Okay thanks, I figured it was about a month.Yellow labs tend to hold their eggs / fry longer than most other mbuna mouth brooders. IME, they usually hold for just about a month.
My yellow tailed acei would usually hold just over 3 weeks.
She is not in a tank by herself. She's in a 55 gallon with 5 other african ciclids. This is definitely her first time. Unfortunately my quarantine tanks are being occupied by some dwarf cories, so she will have to tough it out. My ciclids have had babies before in other tanks but its been so long since I've had to deal with fry. In the past I would move the fry to another tank by themselves, but I don't think I will do that this time. I'm sure some will be eaten. I rearranged the rocks and made some very small piles that only a fry could get into, hopefully they can find refuge in there.Water temperature and tank setup may change it a bit one way or the other. If she is in a tank by herself and finds it safe she may let them out much sooner. And she may also pick them back up if she feels they are threatened. There are some variables depending on how many times she has done this before. I had one old girl who seemed to just about know the drill and swim into the net when moving her back and forth. First timer? Maybe 12-15? It seems to increase as the fish and mouth get older/bigger.
I used 21- 28 days as a figure for holding but that was when I was moving them to holding tanks to spit. When they are still in the group tank they can hold for a long time until a few start dribbling out due to lack of space. I never found there was any type of pecking order to fit back into. But I never kept tanks overcrowded so there was a big hassle for space. If they have adequate space, they just go about it and find an empty spot when they want quiet.
