# need help with two female species 44 holding



## valladares (Mar 31, 2010)

hi, i currently noticed that two of my female species 44 are holding.( lumpy throats, also one is a proven breeder) this is my first time breeding african cichlids. my question is 

should i take the two females out of my cichlid tank and place them in another tank? i was reading up on these fish and some people suggest they not be left in the community tank? but i have also herd they can be left in the community tank.

really confused, want as many fry to survive.


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Option 1)http://www.cichlid-forum.com/videos/stripping.php

Option 2 is as you say, seperate them into other tanks until they spit their fry then remove them. One female will eat the other's fry and vice versa, were they to spit simulataneously so be careful. I'd just strip them personally but if you are not comfortable doing that, then move them until they spit naturally.


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## valladares (Mar 31, 2010)

oh ok, option one does seem a little to advanced for me at the moment. im going to go with option. now would it be ok to put both females in the same "holding" tank? also at what stage would it be safe to transfer them over? im guessing they have only been holding for about 1 week


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Move them now. I wouldn't put them in the same tank but you could probably get away with it. They'll probably spit in another few days. Stripping isn't hard though.


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## zjafry (Feb 12, 2010)

I strip my Haplochromis Species 44 after 2 weeks approximately. I find they're easier to strip then demasoni. 

I would recommend stripping them as well, however, I would not use the metal prod used in the video. I just use my finger nail, it allows you to feel where the mouth opens. I find it's a good species to practice with considering they breed readily. 

If you aren't comfortable with it, try it with one and see how it goes. Put the other in a separate tank if you did not like doing it .

That's my two cents. Good luck!


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

You could just put the female into a water change bucket and she should/may spit out the fry with the move. 

I would net the female out and hold her over the bucket. you can just stroke her under her chin and she should spit into the bucket of water.

Repeat for the second one.
Just be gentle it doesn't take much pressure to hurt them.

Congrats on the fry


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## valladares (Mar 31, 2010)

thanks for the help. i put one of the females(smaller on) in a seperate tank and seems to be doing fine. but i cant catch the bigger one, she uses the caves as tunnels to get away from me. i will try and strip the large female once i catch her, any other tips on stripping the fry?


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

valladares said:


> thanks for the help. i put one of the females(smaller on) in a seperate tank and seems to be doing fine. but i cant catch the bigger one, she uses the caves as tunnels to get away from me. i will try and strip the large female once i catch her, any other tips on stripping the fry?


Its very straightforward. Don't do it out of the water as another member suggested.

Just follow the video.

make sure the tanks you move the fish to are filled with water FROM THEIR original tank, are the same temp, and have CYCLED filters on them .


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

I could have her stripped and back in the tank by the time it took him to walk over the the table (fish out of water) to get that sharp metal Dental  .....


Sorry both ways are fine. 

Did you notice in the video his thumb rubbing under her chin? The dental thing wasn't even needed in her case, but good for show.


AquariAM great tip: "make sure the tanks you move the fish to are filled with water FROM THEIR original tank, are the same temp, and have CYCLED filters on them ."


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## valladares (Mar 31, 2010)

yeah i moved them to a ten gallon that i have been cycling for the last two weeks and did a water change with my larg tanks water.(put water from there original tank into the ten ..only 25%.) now the tricky part. im going to attempt stripping the large female. any signs i should be looking for if she comes under to much stress or is being hurt?


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## valladares (Mar 31, 2010)

thanks for the help. i succesfully stripped the smaller female of nearly fully grown fry. though the larger female once i caught her she spit out some eggs. what does this mean? should i finish stripping her of the eggs ? about ten eggs came out


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## valladares (Mar 31, 2010)

also should i put in an airpump/airstone for the fry or will they be ok with out one?. at what growth can i start giving them away to friends and family?


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## Zombie (Apr 12, 2010)

valladares said:


> also should i put in an airpump/airstone for the fry or will they be ok with out one?. at what growth can i start giving them away to friends and family?


When they are about 1"...so a couple of months. If you have a filter that's aerating the water enough I wouldn't bother with the airstone as the little guys can't fight that much current. I have bio wheels on my breeding 10g tanks and they don't aerate quite enough so I just stick an airstone in near the top somewhere away from the fry (who hide anyways) for an hour or so a day.


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