Cyprichromis leptosoma holding, yipee!

[thedavidzoo]

One of my female Cyps Utinta is holding, for about 2 1/2 weeks now. She came either from Dave's group buy or from Tony and is only about 1 3/4 inches long. I see eye balls! It is her first time and she is doing great! Maybe another week and I'll use my separation method to get the fry.

This means that every fish species I have kept to date has spawned for me. (The only ones I can't 100% confirm this on are some old Petsmart cherry barbs I still have from the beginning of fish keeping). So, in my small, limited fish world (only 2 tanks) this is a cause for celebration.

I think my paracyp is also recently holding again. Now if I could only get some of the albinos to survive... For some reason they seem to not be as hardy???

 

[Tony]

Great news, Esther!

Best advice I can give is be careful when pulling them and even moreso if you intend on stripping them. I've killed a couple of female Cyps by pulling them out of the water and stripping them conventionally. They just sort of freak out and drop dead.

It doesn't happen as much with older, more mature fish, but worth caution.

The best approach may be to try to catch her in a net and transfer her to a breeder box without taking her out of the water.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[thedavidzoo]

I stripped a paracyp once and killed her. So...absolutely no stripping for me anymore. The holding female will just be contained separately in the main tank until she naturally spits.

 

[thedavidzoo]

My 1 1/2" cyprichromis spit all 10 of her fry over the course of 3 days.
I always wonder just how they all manage to fit in the buccal cavity and come out looking happy and healthy...
Wish me luck on fry rearing!