***** swallowed up her fry :( . Guess she couldn't take going so long without eating because when I fed them today, she was the first to go gung-ho for the food. Lasted about a week and a half to two weeks i would suspect.

Still have an estherae holding though so I'm hoping she'll be a better mother. :D