[saeeeed]

Hi there
I’ve male and a female yellow electric and they have spawned 7 days ago! And I saw some eggs on female’s mouth (Pregnant I think  ) I have put her in a separate tank with all needed facilities alone but after 7 days she doesn’t eat any foods!! and hides in rocks!! Last night I saw babies in her mouth (there were some eyes in her mouth an moving)
What should I do for her? She doesn’t eat anything!! I afraid she dies from hunger!!!
How many days she will keep her babies in her mouth? What they will eat in these days??!!

Would you please help me?

 

[dave in Iliamna]

try putting in some freshly hatched brine shrimp, or other food small enough for the little ones to eat. I am no expert but I thought that most african cichlids put their babies in their mouth to protect them from threats, so maybe the mother is viewing you as a threat.
I would try to put some food in and leave them alone for a bit. I don't know what else to try.

 

[Fishboydanny1]

no she will not eat until she releases her babies the first time! everything you are seeing is natural, and most Malawi lake cichlids incubate their eggs in their buccal cavity (a pouch in their throats). don't worry, she wont starve (if she was healthy to begin with. if she wasn't healthy, they wouldn't have bred), even though the average total incubation time is around 21 days!!! you should be very proud to have african cichlids (labidochromis would be the ones you have) be healthy enough to breed. i've bred multiple batches of babies; mostly accidental hybrids...

Congrats! just wait till you see her babies swimming around before feeding her or her babies. she will need to be removed (most likely, just to be safe), and fed well before re-introducing her to the others. the babies are usually big enough to start taking crushed flakes or baby brine shrimp. if you have any more questions, we'll be glad to help!

 

[riftlakes]

Fishboydanny is right on the mark.. about 21 days for most mouthbrooding malawi cichlids... Time will vary slightly with temperature of course.. the female will not feed or at least not enough for you to notice she is feeding during this time... Thats just the way they work.. but when the fry ar e r elaeased both they and she will be HUNGRY...

you a r e seeing eyes and movement but they still ahve a LARGE yolk sac attached and will not feed until that ids pretty well gone not will they be truly free swimming until then

ken