Holding cyp!

[Orion]

I just can't belive these guys! I think it will be three or four weeks this weekend that I have had these, and wouldn't you know it, I come home from work and I have a female holding! As if watching the males squable among themselves isn't enough.

You can see a few of the eggs though her extended buccal cavity.

I don't really expect her to hold to term. She is still quite young, but who knows. I'm sure not going to complain if she does. Also, there was another male and female having some 'alone time' in another less active corner in the tank, so we will see what becomes of them too. *thumbsups

 

[FroggyFox]

NOT FAIR!! Has it even been 3 weeks? wow I wouldn't have guessed it was even that long. How cool Thanks for sharin

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Awesome!!!

 

[Orion]

And what could be better than finding one cyp holding? How about two!

I was right about the antics of the two in the corner. lol

Thanks guys. Im real excited to see how this will turn out.

 

[phOOey]

thats great, the eggs look pretty big, how many do you think shes got in there?

 

[Fish Friend]

cool, not to sound dumb here, but where are the eggs ? i have no idea on them american cichlids, are they those massive big round things that look like .....eggs ......on her throat near the mouth ?? lol

 

[Orion]

phooey, i have no idea how many she's got. They do look big. bigger than I thought they would be. It looks like she would have trouble getting those into her mouth. lol I read somewhere that their eggs are almost as large as Front eggs. I thought that was wild.

These are not american cichlids, they are from Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Yes, the eggs are the round things you see though her throat. Cyprichromis uses 'Mouth Brooding' to keep their eggs safe. She lays the eggs and then incubates them in her mouth until they hatch, then will keep the new fry in her mouth for up to two more weeks untill they are free swimming.

 

[Orion]

Update

The eggs are hatching!

I was watching the female yesterday and I saw at least one fry in her mouth. I couldn't tell if it was totally free from its egg, or still in the process, but it was a fry no doubt.

Seems a little early to me for the eggs to be hatching. Been just a little over a week. I'm not complaining though.

Still unsure if I'm going to strip or not. I'm still leaning twords no for now. We'll see.

 

[phOOey]

thats great news! what do mean by strip (hope you not actually going to strip )?

i think they keep the fry in there mouths for about 2-3 weeks after hatching, should be fun .

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Congrats! Sounds great!

Phooey by strip he means take the eggs/fry from the mother before she spits. Take her out and basically hold her mouth open in a bucket or another tank and forcefully, without injuries, make her spit her fry/eggs. It is a process which i have not mastered yet and am not comfortable doing yet.

 

[phOOey]

oooo sounds tricky, i wouldnt trust myself to beable to do that without hurting her, i'm quite clumsy .

 

[Orion]

If I get one of those nifty MFT thongs from C-man, could I strip then?

Yeah, it does sound like a tricky process. I've never done it before, so I'm quite fearfull that I would hurt the female. I just setup a 20 gallon today for some of my multies, and was hoping to use it as a grow out for the cyps as well. Of course I would love to keep the fry, but I don't quite know about the striping yet. I may transfer her to the 20 gallon when it looks to be about time, and let her spit there, and just move her back to the main tank afterwords. I know that would be much more easier on me and her both.

I've heard many people say that if the female is lifted out of the water, that she will spit as soon as shes out, and they use this to keep from having to strip. I like this method better than doing myself. It can't be hard, I just don't know if I trust myself to do it right. And when in doubt, i prefer just to not do it at all.

 

[fishfloater]

awesome Orion. I had no idea you could see the eggs from the outside.

 

[Fish Friend]

wow cool orion, cant wait to see the babys

 

[Orion]

Thanks guys. Cool little guys.

Another nice surprise for me when I got home, a third female is holding.

 

[f8fan]

What's in 'yer water?
Congrats!

 

[Orion]

My 'secret' is simple. Give them what they want, they give you what you want. Works like a charm!

 

[Orion]

In the mouth of the female with the largest brood, all you see is little eyes floating around. lol Very neat to watch.

I've decided not to strip, but to move the two females that are furthest along to another tank to release. It's a 20 High with a small colony of multies. I'm buffering the water up to that of the 75, and the temp is the same. I have the worst luck with catching fish, but my wife seems rather good at it. Seeing as how this is going to be a one shot deal for catching them, I may just let her have at it the first time to get them into the new tank. Or if they spit in the process, I'll just move the fry to the new tank if they are free swimming and put the females back into the main tank. Next week will be three weeks, so I'll be doing it farily soon. I'll break the camera back out and get some pics.

 

[fishfloater]

Yes, more pics please.

 

[Orion]

Crud. I forgot to get the camera this moring. Ahh, I'll get it tonight or tomarrow one.

I've had my first loss. One of the females have either spit or swallowed her eggs. I think it was the latest one to hold, but not 100% sure yet.

I'm thinking that I will build a large 'breeding net' to put the holding cyps in with some cover on the bottom for the fry. I would hate to have fry in there and the mutlies pick them off. I have heard of this exact thing happening before. I'll either do the net thing, or use a tank divider (if I can find mine.)