Stripping Aulonocara

[Pam Chin]

Dear Pam,

HELP!! We've got a female Aulonocara (Peacock Cichlid ) with a mouth full of something! Eggs or babies. We have been waiting for a long time for offspring from these guys. We've seen females with bulging buccal cavities a few times, but haven't done anything with them, and have never seen any babies. What to do??? We've never "stripped" a fish before because we don't know how far along they are in the incubation process (and the idea kind of intimidates us, if the truth be known). Should we catch her and put her in a tank by herself? Or put a divider in the tank and separate her? Currently she's in a 30 gallon tank with 3 other females and a male. Looking forward to your advice ASAP!

Thanks, Anne

[Pam Chin]

Dear Anne,

Congratulations!! It sounds like you definitely have a female holding. The questions everyone wants to know is what to do next.... You can strip her if you so desire but what if she is only holding eggs? Since this sounds like your first experience, and your fishes first. I think you should let the female hold at least until you are sure that the fry are developed enough to survive outside her mouth. If you can easily divide the tank, than that is what I would do first. You need to put the female at ease, and if she doesn't have to worry about being chased around, or finding a place to hide, then she will be more apt to hold. Sometimes when you try to remove a holding female she will spit them out, because she is scared. They see that big net coming and the next thing you know the eggs are everywhere.

First, you need to try to figure out how long she has been holding. If her mouth is really bulging, than you can figure she has been holding quite awhile and the fry are probably large enough for you to raise. Sometimes you can catch a glimpse of the fry in her mouth and decide from there. You want to make sure that the head and tail have "popped" out, once you are past that stage, you can take over the rearing process easily. I would remove her from the tank at that point and place her in her own quarters. She will release the fry on her own, after about 21 days or so, from the date of spawning. If you do let her hold, after she releases, let her recover for a few weeks before you place her back in your group. The lack of food and stress from holding really takes a lot out of the female, and they need to recuperate. I usually like to let the young females hold a few times before I start to strip them. However, that isn't always possible, sometimes they continue to swallow the eggs everytime, and the only way your are going to get any fry is to strip her.

Get a small container, big enough for the fish and your hand. Use the water from the original tank. Hold the female firmly in the palm of your hand, use your other hand to pry open the mouth gently. Some people like to use a Q-Tip, I like the cap to a Bic pin.... Gary insists on using a piece of straw from the broom!! But I think you can get the idea. Once you have the mouth open, shake the fish in the bucket and the fry will fall out. Sometimes it takes a bit more coaxing, and you need to actually shake the fish back and forth in the water. Don't hold her out of the water too long, take a short break and then try it again. When you think you have them all, look down inside her mouth to make sure. Now if you do this and all you get is eggs, then you need to try hatching them yourself.

Practice makes perfect, so don't feel bad if you don't get any fry the first couple of times. You can make your own egg tumbler or buy one. The secret is to gently rotate the eggs. You can do this by placing them in a small container, and then placing that container inside a tank. It is better to use something that has rounded bottom than a square bottom, so the eggs don't get stuck in a corner. This container doesn't have to be very big, a Betta bowl, or a plastic soda bottle will work. I use the top of UG lift tube that formerly had carbon in it. I pick up the eggs with a turkey baster and then squirt them in the tumbler. Stick the air hose in to the container of your choice and adjust it so the eggs are barely moving, yet not resting on the bottom. You don't want to have to much air or you are going to bang up and bruise the eggs and they will fungus and die.

Once the head and tail have popped out then the tumbling is not as critical. Don't feed them until the egg sac is nearly all absorbed. At that time you can start them on freshly hatched brine shrimp. It can be a tedious project, but the rewards are wonderful