Yellow labs holding for the first time

[dmm28]

I have 2 yellow lab females holding for the first time ever, and am wondering whether or not I should bother with getting a brooding tank? I've read that usually they aren't that great @ motherhood the first go round.

I was thinking of just setting up like a little 10 gallon, would that be sufficient? Also what would be my best course of action at getting the mother's out of the tank and into the brooding tank as not to stress them too much?

Or........... again, should I even bother?

 

[ibr3ak]

Each fish will vary with holding or "parenting" I've had 2 females (first time holding) swallow their eggs (one actually swallowed 3 broods in a period of just a week), while the 3rd one held just fine for 18 days until I stripped the fry.

10 gal would be fine, even for 2 smaller females, just put in some rocks (or whatever decoration to give them place to hide).

Unless the holding fish are being chased, nipped or get any sort of aggression from other tankmates, I'd let them stay in the main tank, at least until you're ready to strip them, if you choose to.

You can actually do a number of things, if you don't care about saving all the fry, just give the females a few piles of smaller rock, so they'll feel safer releasing them and not worry about other fish feeding on the fry. If you do want to save all of the fry, either separate the female and let her spit naturally and then return her into the main tank, or strip her when the fry are free swimming (usually around day 18 of her holding), transfer the fry into the grow out and the female into the main tank.

Usually when trying to catch a female early on (at least in my experience) results in them either dropping or swallowing the eggs, so doing it later, when the eggs have already hatched would most likely prevent that.

As far as catching them, try doing that at night when the fish are "sleeping" (a few hours after all the lights are turned off) and don't react as alert to the net as they would during the day, but there's always a chance that you won't be so lucky and would need to take all the rockwork out (if you have a huge pile), to catch them.

 

[Pittbull]

:iagree: with ibr3ak good info buddy.. also if you do move the females to the 10gal do keep up with water changes i would say bare min 2 30% water changes weekly with added dechlor like stress coat or prime..

Congrats on the fry..

 

[dmm28]

Thanks for all the info!! I think I would like to keep the fry, just to get the experience ya know? I'm actually really excited about having fry as it's a first for me!

 

[excuzzzeme]

I lower my water to reduce the swimming area available. I also remove the driftwood as it is very large and gets in the way. I wait until day 21 and then strip them. I have lost 3 broods by not stripping nor being able to move to a separate tank.

If you should happen to strip too early you can use a tumbler to keep the eggs viable. I currently have some very young fry with obvious yolk sac still attached. Because they are able to move about the tank on their own a tumbler is not needed.

Like the new "mother", you too may lose a few broods until you get good at your methodology. Don't give up or get depressed if you do lose a few broods. As I said above, I lost 3 broods by doing nothing, I decided to do something this time.

 

[dmm28]

Thanks for the tips! I'm kinda getting nervous now as this is all new to me, but I guess we'll just see what happens and go from there.

 

[cwt24]

My yellow labs have gotten on a schedule of two females giving me two broods about every other week. I have 10, and someone is always holding. Despite being mixed with fish that are FAR more aggressive than labs, they spit the fry in the tank, and the fry find the most clever, tiny places to hide. I have numerous rockpiles that allow the fry some hiding places, so if you too have alot of rock work, you might want to see the natural rearing of the fry, and how the hide and survive on their own. I think it's more fun to let nature take its course, but then, again, my tank is also very large. If yours is 55 gallons or smaller, you want to strip them to ensure the maximum number of survivors.

 

[dmm28]

Looks like I'll probably be stripping them both then. My tank is 50 gallons. I'm thinking of letting them both hold for 3 weeks then strip. IS 3 weeks long enough though?

I noticed that both females were holding last friday which was May 15th. So I'm thinking wait till about the 5th of June to catch and strip them. Does that sound about right?

 

[ibr3ak]

Yea should be good, the eggs usually hatch by week 1 and the egg yolk is depleted by mid to end of week 2, at which time they're already free swimming.

Naturally the females usually spit them out around day 30-32, but will continue to take them back in if they see danger, like you coming close to the tank.

 

[dmm28]

So your saying I could strip them both @ 2 weeks? Is there any danger of the females swallowing the fry at that stage of the game, or are they already too large by then?