# to separate or not to separate?



## chichi_08 (Nov 12, 2010)

I'm still a newbie to African cichlids. At the end of October I noticed three small fry swimming around the tank. Since then I have done some extensive research and have started to learn about the breeding process. I believe I currently have 2 females holding (a kenyi and a crabro). My question to everyone is: should I separate the mothers-to-be before they have the fry? and if so, when? I'm not set up with another tank, so it would need to be a nursery/net cage. I have a 47 gallon tank with 11 cichlids and 3 small fry. I'm considering letting nature take its course...


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

chichi_08 said:


> I'm still a newbie to African cichlids. At the end of October I noticed three small fry swimming around the tank. Since then I have done some extensive research and have started to learn about the breeding process. I believe I currently have 2 females holding (a kenyi and a crabro). My question to everyone is: should I separate the mothers-to-be before they have the fry? and if so, when? I'm not set up with another tank, so it would need to be a nursery/net cage. I have a 47 gallon tank with 11 cichlids and 3 small fry. I'm considering letting nature take its course...


Welcome to the boards!

What is the full stock list and the dimensions of your 47 gallon tank, also how long have the fish been together (how old + size)?

The more info you provid ethe better more complete your answer will be.


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## chichi_08 (Nov 12, 2010)

the fish I have are: yellow blaze lithobates x2 , red zebra x2, kenyi x2, crabro x2, mumbo yellow x1, PS kingsizei x2. I'm not sure exactly the age of them but I've only had the tank set up for 6 months and all had been purchased within the first two months. the exact dimension of the tank are: 12W x 16H x 29 L.


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## redtop72 (Jun 7, 2010)

i woud let nature take itsd course. the kenyi,zebra and the cabro will cross breed. unless you witnessed the deed, i normaly wait about 2-3 weeks and then strip the female in to the net cage, they should be free swimmersw by then.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

And I'll just add that this tank is too small for these fish long term. You will soon have aggression problems. 
Look up the individual species in the profiles section of this site to see what sort of conditions they prefer/need. Most mbuna need to be kept harem style: one male with 3-4 females. A 55 gallon tank would be the absolute smallest I would suggest for most mbuna. A 47 gallon is not that much smaller gallon-wise but it's foot print, only 29 inches long as compared to most 55 which are 48 inches long, that makes it unsuitable for these fish.

If you want fry to survive and are unable to set up a separate tank try making a fry-safe area in the tank. A bushy, fake plant with a few rocks on top of it may give them the cover they need until they are big enough to swim in the open. Personally I've found that the fry of some species, P.Saulosi for instance, are pretty good at finding a place to hide while my Dolphin's fry are definitely not 

Robin


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Robin said:


> If you want fry to survive and are unable to set up a separate tank try making a fry-safe area in the tank. A bushy, fake plant with a few rocks on top of it may give them the cover they need until they are big enough to swim in the open


I keep fry in the breeder net only 7 days until they get oriented to chasing food and hiding when attacked. Then they need a tank as Robin mentioned, the net will not be sufficient to raise 20 fish to a length of 1.5". Although not many may survive hiding in the main tank...at least they will not be cramped in a net. However, given your stocking I would let nature take it's course as well.


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## chichi_08 (Nov 12, 2010)

thanks for the advice. That's what I was thinking too. I will be getting a bigger tank, eventually. Just need to get the stand first.


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