I just noticed that a second saulosi female is holding. I have only 1 holding tank what to do?

What size holding tank do you have? When did you notice the first one holding?

Wait 10-15 days and then strip the females the fry will all be fine together.If you dont want to strip them then place the two females in the same holding tank.They will be fine together as they are not different species.Once one spits then remove her.She will not normally eat her own fry and the other female will still have her mouthfull.

Hope this helps

Derek

I have the same problem, with 3 holding females right now and two sets of recent fry plus others a few weeks older.

A trick I learned from Aura is to use breeder nets ($5 to $7) and hang them on the front lip of the tank. It isolates the female but keeps her in the same water, and the mesh on the netting is so fine the fry are protected.

I can get 2 in the front of an Eclipse 12 system (I use Eclipse 6 and 12's as fry, isolation and grow-out tanks.) If I put them on my 55G I can get 5 or 6 if I have to. I put a plastic plant in the net to give her some comfort but that's optional.

Hope this helps!

I might try the net. My small tank is a 5.5 that has three baby bn plecos in it right now. The 1st female has been holding for a week and half, maybe 2 weeks and the 2nd I just noticed 2 days ago. If I can't catch the ladies it may not matter. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for the help!

You could also try putting some sort of divider in the tank to separate the two females. Of course, fry will be able to get through it, but it will buy you space and time for now.

I disagree on putting two holding females in a tank that size together, whether they are the same species or not. IME, they don't take well to each other, and I've had females swallow their eggs/fry trying to fight each other.

The breeder nets will work great for the holding moms, especially smaller moms like saulosi, but a word of caution about trying to house fry in breeder nets after the fact. If there are larger fish below in the tank, they will do everything they can to get at the fry, and odds are many of them will simply disappear.

Good luck!

Kim

I agree with everything Kim said!

With a tank that small, I'm not even sure you could use a breeder net in it.

And the breeder nets are extremely dangerous for fry. It's hard to believe, but they can be crushed and eaten right through the mesh. The acrylic breeder boxes are a little better for fry, but they can still be sucked through the tiny slots when they are newly born and stay on the bottom.

If you can get to a craft store or a Walmart, you can pick up some plastic canvas and make a divider out of that. It comes in sizes small enough to keep the fry separated. I also use it to line the bottom of breeder nets to help prevent the fry from being killed.



When you want to keep fry and have more holders than you can manage, it's time to think about stripping.

Wow, thanks for that warning about fry vulnerability in the bottom of the breeder nets! Where I have them now the biggest fish are 1.5", but if I put one on my 55G (as I was about to do) there are 3.5" fish including a M. Estherae.

Pseudo, I'd be worried about 1.5 inch fish as well. The fry in the net are the most vulnerable when they are newly spit. I've noticed with mine that they go straight to the bottom. If you are going to let the mom spit in the net, put something on the bottom to stop them from being picked at by the older fry. Some people use a thin layer of substrate. They will also be at risk along the sides of the net. I haven't used the nets for fry in a long time because of this.

I use the hard plastic boxes, which are still risky, but not quite as bad. I have seen the fry being nipped at along the side slots by older fry and some get killed and even pulled through. To reduce this, I put a small lightweight rock or pot, etc. in the bottom center. Most of the fry will take cover there and this keeps them away from the sides. In a day or two they are swimming around and are no longer in danger from the older fry.

Lots of suggestions here,but really can't you just go and buy a 2 1/2 gallon tank?
A square steel tube stand that holds a 55/65/75 or 90 gallon tank will give you enough room for 7 2,1/2 tanks below the main tank.
One air pump will run 7 airstones for each tank.
After a week or two in the small tanks,,,several groups of the same size can go into a ten gallon tank.
And so it starts,,,,

idunno Larry

indeed two moms cant go into a tank that size as Kim pointed out.A 20-30 gal would work fine for my idea but not that small.Larrys idea is good as well.Ahhh smell the MTS LOL

Really though we just have to sit back and think how do they do it in the wild.Albeit that we dont quit have the same amount of water in our homes as lake Malawi. Giggly

Simplify things is the best way.When I first started out I had breeder nets and all the rest of that stuff and actually lost more fry doing that then I do know leaving the fry in with thier parents and letting them grow out.Sure I lost a few.Then MTS set in and I needed to get fry tanks.Then I became a full out breeder and learn how to strip fry properly and at what times etc.

You need to take the advice of all of us here see what works best for you and then you will get results.Losing fry is unfortunately part of the learning process.I hope you learn fast On the Floor Laughing

Good luck and enjoy cuz this is the fun part of our hobby!

All great suggestions - wish me luck in getting the ladies out of the 55.

I always forget about Larry's menagerie of tiny tanks! That's an excellent idea, as well!

Kim