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Is my Red Zebra holding eggs?

3K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  krish 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys first off im sorry for the bad picture quality. But maybe someone could help me out with this. I finally got the mbunas into their temp. home until i finish (attempting) the DIY rock caves and such for the 125g that i got. So heres the pictures what do you guys think? Is she holding eggs or got into a fight with another fish?
 

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#2 ·
hi brandon :-D

being fairly new to cichlids myself, i can't assure you im giving you a good answer, but i think she may be holding eggs but in the early stages. at least with my acei, however, the eggs were like little black dots. i dont know what color zebra eggs are but i assume that if she was holding you would be able to see them (unless the eggs are the same color as her)
 
#3 ·
Easiest way to tell, if she is eating she is not holding, if she is not eating then the chances are high she is holding. They will NOT eat at all for the whole time they are holding 20-25 days.

I cannot remember what you have in the tank with her, but if its yellow labs, then do not sell, trade or giveaway any of the fry, they might be hybrids as zebra will easily crossbreed with a yellow lab.

Looking at the picture though, I would say she is holding.
 
#4 ·
Hey Taz, no she hasnt been eating for a few days now. No i wouldnt chance selling, I have aceis red zebras and yellow labs with her. But im highly doubtful if the fry will make it. From what ive read it takes them a couple of trys to get it right?
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#6 ·
But im highly doubtful if the fry will make it. From what ive read it takes them a couple of trys to get it right?
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While this is true to an extent it is not always the case.
If the female remains as stress free as possible, she will hold full term. It is usually stress from other fish that causes them to eat or spit the fry early. If just one egg turns out to be bad, she will ditch the whole brood either eating it or spitting the eggs.

The fact she has bred, is a good sign your water parameters and tank are to their liking. If she doesnt go full term this time, then she will breed again, likely with more chances of survival.
 
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#7 · (Edited)
Hey Tazman, thanks for the quick reply. So should i put her in a 55gal by herself for now so shes not stressed or just see what happens? I think she had the eggs while i was moving everything to the 125gal when they were in the 55gal still with almost no rocks her and another zebra were chasing each other in a tight cirlcle.
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#8 ·
If the 55g is cycled and has nothing else in it then no harm in doing that.

Try and move her as quickly as possible to reduce the stress and leave the lights off the rest of the day once you do move her.
 
#9 ·
Ok, Well Im going to leave her in the 125g for now the 55g is their old tank but the filter hasnt been running in a week or so. So itll probably cycle again once i have it back running. Well ill just hope for the best and if not theres always next time :). Thanks Tazman for the help and info.
 
#11 ·
something i'd like to add: when my acei was holding, i was late home from school, and when i cam, the other fish were like chasing and bullying the female who was lying on the bottom of the tank about to give birth. it was pretty brutal. we lost a lot of fry because of that, and subsequently (after birth) we moved her back to the big tank, and because she was still so weak, she died due to stress (or so i think). it was a bad move. when my acei first gave birth, i was still a complete newbie at mbuna breeding. in fact, i put all 30 fry into an uncycled 10 gallon tank. 28 of them survived. i think you will be fine if you put the fry into the 55 gallon tank. i dont know about the female though.

just my two cents. you'd probably better off if you listened to Tazman though, he is more experienced.
 
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