I was recently told by a Tropheus breeder that you should not strip the females when holding .. rather put them in a separate tank and allow them to spit themselvs. This breeder stated that if you strip the females, they will not breed again.
On voicing this opinion to another "fish enthusiast", he wholeheartedly agreed and stated that this also applied to African cichlids. He stated that if you strip them 3-4 times, they will not breed again.
My policy has been to change males after a colony has bred 3 times to improve bloodlines, but the general opinion seems to be that the females will not breed again even with a new male if they have previously been stripped.
I would value the opinion of other breeders on this subject.
Regards
i use to breed tropheus and my motto was to strip them the day i noticed a mouthfull.
i know this is not reccomended by most breeders but i got a higher number of fry (due to as they grow the female runs out of room and swallows the odd 1 or spits 1 out).
and doing this for 18 months i lost 2 eggs in my tumbleing process.
and my females were always breeding
cheers
Carole
I try to strip all my female malawis at around day 14-16. The fry at this stage are pretty robust, and contrary to the other opinion you were given, my experience is that the females breed more consistently by doing this. They lose an awful lot of condition by not eating from day 14-16 to day 21 or whenever they decide to release them naturally. It therefore takes them much longer to build up the condition needed to develop eggs and be physically ready to breed again. If the male doesn't kill them first because they aren't ready to breed. And I have also found that with many malawis, particularly mbuna, it is sometimes very hard to re-introduce a female to the colony after you have had her out for some days.
Cheers, Doug
I have stripped certain females more than 4 times and they still breed for me. If it is concerning Tropheus then this is a good read http://www.aquariacentral.com/articles/troph.shtml
It is written by Ad Konings and he would strip females when he bread Tropheus.
Wilson.
P.S. I agree with DFishkeeper.
Carole,
Sounds like an old wives tale to me.
I better tell the girls that their time was up ages ago, :roll: out to the pasture for them. 8O
Same as Doug & Steve. Nice link Wilson; Ad{Can I call him by just his first name?} should know what he is talking about, you would think. 8)
Frenchy :D
I visited some fish farms in Florida, USA, some years ago. I learned a few things from them. They learned a few things from me!
They catch and strip every fish in their breeding ponds every 7 days. Their techniques are so mind bogleing. But Aus know how was still able to impress... :wink:
Conclusions,,,,,,,strip carrying females at any date post spawn, appropriate tumble/care for for eggs/fry. Use a wash bottle to gently, totally strip a mother and return her to the breeding colony in as good a condition as poss to enable earliest poss spawn again.
Thank you all for your advice .... it is so comforting when you are in doubt, to seek advice on this forum.
So - it seems like what I was told was indeed "an old wives tale" - and I will now continue to strip my females as I have in the past including my newly acquired Tropheus Moorii Moliro colony.
I am getting quite experienced now at telling when to strip - even if I do not notice the spawning - and like you, I believe it has to be far beneficial for the female to be "rid" of her eggs/babies and able to have a good feed rather than them "sulk" in the corner with a huge mouthful while the rest of the tank is having a feeding frenzy.
I have successfully tumbled eggs and raised very small "wriggler" fry as well as free swimmers and I learnt how to do all this from advice given in this forum.
Thanks so much guys - really appeciated !!!!
Regards
no worries mate.
good luck with em :D
No worries, Nice to see a happy ending. :D
Wilson.