# tropheus duboisi holding female help needed



## ct860 (Apr 23, 2008)

ok so heres the deal i cant seem to find any good awnsers to my questions and i a bit confused. so the first day i got my dubs they mated she has been holding for 18 days now. last night her mouth was small back down to normal size, she was eating like normal, even scooping up sand and spitting it out like she wasnt holding anymore. my first thought was that was so quick she must have rejected them. but now today her mouth is big again and is acting like she was before, seeming to be tumbling the eggs and everything. 
Q- can she spit the eggs out go do stuff then gather it back up? 
Q- how long is the gestation period? 
Q- i have her in a 115g with 15dubs, 3 frontosa, 1 white calvis,1 red fin compressicep, 1 Neolamprologus brichardi, and 1 Julidochromis transcriptus. should i get her in her own tank because fear of having the fry eaten or rely on the maternal nature of the fish to keep them safe?

any advice please hepl i dont want to screw this up haha.


----------



## Xenomorph (Aug 6, 2007)

They hold for 30-32 days.

That tank sounds too crowded, not only the Tropheus aren't the dominant specie (Frontosa ...) but you have there egg thieves (Calvus, Red Fin Compressiceps) ...and your average bully Brichardi.

Do you have an egg tumbler? If the female spits them she's not going to have the time to take them back with all the crowd around her even if she would want to do that. Best idea is to put her in a nursing 33gal (give her space, don't confine her to a 10gal) ...just by herself and let her hold full time.

If you have egg tumblers you can strip her and tumble the eggs.

Good luck.


----------



## ct860 (Apr 23, 2008)

sorry yeah my comp freaked and posted it three time. im currently trying to figure out how to delete the first two...


----------



## IrkedCitizen (Apr 26, 2007)

DO NOT remove the female from the rest of the tank! When you reintroduce her to the tank she could have lost her place within the colony and quite possibly be killed byt the other members.

Just keep her in the tank and see how it unfolds. She might not be holding anymore she might be holding sand or air. Tropheus along with other mouth brooders have been known to hold air. The only way to find out for sure would be to strip her of her eggs/fry if she even still has them.


----------

