Is she holding?!

[catstoy66]

Hi everyone.  This would be my first female holding so I'm looking for confirmation from you more experienced friends! Here are the best 3 pics I could snap of her.... (I hope it's not just wishful thinking )

Thanks for your help!

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[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

Yep! Looks like a holder if you didn't feed them prior to the pics..

CONGRATS!!!!

[catstoy66]

YAY!! Thanks Andrew! I'm so excited... I hope they're fertilized. She's become VERY territorial over her rock she likes too. I hadn't fed them yet when I took the shots. I had just come in from work & was about to then I saw her & grabbed up my cell real quick. She's been "mouthing" around too, like my Mbuna did.  I hope they make it, that would be sooo cool!

[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

how long have you noticed her like this? Just the one day?

Okay, so this is the process of how she will look so don't get worried.

1. Initially after spawning= Mouth extremely full looking and often times if right after spawning you'll still partially see her vent dropped. If a couple of days after, just the extremely full mouth.
2. After first week= Female relaxes and gets more comfortable with holding the eggs and her mouth looks less full. Don't Worry!
3. After two weeks= Females mouth will start to look more full again and you will see her juggling (looks like coughing with mouth closed) the eggs and will even engage in the feeding time ritual and try to peck at food.
4. After three weeks= Her mouth will start look very full and she will start looking a bit thin in the belly area.
around the four week mark= Female will often look like she is struggling to keep her mouth closed and her throat will look darker underneath as fry have taken on pigment and are typically almost black. She will most likely be hanging around rocks that are more discrete with small openings and hiding spots for fry and she will not try to engage in the feeding ritual and be more solitary. The female will also tend to chase off other fish (male and female) to create a sense of territorial grounds of her own. This will eventually allow her to feel comfortable letting the fry out.

If you want more fry, strip her close to the 2 week mark. You will get wigglers that look like mini fry still attach to the egg that is underneath them. Or hold until at least 3 weeks and the fry will be free swimming although havea slight bulge to the belly and potentially even be able to see a bit of the egg membrane left.

Hope this helps avoiding any worry. And if they don't get it right this time, just keep doing what you are doing now and they will get it down in due time.

Andrew

[...]

Great Cat. Species red tend to start early. I had a group of Chipimbi that started spawning at about 8 months of age. They never held long enough to strip fry as I believe the males mature later than the girls. Sadly we hit hard times and I had to sell that group b4 they ever produced fry for me. Keep us posted in your groups progress mate. All the best.
Danny

[catstoy66]

Thanks Danny! yeah, they're only at about 7 months right now and I was so delighted! I've been waiting and seeing a lot of spawning action but really hadn't expected any holding females until around 12 months. Chipimbis are gorgeous, it was between them and my Ndoles at the end when it came down to choosing mine. I'm sorry you didn't get to keep yours!


Andrew, this is such great info!! And right on time too, LOL! I only noticed she looked to be holding 3 days ago and she seemed so much fuller in the mouth at the time I took those photos than she does now. I've been a "fish lurker" for hours today watching her to see if she was still holding because her mouth looked smaller and I thought maybe they'd dissolved or been swallowed!! Your post is fantastic and hopefully I'm at step #2 with her, including the "Don't worry" lol


BUT... I think I have another female at step #1 with her vent still dropped! Small little white-ish looking nodule poking out the bottom, pointed slightly towards the tail? 

[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

Hey my pleasure! Glad it's helpful. I've watched to many spawns not to share what I've learned. lol I really like Species Red! I had a group of Chimbas a while back and they looked amazing! Super Red in the body and fins. Hope to have another group sooner or later.