Apisto Fry

[Alex.]

Ok it seems some of my cac's have spawned without me realising! I have absolutely no clue what to do here...

I've observed one of the females in a cave right in the corner for about a week now and thought it was strange as she wasnt leaving it at all.... Now today I was just about to add an interpet treatment as one of my corys has a little bit of fungus and when I looked in the corner she is going bonkers at anything that goes near it and there are tiny little brown tadpole like things I can see.

The ones that venture out she seems to get in her mouth then go back in - is she moving them or eating them?

Is there anything I need to do? And I presume I should hold off on the fungus treatment?

 

[minnnt]

She is collecting them and spitting them back to 'safety'

You have 2 options really. Move the fry and probably mum to a smaller nursery tank or move the Cory to a nursery tank so you can treat it away from the babies.

Good on ya mate. Must be that filter...

 

[Alex.]

Ok, if I was to move the fry how would I do this without losing them? They're so small at the moment - can I wait till they're a little bigger?

And do I need to feed them anything special? I've been feeding live brine shrimp every couple of days, but apart from that I have flake, frozen food, pellets and some ultra fine pellets.

Are any likely to survive in this community tank?

Going to have to look for a small cheap second tank!

 

[minnnt]

Depends how good mum is and what other fish you have. The problem mum will have is when the lights go out, she may have trouble with bottom dwellers. You already mention that you have Cories, so they may just pick them off if they get the opportunity.

You could net them to get the majority out or siphon them out with the hose and into a jug.

 

[Alex.]

I think it's probably best to give it a few days, see if they survive and if so pop them in a separate tank next week... Fingers crossed they are ok!

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Congrats on the fry!

 

[Alex.]

How big does the tank need to be if I get one just for fry? And any particular filters needed etc?

 

[minnnt]

You only want to be running an air driven sponge filter. A tank around 2ft would be about right to start with.

 

[Alex.]

Ok guys - this batch of fry didn't seem to make it but its all a learning curve...

Now a couple of weeks later she seems to have spawned again, and there appear to be a lot more this time!

Now a friend can lend me a small tank this evening, but I have a few questions.

Firstly - how on earth do i get them out? Can I use a net with them being so small? My tank is 60cm deep so it's going to be quite a job!

Second, when exactly do I remove them? Now? Do they have to be a certain size?

Lastly for now - do I put mum with them? Or dad?

Many thanks!

 

[minnnt]

A lot of people remove them and put mum with them.

You could syphon them out, use a net or turkey baster.

Congratulations too!

 

[Alex.]

Thanks mate! And are they ok being removed now even with them being so tiny?

Is there anything in specific I need to feed them? And how often do I need to water change?

The tanks a fluval edge - not the best - but at least I'll make sure they're not eaten again.

 

[minnnt]

If you have them in with fish that will happily munch then at night then the sooner the better.

I feed my fry on live micro worm, but baby brine shrimp, infusoria etc should be ok. Crushed flake or tetra prima is ok too.

If you have a bit of moss or a moss ball then chuck that in with them, as infusoria grows in them and can often offer them a food source.

 

[Alex.]

What a couple of hours, wow!

When i arrived home today, I noticed her cave in the corner of the tank was empty. I feared the worst, but then looked a few inches away from it and there was mother & father with about 50 fry around them fighting off the other fish!

I had set up the Fluval edge last night, added some mature media to its HOB filter from mine - so I hope I won't get any ammonia spikes etc. should this be ok? I've wrapped some old tights around the filter inlet so nobody gets sucked up

My only issue - if they'd been in the cave as of yesterday I'd have easily scooped them out. But as they were outside of it, some of them were under rocks, in crevices etc!

Ive transferred at least 25-35 from what I can see by scooping into a glass then putting them into the tank. I even used some of the tiny 5ml test kit vials to scoop the single ones that i managed to scoop! I've also transferred the mum and left dad in the main tank.

I can still see a few in the main tank, but theyre bloody impossible to get! Any ideas? Dads still protecting them and getting some in his mouth from what I can see. Don't know if he's actually eating them or what?

Very stressful - and this is only the beginning! I'm going to go to my Lfs tomorrow for some food, hope they have some in suitable for fry!

 

[minnnt]

Shame you're not coming to notts again mate, I could have made you a micro worm culture.

Syphon the rest out.

 

[Alex.]

I'm going to do a water change tomorrow on the main tank / so if I can still see any ill give it a go!

Im booked to go to Nottingham a couple of times later this year, but nothing till sept in afraid!! Am I meant to change water every day with the fry??