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Stripping???

Jefft

Jefft

Members
Ok I have read how some folks "strip" holding females. I need to know as I have another Yellow Lab female holding and a Red Fin Borleyi female holding. Can you strip mouth breeders to get the fry?? When is it good to do so? How do I do it? Someone fill me in and give up the knowledge. I recently had a Cynotilapia Afra Cobwe female hold so long she wasted away to nothing eventually dying I am assuming of starvation as everyone else in the tank is happy and healthy. Long story short i would love to get these fry especially the Red Fin., Just need some input.
 
W

WendyFish

Members
Some other tips from our experiences -- hold the female gently but firmly and make sure you aren't holding over her gills. Expect that the first few times you hold any fish, she may get away from you. In particular, we have some bigger mbuna that are very smart at figuring just how to flick their bodies to make it hard to keep a grip on them. Eventually, she will get tired of fighting you and it will be easier to keep hold of her -- but it may take a few "grabs" before that happens. That's normal.

We strip in a shallow rubbermaid container filled with tank water -- about 12" x 6" x 6" or something like that. This is nice because when mom does squirm away from you, it's easy to scoop her back up. You'll want to get her back in your hands quickly, though, because if the container has fry that she's already released, she may try to scoop them back up in her mouth and now you have to get them out again!

If you have big fingers/fingernails, some people use a toothpick to get the fish's mouth open. I have little fingers, so I haven't done this.

We use a variation of the syringe approach with a turkey baster but our implementation basically requires two people. With the female's mouth held open, we use the turkey baster to generate a gentle current that pulls the fry into the baster.

You may also want to have a flashlight nearby so you can take a look into mom's mouth and see if she has any more fry, when you think she might be done.
 
Leffler817

Leffler817

CCA Members
Captain obvious says; "Watch out for her eyes". :D I've heard too much contact with the eyes can cause problems. I did it for the first time Friday night. It'll take more practice on my part, but I have four more females holding! More practice in two weeks. GL
 
Jefft

Jefft

Members
Sadly, today prior to returning home to strip my Red Fin Borl. female she spit the fry so no pictures of the stripping or fry at this point though I am sure hoping a few of these bewts make it.
 
Frank Cowherd

Frank Cowherd

Global Moderators
Staff member
I tend not to strip. I put the female in her own tank and wait until the fry stay out. that works for me and would work for anyone, I am sure. But to continue on the stripping procedure, I believe we had a commercial cichlid breeder speak at CCA, he was from south of Miami, who said the easiest way was to pick up the female, hold her upside down in the water. Probably easier said than done, I have not tried it. But fish do not like to be held upside down, so it made or makes some sense the the fish would spit out the fry in her struggle to right herself.
 
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fishman13

fishman13

Members
Jefft said:
Ok I have read how some folks "strip" holding females. I need to know as I have another Yellow Lab female holding and a Red Fin Borleyi female holding. Can you strip mouth breeders to get the fry?? When is it good to do so? How do I do it? Someone fill me in and give up the knowledge. I recently had a Cynotilapia Afra Cobwe female hold so long she wasted away to nothing eventually dying I am assuming of starvation as everyone else in the tank is happy and healthy. Long story short i would love to get these fry especially the Red Fin., Just need some input.
Click to expand...

3 Weeks after they have spawned. I juat hold her gills shut and she spits them out. Every couple of seconds i let her breath.
 
Reel Addiction

Reel Addiction

Members
fishman13 said:
3 Weeks after they have spawned. I juat hold her gills shut and she spits them out. Every couple of seconds i let her breath.
Click to expand...

Was this done by accident again like when you posted in March? By the way I thought you said you would never do it that way again after everyone told you that is not a good way.

If you do handle the fish make sure you wet your hand before taking the fish from the net.
 
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