Success - first Lombardoi fry

[mickeyd]

This is my first foree into keeping an aquarium and I chose to stock with African's  :lol:

I am now 3 months in ...

2½ weeks ago I noticed my Lombardoi's getting friendly and saw the female picking up eggs, so I bought another tank and moved her into it.

Last night I noticed 3 babies peeking from between the rocks - YAY !!! Talk about cute, they are so small but the markings are so well defined  :P

What would be the normal clutch size???  Should I also now remove the mother back to the community tank???

ps. wanted to share my joy (even the 'Trouble&Strife' got excited ~ for me, I think)

[emiee]

hey mickey thats great... you sound like a first time proud dad   :D

its a very addictive hobby, im surprised it took 3 months to purchase a second tank. i wonder how many tanks you will have in another three months  :lol:

someone will come along soon and let you know what they believe the average batch size is but in my experience it depends on how old the females is. if its her first batch ever it will be smaller but usually a few more than three so keep looking.  8O  8O

imo i would check to see if the females mouth is empty and move her back to the main tank but i believe fsh keeping is very individual and you do what works for you...

enjoy watching them grow!!!

[GTR73]

Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of fishkeeping. Exciting stuff when you get your first batch of fry.
I'd leave the mum in the nursery for another day or so to recover plus she'll be nice and hungry so I'd start feeding her right away.
 
Female Mbuna mouthbrooders are in a weakened state right after releasing fry because while they hold the eggs over a  3-4 week period, she doesn't eat. To add to this the majority of oxygen that passes into her system over that period is used by the eggs/fry for growth. Hence she's a bit of a wreck once the fry are out, and it's best she keep her away from the randy male until she's had a feed and recovered a bit.

[cichlidwoman]

Hey good on you buddy!!! Lombardi's are great - mine have eggs every month and I usually have a batch of about 30 so it's only going to get bigger & better from here on.