[Nippyfish]

What a cool find. I just started keeping a marine tank a few months ago. It's a very modest 29 gal with three Sphaeramia nematoptera (Pajama Cardinals) and one Cryptocentrus cinctus (Yellow Watchman Goby). Yesterday I noticed my largest Cardinal wasn't eating which I thought strange since they have always had ravenous appetites. Today I thought the same one looked swollen in the face and very square jawed. I remembered the LFS telling me that sexing them was difficult but the males tended to have a squarer jaw so I started researching online. As soon as I learned they are mouth brooders the pieces started to fall into place. I again attempted to feed them and again the largest wouldn't eat. It did, however, let out a small burp allowing an egg to float out of it's mouth.

Since then I have seen it gulp several times, repositioning it's hold and occasionally an egg will escape. Unfortunately there was very little online as to how to breed these fish and raise the fry. Although I missed the spawning process I would still like to learn more about these fish and how they breed. My first question, is it the male or the female that is holding these eggs? What will happen next and if I choose to raise the fry, what is the best method?

Thanks!