Anyone keep Egyptian mouthbrooders?

[MisaHasTheEyes]

I picked up a trio a few months ago, and have not seen either female carrying yet. Of course, it's possible the synos (that are being sold asap) might be antagonizing the girls into dropping the eggs every time. Is it best to strip the female if I want fry to survive? It will be the trio in a catfish tank (plecos, cories, and whiptail cats).

 

[Pittbull]

i had a trio at one time, i won them at a local auction but they really didnt do anything for me so i traded them to someone else but for the short time i had them they were pretty cool and werent totally aggressive, any time you want to definitely keep fry you will need to strip the female and place the eggs in a tumbler, as for me i believe this to be too stressfull on the female so i let nature take its course, and the other thing you could do is when you notice she is holding you could place her in another tank so that she can hatch and raise her fry without any intruders this could be a 10gal, 20gal would be better with the same water from main tank, later..

 

[cguarino30]

I breed these guys (quite readily, in fact) I find the best way (for me) to retain fry in all mouthbrooders is to wait until the female hatches the eggs herself and the fry become free-swimming (usually about a week or two) and then strip the fry. You don't get quite as many as when you strip the eggs, but they almost all survive, and it's not nearly as much of a headache as taking care of the eggs. As for why they aren't spawning, I don't know. I breed them in community tanks on flake food. Maybe they just need a little more room or a good, secluded cave to breed in. Mine like an upside-down flower pot (about 5 inch diameter) with a small niche cut out of the lip. good luck