mouthbrooding again and weired swimmiing

[Savethemall]

Have you tested your water?

Yes

If yes, what is your ammonia?

0

If yes, what is your nitrite?

o

If yes, what is your nitrate?

5

If I did not test my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

What percentage of water do you change?

21-30%

How frequently do you change your water?

Every week

If I do not change my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

Hi, about 6 weeks ago ive openend a thread here about this fish who had layed eggs and carrying them even though they arent fertelised{he is alone in the tank}
4 days ago she did it again, a bit less then a mouth after she spit the last ones out.
In addition to that she is showing some weired swimming behavior as you can see in the video-alot of head shaking a bit of flashing and occasionly try to swim into the tank wall and ito things{thats what you see in the video}
Im worried that theres something wrong beside the mouthbrooding thing
In addition im worried beacaue if she is going to do this every mounth it means she will not eat about 2 weeks every mouth..
Why do you think she is doing it? how should i prevent it or make her spit the eggs faster?
thank you

 

[deeda]

Looks normal to me, maybe a bit stressed with other fish in the tank.

She is also a bit thin, belly is concave. You would have to remove her from the tank and gently expel the eggs she is holding but there is no way to stop her from doing this, it's just nature.

 

[duanes]

I agree it looks like normal egg carrying behaviour.
If you catch her in a net she may automatically spit the eggs.
Some people find they need to gently pry the mouth open and cause her to drop the eggs.
Then she can eat.
If she doesn't lay eggs that are ripening inside, she can become egg bound and infected, usually fatal.
If it were me I'd get a male to fertilize them.
Then after a week or two get her to spit them into a net and you put them in a breeder box.

 

[Savethemall]

there are no fish in the tank beside her. i already caught her in the net and opened her mouth, but how to remove them? her mouth is to small for me to put my finger inside

 

[deeda]

You don't put your finger in her mouth, use a pipette or similar soft object to gently open her mouth and swish her body back and forth in the tank to expel the eggs. Do a search for removing eggs or fry from female Mbuna, also called stripping eggs or fry.

What are your long term plans for her? I couldn't imagine doing this every time she starts holding.

 

[Savethemall]

I dont know.. do you have any suggestions? im against breeding in captivity so bringing a male isnt an option.. maybe if shee will be with other females she wont do it?

 

[deeda]

Sorry I don't have any suggestions to stop her natural instincts to produce eggs and pick them up in the hopes they turn into fry. Putting her with other female fish won't make any difference.

She will continue to produce eggs for most of her lifetime which is about 8 years.