Lake Malawi Species • Holding Yellow will not spit

[Cichlidsteveuk]

Hello guys. I have just joined and this is my first post. Im worried about my yellow lab that will not spit her fry. I first time i noticed her holding was on the 19th November and as of today on Jan 4 she still has not spit the fry. I can not leave my property as i have been told due to covid restrictions i muat stay at home. Im not confident in stripping her and just wondered if i can get get an advice.
Im new to the hobby and have a 130 gal tank with 36 South African Mubumas. Im quite proud of the fact my water parameters allways spot on and i complete two 30% water changes each week. The worry i have is she is eating very rarely,as expected and the last cople of days she is looking slightly thin. The fry are growing as i can see them she juay will not spit them

[marten]

I've had my Yellow labs hold for about a month. If they hold for that long, it usually takes a few weeks for them to fatten up after. Lately i will strip a female if she's getting injured or is looking stressed while holding. Getting a little bit skinny isn't a huge worry in itself, but it's been quite a long time if it's since Nov 19. If she's eating a few pellets when you feed, then you probably don't need to worry about it.

I find the easiest way to strip the fry is using a paperclip bent in a loop. I always tape the pointy ends of the paperclip to protect the fish in case it struggles a lot. You can probably find a decent video on youtube to show you how.

[shiftyfox]

My holding labs generally spit out in 26 to 30 days
Are you sure she didn’t spit then start holding again shortly after..?

[DJRansome]

There is a video on stripping fry in the Cichlid-forum Library.

[sir_keith]

Leave her alone; she will release when she is ready.

[Cichlidsteveuk]

Thank you for all your help everone. Helped a lot. Thanks again