Jimbo OZ Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Hi Guys, I have had a small colony of msobos for 18 months or so. The females have had mouthfulls but I have never really had the time, interest, or space to worry about any fry that may have been produced. Well, I now have a bit more space and the motivation to try and have success in the breeding of this wonderful species. Therefore, I need your help with some tips. Basically, I have a colony of 2M 4F in a 4ft tank with a few other mbuna (maingano, e yellow) and a some smallish e blues. The fish are all around 9-10cm. The largest female is currently holding. Therefore, initial questions include: 1. Do I keep the holding female in the same tank? I have noticed other females and sub-dominant male hassling her a bit since the mouthful appeared. 2. Do I need to strip the female or can I let her spit when time comes? If you have any other tips then I'd be very thankful for them. Cheers, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tootie Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Hi Guys, I have had a small colony of msobos for 18 months or so. The females have had mouthfulls but I have never really had the time, interest, or space to worry about any fry that may have been produced. Well, I now have a bit more space and the motivation to try and have success in the breeding of this wonderful species. Therefore, I need your help with some tips. Basically, I have a colony of 2M 4F in a 4ft tank with a few other mbuna (maingano, e yellow) and a some smallish e blues. The fish are all around 9-10cm. The largest female is currently holding. Therefore, initial questions include: 1. Do I keep the holding female in the same tank? I have noticed other females and sub-dominant male hassling her a bit since the mouthful appeared. 2. Do I need to strip the female or can I let her spit when time comes? If you have any other tips then I'd be very thankful for them. Cheers, Andrew If it is possible to move her to a 'holding' tank on her own and allow her to spit them when she is ready is the ideal way (that's just my opinion). It is awesome watching the female taking the fry back into her mouth when she feels threatened. It also gives you time to feed her up and condition her a bit before she is palced back into the community tank. When stripping I usually wait about 21-28 days (from when I first notice them) to strip when I know that the fry will be freeswimming, however this varies with different fish and I have learned which type holds longer etc through making a few mistakes. Sometimes I amy have waited to long and she had already spat them (and all the other fish had them for dinner) or sometimes strip too early when they were only eggs and I'd try to bubble them with no success. Everyone has different preferences about what to do re 'stripping'. Good luck with it. Cheers, tootie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucem Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Hi Andrew, It's my experience that msobo fry take a while to develop. I usually allow the females to stay in the tank for as long as possible. If I'm unsure exactly how long she has been holding, I sometimes put them into a fry saver for a week or so. Then I always strip the mothers around the 3 week mark. Most of the fry will be eaten by the others in the tank if the females are allowed to spit into the tank. I've found that the adult msobo are pretty good to one another and that they don't get too hassled. I did try and add a mature male once to the colony and that was a big mistake. I haven't had any trouble adding juveniles. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foti Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 hi andrew sorry i have no idea's on what you can do but i am intrested in the out come of your decision also if you could post some pics that would be great, thanks foti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo OZ Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 I usually allow the females to stay in the tank for as long as possible. Thanks Bruce for the reply. From this part of your post can I assume you don't suggest putting the female into a holding tank? I have a spare two-footer that I can put her in by herself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I always used to put the holding females into a large fry saver floating in the main tank as soon as I could catch them, I think that makes adding them back into the colony easier than if they were in a separate holding tank. I stripped around 3 weeks if I wanted to get the maximum number of fry when the females were young but as they got older I left them alone to hold to term, just don't leave them in there for too long after they spit I once lost 14 fry overnight to one mother . You could do with a couple more females (good luck finding some for sale) I found 3 to 4 females per male was best and having at least two males in the colony was essential, with no competition just one male got a bit lazy and didn't "look after" the girls properly. Be patient with them, they take a few tries at holding before they get it right and don't expect more than 6 or 10 fry for the first few mouthfuls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucem Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Andrew, I have the fry saver in the same tank as the colony, as does Skippy. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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