I have had very good success rates with my P. socolofi using a more natural method. Around week 2-3, I simply move the holding female to a fairly densely planted 20 gal (they never mess with the plants, as they are holding) and let her spit naturally. I enjoy this easy, more natural method, and think it is less stressful for the mom, even though she is not eating. I keep lots of rocks stacked and that creates many nooks and crannies for the fry. The moms have actually displayed parenting behavior and I've lost very, very few to mom eating them. (Small fry numbers at birth from young moms mean I can actually count them!) I leave mom in the tank for a week or two and I feed her a few times a day to keep her from looking at her babies as food, and when she fattens up a bit, I put her back in the main tank. The only thing I don't like is that she is not eating for a month, but the moms seem healthy enough despite it, and especially after the convalescence in the birthing tank.
