Femal Cichlid carrying eggs

Question
My cichlid has just been inactive and continues to have a growing belly everyday...just by reading some of the questions and answers others have provided i can only assume she is carrying eggs. My question is if there is no male around how long does it take for her to absorb the eggs? She has not eaten in 3 weeks and im just worried that is a long span for no nutrition. her belly does continue to swell on a daily basis, just wondering if i should be concerned.

Answer
Hi Jessica
I'm guessing you're talking about African cichlids?  I'm kinda concerned though, since there's no male in the tank, the swelling, lack of appetite, is she also lethargic?  Another symptom, they usually take on towards end is a pinecone appearance.  They're scales push out, and when you look at them from the top, they look like a pinecone.  She may be suffering from bloat/dropsy, which shows the above symptoms.  She may not be lethargic though.  It's an internal bacterial infection, it pretty much shuts down their kidneys and causes the fluids to build up.  It's usually fatal, very hard disease to treat, especially if she's not eating.  

If you can, I would separate her to a quarantine tank.  You can try using antibiotic medicine for dropsy, the antibacterial food is the best, but if she's not eating, that's impossible to use.  Check your water parameters as well, high nitrates/poor water quality can bring on dropsy.  Your ammonia and nitrites should read 0 ppm, and nitrates ideally under 20 ppm.

Hope that helps and hope it is just eggs, but I really don't think it is.  Good luck!

Christy