Johanni Holding

[ladyoutlaw50]

I am pretty sure my female is holding -- well after taking pictures and showing them here -- that was conscensus!! Anyway, I have an extra 10 gallon cycled tank -- should I put her in there until the little ones arrive -- I don't want the others to eat them!!

[ladyoutlaw50]

any suggestions???

[Collin1104]

i forgot what this was called but i always let them hold for 20 days then i take them out myself. i actually just did that with my yellow lab on her second batch, the first batch had three a couple months ago but the second had 11! shes grown a lot. but i dont see the problem with giving her, her own tank! the only thing that i would worry about is stressing her too much while moving her, which might make her swallow or whatever. catch her at night when shes sleeping so you wont have to chase her all over the tank lol but good luck!

[ladyoutlaw50]

I think it is called stripping them -- I don't think I would dare to do that -- so think I will keep an eye on her -- it has been about 5 days now -- I think they hold for about 20 days don't they??

[ladyoutlaw50]

I also have a few krib fry in the tank that will be moving to a new home shortly -- would she be ok with them???

[Collin1104]

i think 28 days is the longest they will hold but they are supposed to hatch after the first week or so and then i guess it takes them another week to absorb their egg sac.. stripping really isnt as hard as it sounds, i watched videos and read a lot about it before i tried it and it worked out very well! the first batch i stripped all survived and are in the big tank with their parents! one of them is almost as big as his mom! keep in mind the mom is at most 2 inches long

[Collin1104]

i have no idea what the mom will do if you put her in there! she wont eat them while she is holding but she might afterwards, or she might think they are hers and not want anything to do with them! after i stripped the mother, i kept her in the same bowl and the fry were trying to swim back into her mouth and she would not open lol

[ladyoutlaw50]

the krib fry are about 2 weeks old right now and getting big fast -- I just want her babies to survive as I don't think they will in the tank they are in now -- I do have hiding places for them -- mmm will have to do more research and go from there!!
thanks for all your help

[kaybee]

Mbuna's can mouthbrood for as short as 14 days to as long as 7 weeks (I've had females hold for both of those durations though typically they'll release fry after 18-21 days of mouthbrooding (it all depends on variables).

I prefer not to strip the mothers and would usually move them over to the maternity tank as soon as possible (so they won't be exposed to the feeding of the tank), though I have also moved them over closer to the release date as well, usually by day 12. Since I've had them release as early as day 14 I try to get them out prior to that point.

The mother can stay with the fry for a brief period. Her maternal instincts will override any desire to eat them for a while (here's a metriaclima msobo guarding her fry; if I approached too closely she'd 'reclaim' them and mouthbrood them for the rest of the day before spitting them again):
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Maternal instincts will eventually wane and the mother will eventually try to eat them if kept with them long term (I usually move the moms back to the main tank either on the same day the fry are spat or within 3-4 days, depending on the gender ratio of that species in the tank; the more females of her kind in the main tank, the sooner she returns). More than a week with them will be risky, but it depends on the hiding spots in your tank.

I've also consolidated fry in a maternity/grow-out tank before with no issues (for example I'd have a yellow lab release her fry in the tank, remove her, add a demasoni, she'd release her fry, remove her, add a red zebra and she'd release her fry). Evidently the maturnity instincts of the subsequent mothers have prevents them from harming the pre-existing fry.

[ladyoutlaw50]

Ok -- I will move her over in a couple of days!! Thanks all for the help

[Dixie]

Good luck ladyoutlaw. Let us know how it goes. Do you have male johanni's too or who do you think the father is?

[ladyoutlaw50]

Good luck ladyoutlaw. Let us know how it goes. Do you have male johanni's too or who do you think the father is?

yes I do have a male -- so i am hoping that is the dad!! LOL

[Collin1104]

i wish my lfs had female johanni =( they are my favorite malawi lol congrats!