Stripping???

[Jefft]

Ok I have read how some folks "strip" holding females. I need to know as I have another Yellow Lab female holding and a Red Fin Borleyi female holding. Can you strip mouth breeders to get the fry?? When is it good to do so? How do I do it? Someone fill me in and give up the knowledge. I recently had a Cynotilapia Afra Cobwe female hold so long she wasted away to nothing eventually dying I am assuming of starvation as everyone else in the tank is happy and healthy. Long story short i would love to get these fry especially the Red Fin., Just need some input.

 

[todda]

monoject curved syringe > http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0PDoKl1RzlQoVUAvOyJzbkF?p=monoject%20curved%20syringe&fr=yfp-t-701-1&ei=utf-8&n=30&x=wrt&fr2=sg-gac&sado=1

fill with water, stick in fishes mouth(use curved tip to hold mouth open, plunge to flush babies out - do this between 18-21 days with most fish. You can get them at most pharmacys

 

[Jefft]

Holding fish?? I mean in your hand in order to do this or held wrapped in what?

 

[todda]

yeah, I just cup the fish gently in my hand. And, try to get the mono jet inbetween their lips. then plunge it into their mouth & it will force all the fry out. Hope this video helps. If not look for another one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpeMPk2e7U8

 

[Jefft]

ok thats an awesome video .. thank you .. that helps a lot.

 

[WendyFish]

Some other tips from our experiences -- hold the female gently but firmly and make sure you aren't holding over her gills. Expect that the first few times you hold any fish, she may get away from you. In particular, we have some bigger mbuna that are very smart at figuring just how to flick their bodies to make it hard to keep a grip on them. Eventually, she will get tired of fighting you and it will be easier to keep hold of her -- but it may take a few "grabs" before that happens. That's normal.

We strip in a shallow rubbermaid container filled with tank water -- about 12" x 6" x 6" or something like that. This is nice because when mom does squirm away from you, it's easy to scoop her back up. You'll want to get her back in your hands quickly, though, because if the container has fry that she's already released, she may try to scoop them back up in her mouth and now you have to get them out again!

If you have big fingers/fingernails, some people use a toothpick to get the fish's mouth open. I have little fingers, so I haven't done this.

We use a variation of the syringe approach with a turkey baster but our implementation basically requires two people. With the female's mouth held open, we use the turkey baster to generate a gentle current that pulls the fry into the baster.

You may also want to have a flashlight nearby so you can take a look into mom's mouth and see if she has any more fry, when you think she might be done.

 

[Leffler817]

Captain obvious says; "Watch out for her eyes". I've heard too much contact with the eyes can cause problems. I did it for the first time Friday night. It'll take more practice on my part, but I have four more females holding! More practice in two weeks. GL

 

[Jefft]

Sadly, today prior to returning home to strip my Red Fin Borl. female she spit the fry so no pictures of the stripping or fry at this point though I am sure hoping a few of these bewts make it.

 

[Frank Cowherd]

I tend not to strip. I put the female in her own tank and wait until the fry stay out. that works for me and would work for anyone, I am sure. But to continue on the stripping procedure, I believe we had a commercial cichlid breeder speak at CCA, he was from south of Miami, who said the easiest way was to pick up the female, hold her upside down in the water. Probably easier said than done, I have not tried it. But fish do not like to be held upside down, so it made or makes some sense the the fish would spit out the fry in her struggle to right herself.

 

[fishman13]

Ok I have read how some folks "strip" holding females. I need to know as I have another Yellow Lab female holding and a Red Fin Borleyi female holding. Can you strip mouth breeders to get the fry?? When is it good to do so? How do I do it? Someone fill me in and give up the knowledge. I recently had a Cynotilapia Afra Cobwe female hold so long she wasted away to nothing eventually dying I am assuming of starvation as everyone else in the tank is happy and healthy. Long story short i would love to get these fry especially the Red Fin., Just need some input.

3 Weeks after they have spawned. I juat hold her gills shut and she spits them out. Every couple of seconds i let her breath.

 

[Tony]

3 Weeks after they have spawned. I juat hold her gills shut and she spits them out. Every couple of seconds i let her breath.

This is the way not to do it.

 

[fishman13]

This is the way not to do it.

it works for me. But just curious tony whats the real way?:angel2:

 

[Reel Addiction]

3 Weeks after they have spawned. I juat hold her gills shut and she spits them out. Every couple of seconds i let her breath.

Was this done by accident again like when you posted in March? By the way I thought you said you would never do it that way again after everyone told you that is not a good way.

If you do handle the fish make sure you wet your hand before taking the fish from the net.