I am planning on starting a small group of 5 yellow lads hoping that I will end up with a decent M/F ratio in hopes of breeding them. I have heard that some cichlids may eat even while holding. My plan was to strip the females after about a week and place the eggs in tumblers since I didn't want my females going 3 weeks or more without eating. If it is actually true that they will eat while holding, I may rethink my plan and let them spit on their own. Does anybody have any experience with their females eating while holding?