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Title: I Have New Babies
Description: I need help please.


Amazeingme - November 8, 2007 04:30 AM (GMT)
I have 15 New babies and I am not sure what to do with them.

They are Malawi Melanochromis Auratus. (not really sure the common name) just found its pic on line.

So we now have 15 new babies. My husband stripped her this evening because she hasn't eaten in almost 2 months! She was starting to look very ill and we thought she was sick and found out she was pregnant! We have had our fish for about a year now and they have never had babies before.

We scooped the babies up and put them in a breeder with some cover since there are 6 other cichlids in the tank and I didn't know if they would eat them or not. They are not big at all so I think they would get eaten.

How should I feed and care for them?

Please let me know ASAP if anyone has any suggestions.


Thank you
Amazeingme

Robyn - November 9, 2007 01:56 PM (GMT)
The common name is Malawi golden cichlid. I've never had cichlids myself so I looked him up. This pretty fish is a mouthbrooder. Like most African cichlids, they can be aggressive and like hard water.

How did your husband "strip" her? Usually just handling a mouthbrooder will get her to spit out the young.

They would absolutely get eaten by the adults so it was good to move them. Are they in a net breeder (the ones with water flow through)? I assume they've been hatched for weeks now, hiding in her mouth so they shouldn't be as tiny as most newborn small egg laid fry. They are probably large enough to eat baby brine shrimp (you can hatch them), fry foods, or crumpled up fish flakes. My page at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/breed.htm has more on fry care and feeding.

If you don't want to keep the babies, you can try asking your local aquarium store, aquarium club, or on-line hobbyists (through craigslist or one of the aquarium forums) if they would like the fish. The store probably won't pay you for them but individuals might. If you keep the babies, they should be large enough to probably not be eaten before release. How big that is depends on the size and species of animals in your tank.




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