# sp 44 prego/holding eggs.



## bud091 (Dec 25, 2012)

hi everyone i have 1male sp44 and 2 females the last gew days my male has been faning his tail at my one female so im wonder if she is carrying eggs can anyone help me with this one please


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## MDR (Feb 20, 2012)

He may just be showing off. If they are young, it may take a few "dry runs" before they figure out how to breed. If you want to know if she is holding or not look and see if her throat is distended. If it is, she likely has a mouthful of eggs, if she has a full mouth and refuses food then shes holding eggs.

Another way to tell if she has or will be coming into breeding condition soon is to check if she has dropped an egg tube (bump in front of anal fin).


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## bud091 (Dec 25, 2012)

it looks like she has a small bump bit im not to sure ive never breed fish before so its new to me and they are around 4" in size


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## MDR (Feb 20, 2012)

A picture would help greatly but by the sounds of it she is just getting ready and the male has picked up on this and is currently showing off. If her mouth isn't full, give it a week and more than likely she'll have a mouthful of babies.

Holding SP44 looks like this:
http://www.cichlids.com/uploads/tx_usercichlids/user_pics/10137/100_09_3a9e6bbc2a.jpg

*Picture is borrowed from the interwebs for information purposes only*


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## bud091 (Dec 25, 2012)

judging by that photo mine as a small bump like that... at what time should i move them to the breeder box?


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

bud091 said:


> judging by that photo mine as a small bump like that... at what time should i move them to the breeder box?


Unless your breeder box is a 10 gallon tank you should not move a holding female cichlid to a breeder box. Those are for guppies and other small live bearing fish.

You can either strip the female of her fry after she has held for approximately 4 weeks or if you have an egg tumbler you can strip her of her eggs and tumble them until the fry absorb the egg sack and then move them to a fry saver or grow out tank.
--
Paul


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## bud091 (Dec 25, 2012)

ok will she hold the eggs til they hatch?? then i can move the fry to save thrm from getting ate?


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

bud091 said:


> ok will she hold the eggs til they hatch?? then i can move the fry to save thrm from getting ate?


If the eggs have been fertilized they will mature in her mouth until they are fully developed and then at some point she will release the fry into the tank. If there are enough hiding spots some may survive however most will be eaten by the other tankmates.

I suggest you go to http://www.cichlid-forum.com/index.php and read up on mouthbrooding cichlids for more info.

https://www.google.ca/search?source...74,d.dmQ&fp=a8f382f1205a7bfc&biw=1680&bih=822
--
Paul


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## bud091 (Dec 25, 2012)

i will do that tanks ever so much paul


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## MDR (Feb 20, 2012)

If it is her first time holding, she may not carry to term. Although at 4 inches I suspect she has held before. As mentioned above, wait for a few weeks before stripping her of the fry. I find if strip my fish too early my survival rates are terrible which is why I wait minimum 21 days.


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## bud091 (Dec 25, 2012)

ok thanks i keep a eye out and see


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## bud091 (Dec 25, 2012)

*sp 44 holding eggs*

hi all i have a sp44 that is holding eggs i put her in a breeding box and was wonder after she spits the fry out do i put her back in the tank right after or do i wait a day or 2???? ps this is my first time breeding fish thanks for the help invariance


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

bud091 said:


> hi all i have a sp44 that is holding eggs i put her in a breeding box and was wonder after she spits the fry out do i put her back in the tank right after or do i wait a day or 2???? ps this is my first time breeding fish thanks for the help invariance


As per my previous post, you should not put a holding cichlid into a breeder box. Those are designed for livebearers and not cichlids. She will more than likely eat the fry due to stress.

I recently moved a holding yellow lab to a 10 gallon tank to see if she would spit them naturally and take care of her fry however after a few days she began to kill them. I was only able to save 5 fry.

If she does manage to spit here fry in the breeder box and not kill them all you should move her back to the main tank.
--
Paul


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

+1 to Y2K. He knows his africans (look at that signature... makes me jealous all the damn time...)


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