Is this fish holding?

348 Views 14 Replies 6 Participants Last post by zoie, Apr 20, 2011

zoie

Discussion Starter · Apr 19, 2011

I am new and only had my fish for 2+ weeks, so I'm not sure if she is holding. I noticed this fish on Friday. Under the jaw seemed to be getting bigger and it is even bigger today. None of the other fish look like this.

here is a pic:

A close up:

So I thought she might be holding :-?

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beccam

· #2 · Apr 19, 2011

Congrats!!!! you are going to have babies!!!!

:thumb:

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zoie

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 19, 2011

cool, kinda. I wasn't expecting this for a while. I have nothing set up. I don't even own another tank, or heater. The idea of the other fish eating them seems awful.

But if she's holding, that means that others could be holding soon, right?

It looks like I have a lot of research to do!!

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newforestrob

· #4 · Apr 19, 2011

you might consider getting a group of synodontis multipunctus catfish theyll help with fry control

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zoie

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 19, 2011

newforestrob said:
you might consider getting a group of synodontis multipunctus catfish theyll help with fry control

that sounds so awful. I don't want the babies to get eaten.

I know it happens in the wild and it's part of nature, but...awww. :?

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newforestrob

· #6 · Apr 19, 2011

time to invest in a couple more tanks then :lol:

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zoie

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 19, 2011

newforestrob said:
time to invest in a couple more tanks then :lol:

Can fry at different ages, all the same breed, be kept in the same tank? I think this is what will be my determing factor.

I could only set up one tank. (I already have a variety of tanks around the house). If I put in a batch of fry and then another fish was holding, could I put her fry in with the first batch? And just keep adding them and removing them when they were old enough?

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newforestrob

· #8 · Apr 19, 2011

it would depend on the size of tank,age difference in fry
you could get a breeder net for new fry ,let them grow in there for awhile and then introduce them to the older fry,
but at some point you'll be over run with fish,unless you dont saturate your area

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pack-rat

· #9 · Apr 19, 2011

zoie said:
that sounds so awful. I don't want the babies to get eaten. I know it happens in the wild and it's part of nature, but...awww. :?

Like any other breeding program, you will have to be selective. If your tank is healthy you will have holding females fairly often, and raising all the potential fry can become a big enterprise. My tank is less than a year old and I have already concluded that I can't begin to handle all the fry that it can produce. So, I am watching for the best matches (nice male and female of a species that I like or feel would be easy to sell/trade) and then raising the fry if they look promising. This is my 'new' strategy after raising fry from a yellow lab that must have had mixed blood (apparently a common problem), as the fry turned out to be poorly marked.

Unless you want a cichlid tank in every room, it is best to add some catfish to your current setup. That way any 'extra' fry will probably just disappear before you can get attached to them. :roll:

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zoie

Discussion Starter · #10 · Apr 19, 2011

awww I kinda had a feeling that was going to be the answer. So I'll just have my husband knock down all our walls and turn them into fish tanks!! :lol: Each wall will be a different tank for each batch of fry. :thumb:

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pack-rat

· #11 · Apr 19, 2011

:fish:
:fish:
:fish:
Now you're talking! Most people live in a house that might have a fish tank in it. Us cichlid folks live in fish tanks that have pockets of air scattered about for the air-breathers.

:fish:
:fish:
:fish:

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stefan88

· #12 · Apr 19, 2011

There is always the cheap route.. Go empty a plastic storage bin.. Throw a filter and a heater on it and there ya have it.. Great grow out tank

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stefan88

· #13 · Apr 19, 2011

pack-rat said:
:fish:
:fish:
:fish:
Now you're talking! Most people live in a house that might have a fish tank in it. Us cichlid folks live in fish tanks that have pockets of air scattered about for the air-breathers.
:fish:
:fish:
:fish:

GREAT!!! =D> :lol:

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brinkles

· #14 · Apr 20, 2011

I have a 10g for holding moms/newborns/quarantine, and I'd strongly suggest one or two with cheap foam filters and not much else in them. Craigslist is full of ugly tanks just waiting for your fry!

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zoie

Discussion Starter · #15 · Apr 20, 2011

brinkles said:
I have a 10g for holding moms/newborns/quarantine, and I'd strongly suggest one or two with cheap foam filters and not much else in them. Craigslist is full of ugly tanks just waiting for your fry![/quote

Thanks, you gave me a great idea! I was going to get a quarintine tank this weekend and I could use that for the fry. I was thinking all or nothing, but I don't have to save EVERY batch, I could just save one every now and then.

I already showed my daycare kids the holding fish. I have one 5 yr, three 6 yrs and 3 babies. They were all excited, then I was kicking myself because they were expecting babies. I explained how other fish eat the babies (like in finding Nemo), but that maybe one would survive (like in finding Nemo). They were good with that.

But now maybe we can have babies!!!!!! :dancing:

I had done some reading on breeding because I figured they would eventually breed, but now i have to go do some mega reading!!!!

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