300Magnum Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Hi all....I know there is probably not a straight forward answer to this however I am a little worried about my female blue lips. I stripped her on Thursday night after 21 days of holding and got around 30 fry. She didnt let them go easily so its possible that she was a little stressed. Anyway, its been over 24hrs now and I havent seen her eat. I took her out this morning and checked inside her mouth again, just to make sure there was no fry remaing, but couldnt see any. My females normally eat within 24hrs, so I was just looking for your experience on when I should start getting worried? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Fish can go a week with out eating. Give her a few days to settle down, I think she will be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ageofaquariums Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 A less stressful strip technique will minimalize this risk nicely. I reccomend using 2 people, one to hold open the mouth, another to flush out the fry into a bucket using a large syringe filled with aquarium water. I find having a light shining over my shoulder makes it easy to check that I have extracted all fry before returning the female to aquarium. This technique minimalises any damage done to the fishes jaws during milking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intangcity Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Try a small water change Sent from my ZTE BLADE V0720 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300Magnum Posted February 13, 2017 Author Share Posted February 13, 2017 Yep...tried water changes etc but still doesnt seem to be eating. It has now been over 4 weeks so she wont last much longer you would think unless i can get her to eat. I have separated her last night and will do another check tonight to make sure no fry remaining (but that is a last ditch effort as I have already checked lsst week). Not really sure what else I can do....will be a shame to lose her as she produced a big batch of fry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradc Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Tryed different foods to try and entice her? I had a fuelleborni female do this once i waited like a week or so and separated her and gave her half a block of bloodworms (i know that they are a terrible form of food especially for mbuna) but the next day she ate a few pellets must have been enough to just get her appetite back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300Magnum Posted February 14, 2017 Author Share Posted February 14, 2017 I have tried bloodworms and a few different types of food. Still no luck....the funny thing is that she appears to be trying to clear her throat/mouth as if something was stuck there, particularly when I throw food. Even her buccal cavity seems to be a little swollen. I have had a good look, but there is ;definately no fry or other foreign objects. The back of her throat appears swollen, but not 100% sure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ageofaquariums Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 In Konnings awesome "enjoying cichlids" theres actually a section on force feeding fish in situations just like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducksta Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 It's been quite a while now based on the post dates. But remember these amazing little buggers have actually evolved to hold without food for upwards of a month. We strip them to improve our yield and to condition them up to breed again sooner - not for the fishes benefit at all. If she is not eating because of stress, you're not doing her any favours fishing her out for another look. (Or by fishing her out again to stick food down her gullet.) Not saying not to do it, but just be a bit wary. I would say only attempt force feeding if you think she will die without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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