Topic: Yellow holding! Yay! Help!

[dustbowl_debutante]

So this morning, I went to feed my 55 gallon tank inhabitants and noticed that I have a yellow lab who is holding.  At least I'm assuming that she's holding.  Her throat/chin is all puffed out, and when everyone else came darting out for food, she swam around with them a bit, but did not actually eat. 

Assuming, I am correct and that she IS holding, I need some advice!  I have no maternity/holding tank.  After work today, I shall go straight to the store and purchase one.  How big does this tank need to be?  Would I do better to buy 2 ten gallons or 1 twenty gallon??  Will I need one tank for her to spit the babies into and then a separate one to put her back into so she can catch up on food before going back to the main tank?  I really have no idea what I'm doing here, and I'm kinda freaking out, folks.  I know I should go with a sponge filter once the fry are out and about....can I use a HOB in the meantime?  Also, If I set up this new tank(s) tonight and use filter media, water and substrate from my other tanks, will the tank be suitable for her by tomorrow?

Please, someone needs to tell me ex-act-ly what to do.

Thanks in advance!

[callen]

I'm sorry no help here but wanted to say Congrats!  I have seen other fish holding and it is very cool 

I know others will chime in soon.

[Gerry]

No experience with fish holding, but if another tank is set up using media from your existing tank you should be fine to add fish.

we have a couple of African gurus on who will help you 

[Stormbringer]

sorry no experiance of Africans but congrats on the holding tho 

[tracey]

The biggest problem with moving her is that since she has only just started holding, you run a high risk of panicking her and making her swallow the eggs.  Its normal for Electric Yellows to hold around 18 to 21 days, and you have a much better chance of her holding to full term and spitting the fry rather than swallowing them if you leave her be for now. 

I would suggest if you're keen on having fry, set up a holding tank when she is around 15 or 16 days holding and move her then.  You would still run the risk of her swallowing, but it would be much less than moving her now.

I never bothered shift my Electric Yellows when the females were holding, but then I wasn't particularly interested in the fry.  I didn't have the room for them and they're pretty common here so no monetary value in keeping them.  That being said, with no interference from me at all, I would almost always get one or two fry from each female each time.

[tommyc]

OK first off congrats
When I have yellows holding I leave them in the main tank for approx 16 to 20 days or until I think the eggs have hatched I don't move them before this for fear of them spitting or swallowing the eggs after this time frame I carefully move the female to a fry tank  she will spit the fry herself without much coaxing I have never had to strip any of my Lab's and I have raised many fry she may even spit in the bag you put her in when you move her I have had this happen many times, the reason you bag her is to correctly acclimatize her to the holding tank temp etc. Continue to use your hang on filter but cover the tube end with pantyhose just in case she spits the fry before you can move her. Now remember she has not eaten in all this time so she will appearer to be thin and will look a little worse for ware, don't worry she will re-coup in no time move her back to the main tank after she has spit her fry.
My yellow fry tank is a 20 gal but a 10 would work, I use a small hang on filter on my fry tank of course I use the pantyhose method on the input tube. Feed the tank at least 3 or 4 times a day with small amounts once you see that the egg sack has been eaten. I use cyclop-eeze - baby brine shrimp and when they are all free swimming I introduce them to N.L.S. growth Formula.
Just as a note don't be too upset if the Lab swallows the eggs this will happen particularly if she has never held before, she will eventually get the hang of it. As you know there are many different methods people use when fish are holding I just try to keep it simple and give you what works for me.
Now if you are only interested in raising a few fry leave her in the main tank and depending on how many fry she has a few will survive in the main tank.
Check out my picture in the photo section that male is an f1 male and has produced some awesome fry.
Good luck
Tom

EDIT... Sorry tracey I was writing this post response whiles you were posting

[dustbowl_debutante]

Thank you all for the timely replies! 

I went home during my lunch hour, just to make sure I wasn't imagining things this morning or that she wasn't just chewing on a particularly large food pellet, lol.  But she's still all puffed out and kind of looks likes she's continuously gargling - I assume this is her tumbling the eggs in her mouth?

I guess I will leave her where she's at for the time being.  She's in a 55 gallon with 5 other yellows and three cobalt blues and two syno petricola.  I noticed she's really having to guard her little hidey spot, although she doesn't seem to mind sharing it with one of the blues     Hopefully she won't get agitated and swallow the eggs!

This is so strange!  I didn't do anything out of the norm when I cleaned the tank yesterday, but all of a sudden everybody is feelin' frisky.  I noticed at lunch that two of the blues' mouths are all busted up and I kept catching glimpses of them chasing and swimming in circles around one another, too. 

I'm starting to wonder just how many fry tanks I'm going to need!!!   

Thank you all again!  I'm so excited - you'd think it was me who's holding from the big smile on my face!!   

[Stormbringer]

isnt nature awesome 

[Gerry]

good luck

[altaaffe]

Congrats, Tracey & Tommy have covered you there, one thing for me to add rather than bag up for acclimitisation I;

empty the fry tank of water
start a water change on the tank I'm going to remove the adult from
the water taken out I put into the fry tank
then remove the adult (or fry) and put into the fry tank
then complete the water change on the main tank

The first time I did this with an Acei Ngara she spat most of the fry into the net and then the rest when placed in the fry tank so I took her straight back out and into the main tank.

[dustbowl_debutante]

Well, Mama Yellow is in her own little 15 gallon tank.  She has let one baby out of her mouth - and he/she is doing just fine!      - but she's still holding some more fry in her mouth (I can see them peeking out).  The one baby has been loose for about 48 hours now.  When will she spit the rest of the little guys out?  Today makes 23 days that she has been holding...

Thanks guys!

[mrbigfish]

Great news and a fry already. I love this fish thing

[Ezekial]

Great news.  Congrats 

[Gerry]

Great to hear all is going well

[tracey]

She should spit the rest soon.  Being a first time mom coudl be why she's holding on to them a ltitle longer, unsure and all that.  Don't forget we need pics of mom and the little ones once she's spat them all