yellow lab problem, help plz, fairly urgent

K

kaiboshi

Registered Member
Apr 16, 2009
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So I had a yellow lab female in a community tank that I maintain for my parents. She started looking like she had eggs in her mouth however there was/is no male present, she's the only cichlid in the tank. She hasn't been eating since she started this thing and it looks like she's taken in more eggs (her mouth is distended more and her gills flare a little) and she still won't eat. Is there something I'm missing here? Is she going to starve herself to death over her unfertelized eggs? In an attempt to get her to spit the eggs out to save her from starvation I netted her out of the tank and put her in a hospital thinking that perhaps the stress of being netted would make her give them up but to no avail.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance for your help =]
 
They usually will not starve themselves to death.. fish can go a very long time without food and they may look skinny or underfed but they will bounce back.. is there any other Mbuna in the tank, she could have mated with a different species and produce a hybrid..

You can net her and hold her in your hand take a toothpick or ear swab and pry her mouth open and gently shake her in a container of tank water so that she will release the eggs.. be careful with the toothpick..
 
No other mbunas. a shoal of emporer tetras and a small shoal of barbs, a pair of cory's and some danios. That's what I was confused, she's the only cichlid in the tank yet she's carrying eggs in her mouth. Maybe one of the tetras is a real freak? =]

As long as she's not gunna starve herself to death I'm ok with it.
 
hehhehe yeah those little tetras can be quite the little fish producer.. i would think that she sensed a breeding cycle take place with another fish in your tank and from the hormones it sent her into a false labor and she laid fish eggs.. how long have you had her..
 
A toothpick isn't necessary, just net the fish and gently hold her gills closed. She will open her mouth to breathe. Then you can dip her head into the water and swish/shake her a bit to get the contents out.
 
I've had her 2 years. She used to be in an all african tank and never did this kinda thing before. She's been in the community tank for probably 5 months.
 
The first time one of mine held eggs I got a bit worried about it starving - it did eventually spit. I would leave it for a while before you go trying to prompt/strip especially if you havn't done it before - she will be fine for at least 3 - 4 weeks.

One way of prompting her without physically interacting is to do a massive water change - like 90% - I find that after mine have held for a while this often causes them to release.
 
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