How many days before i strip the female of fry

[lidder_b]

how many days should i be waiting before a strip a female red empress of her fry?

[charles]

3 weeks.....

[FatKid]

3 weeks from the time you notice she's not eating?

[charles]

3 weeks from the time you notice she is holding.

[lidder_b]

ok caught the female and put her in a 5 gallon aquarum. Didn't strip her. In my mind that seems like something that would really stress her out but then again being in a 5 gallon aquarium would too.


hopefully she releases the fry over the weekend and i can put her back into her 100gallon on monday.

[user_error]

5 gallons is bigger than the breeder box i put mine into when i notice them holding...

stripping the mom of fry the first time can be tricky though until you get the hang of it. on the other hand i think you ultimately end up with more fry if you strip them at the right time, instead of waiting too long... i'm still experimenting to see when that is, i usually look for wigglers and then strip but Charles is a veteran i would not question his advice

[FatKid]

Now its time to go look for a how to strip your fish properly post...

[lidder_b]

The other part is that i have never stripped a fish of the fry before successfully. I tried that once and the mother would not open her mouth. I didn't want to kill her. Like you said with experience i will get this.

If she hasn't releaseed them by monday i will attempt to strip her of the fry.

Wish me luck either way.

[clintgv]

You could try watching some videos on youtube to get an idea on how to strip them . That's what I did when my yellow labs spawned for the first time for me ^^.

Good Luck .

[Aquaman]

If you cut a piece of egg-crate and set it up from the bottom of the tank ( with a few small squares of it ) your fry will have a better chance of not being eaten,as they have somewhere to go. I found that as they scoop them up they tend to swallow a few now and them....or the Little guys swim straight down her throught.....
I found pouring water down her side backwards into the gill area made it a bit easier...also when she's all chickmunk faced ..its alot easier.
I have tried to soon and just got eggs....but they still hatched ( was an awsome process to watch )and never lost a single one. little eggs with tails and eyeballs .
Good luck with her