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Posted by Steve Wolstenholme on October 15, 2007, 8:48 am
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>Steve Wolstenholme wrote:
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Steve Wolstenholme wrote:
>>>
>>>> After spawning they can be a problem. I find them impossible to
>catch
>>>> so I make no attempt to isolate brooding females. If you can catch
>>>> your female wait for 20 days. The fry are fully developed after 20
>>>> days but the female may hang on them for much longer. Some females
>>>> brood too long. I have had a female hang on to the fry until they
>>>> died.
>>>
>>> That happens, especially if its their first or second time and the
>>> female is large and there are no hiding places in the tank.
>>>
>>
>> Just one female does it. She has spawned many times. There are plenty
>> of places to hide but she doesn't even try. It is a real pain because
>> she has big broods.
>
>Maybe she's just an overcaring parent. It happens to humans, too,
>and with somehow similar results - kids have no life :-)
>
>So you HAVE to catch her if you want the fry to live. Try to build
>a trap, I'm using one to catch my cichlids. I have to, because
>of the tank setup - lots of large rocks, which makes the fish
>impossible to catch by net. With a trap it's doable, it just
>takes some time.
>
>Here's the design, I'm using it just slightly modified, also
>to catch the larger fry as to not overcrowd the tank:
>
>http://www.klub-malawi.pl/artykuly_klubowiczow/zrob_to_sam/pulapka.html
>
When I was a serious cichlid breeder with lots of tanks I used a
similar method to catch brooding females. The main difference was I
used very large plastic bottles attached to pull cords.
Those days are long gone and I only keep few Tanganika cichlids now. I
haven't kept Malawi cichlids for years. My Tanganika's are mostly
substrate spawners. Cyprichromis are the only mouthbrooders I am
keeping now.
Steve
--
http://www.easynn.com
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