how to tell is cichlid is holding eggs?

Question

sum of my zebras and i kenyi looks like they swallowed a small marble . Behind their gills is a "lump"..is this normal or a sign that they are holding eggs?
Tried tos ee if i could see any eggs in their mouths but couldnt
also, they dont seem to eat as much as before

the throat looks like a small pouch that is marble size..i cant see insides to see if eggs are there...they didnt have this before

the size is small,not very pronounced..first time breeding, so its all new to me and hard to tell if eggs there or not

Answer 1

I've had my Taiwan Reef and Electric yellow cichlids spawn a few times. What you want to look at is the mouth area, but not so much by the gills. Look at the area just under the jaw. Normally, a fish will have a flat lined look. A fish that is holding will have that "pouchlike" area pushed out quite a bit. In first spawns, it may not be as pronounced as with later spawns. Many times first spawns are not quite successful either. I believe your zebra's are maternal mouthbrooders, so you'd need to concentrate looking at the females only. First time out, usually many eggs end up being swallowed or destroyed. Be patient if you are actually trying to breed them. You'll want to seperate that female if you want to keep the fry as well.

When I get home, I'll post you some shots I got when my Electric Yellow was holding so you can get an idea of what the jaw area might look like.

FOLLOW UP:

Youtube is not posting my shots of my yellow I had, but I actually discovered my female Ps. Flavus is now holding. If I can't get that up on YouTube for you, I'll take it with my cam. I can clearly see the eggs in there, and I'll try to get you a shot to see exactly what the jaw/mouth area would look like.

FOLLOW UP 2:

Here you go, this is the best shot I could get. pardon the green haze, I put in an anti fungal medication as my loaches seem to have a small ick problem. Focus on the lower part of the jaw. That pouchlike look is a definet sign. I was able to get her to open the mouth a little bit and I saw the eggs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcCJ79xRFTs

Answer 2

The small sac in the throat area is a pretty good description of a female Mbuna that's "holding". So my guess would be yes.
If you have a lot of cover in your tank,look very carefully in the crevices and tiny places where fry can hide. I'll bet if you look long and carefully enough you'll find some fry.
If you have an under-gravel filter and can see through the bottom of the tank,there may be some there, too.
If you have two Synodontis petricola Catfish in there, your females might be brooding them. Look it up,really interesting.

Answer 3

when a mouthbrooder is brooding. the lower part of the jaw becomes distended and she looks like you would if you stuffed a big slice of cake in your mouth without chewing and swallowing. if it's behind the gill i'm not sure i've ever seen anything like that. when they're brooding they stop eating until the babies are developed enough to swim out so by that time. between their ever growing mouthful and the shrinking of the other parts of the fish the parent begins to resemble a tadpole. not really but you get the idea

by the way, fish hate to waste food and if one of their tankmates dies, they wont hesitate to eat the unlucky one and they usually eat the innards and eyes first maybe because its softer. so i'm not sure the fish was killed. it could have died a natural death

Answer 4

i think of you replied your individual question. in case you dont see a bulge in her buccal hollow area then she could be hiding out using being bullied and if that's the case...you are able to desire to do away with the bully!

Answer 5

Maybe they're sick, bring it to your fish guy. I had a beta once that same kind of lump & one day it popped & he died! Maybe that's specific to the species though... Better to ask.

By the way, one of my cichlids killed another and ate his insides! That kinda sucks, huh?! They're too aggressive.

Answer 6

Cut it open and check ;)