# Too many holding females



## cosmiccow (Jun 10, 2007)

I have two 55 gallon tanks with mixed mbunas, mostly Acei, Labs, P. saulosi and Afras. All fish are healthy and water parameters are excellent. Water changes are performed every 5 days.

The problem I've been having is now that most of the fish are reaching sexual maturity, they are mating like crazy. Yes I'm aware of hybrids, no I'm not going to distribute any of the fry.

I currently have about 30 P.saulosi fry in my nursery tank (not hybrids, I observed the spawn) and I caught another female last night that is holding because she was getting harassed. I can't seem to let my females go full term in the tank, it seems like they will sacrifice themselves for the good of the fry?

I'm running out of nursery space and it's a pain catching the holding females. I just noticed this morning two acei's holding, its an epidemic :lol:

I guess my main question is regarding the holding females. Am I being to conservative by catching the holding females? It seems kind of cruel to let them get harassed and to let them go so long without eating (I usually catch the female after about 18 days of holding, they usually spit a couple of days thereafter).

Any tips or ideas are appreciated.

Thanks,
Tony


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## exasperatus2002 (Jul 5, 2003)

Its not cruel to let them carry to term, its what they've evolved to do.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Actually, it depends on the stocking of the tank whether I would allow a holding female to hold full term if I had no intentions of keeping the fry...If she's being overly harrassed and abused by the other fish due to improper stocking, you might need to remove her or go ahead and strip her so she can eat and keep up her strength.

For instance, if you have a mostly male tank, a holding female is going to take more abuse than in a tank with good breeding group/male/female ratios. "Mixed" tanks usually don't have the best ratios for breeding, when you start grabbing one of this and one of that, those males are usually more visually appealing.


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## cosmiccow (Jun 10, 2007)

Thanks for the replies.
For the most recent incident the ratio was 1M P.saulosi and 3F P.saulosi. The 7 other Acei and 3 other Labs was not harassing the holding female. Maybe I need more females? I was hoping a 1M:3F was a good ratio? In this tank I have 14 mbuna and a few dithers. Can a 55 gallon tank support more? It sure seems like its getting crowded as they mature!


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Acei take up alot of swimming space, and tend to roam the tank non stop, so having those bigger guys limits you somewhat.

You don't really want more than 3 species in a 55G if you plan to breed and salvage fry.

If you've got adequate (good) filtration on the tank, I'd add 3 more Yellow labs and call it done. :thumb:


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## chapman76 (Jun 30, 2004)

The ratio isn't bad, saulosi are just the rabbits of Malawi cichlids.

I really wouldn't worry about it unless the female is

1) Showing signs of stress
2) Showing signs of attack
3) Hiding in the upper corners or behind filters

A 3 female to 1 male ratio is fine. Do you have many hiding spots in the tank that are small enough for the female that the male might be a bit too large to fit in? Does the female have a favorite hiding spot when holding? Most of my saulosi females had hiding spots they always went to when they were holding.


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