Bristlenose Babies

[indir-emir]

Hi all,
As some may know, my BN have spawned for the first time. Dad was a very good dad and fanned like a maniac and kept EVERYTHING out of the way of the cave and babies. The eggs are now on their yolk sack for about 3 days now. TOday is the 3rd im pretty sure...

Anyway, some look like they have eaten all the yolk sack while other seem like they still have more to go....

My question is:
Do i need to feed the baby BN myself with a lettuce leaf (or something along those lines) at this stage? Or do I wait till they begin to leave the cave themselves before feeding anything?

I do feed the father BN. Algae wafer or two right infront of the cave. But the fry im worried about right now because some see to have eaten their yolk sack and other havnt. Also they are about 1cm or so roughly... Maybe a little more/less..

Regards,
Indir

 

[parny]

At 3 days you will prob find some of the youngsters leaving the cave in search of food. I feed mine on cucumber and courgette and replace it twice a day so it does not start to rot in the tank. Also make sure you keep up with partial water changes as 100+ hungry mouths produce a lot of waste. I also keep the water highly oxygenated with a large air stone.You cannot have too many bubbles and you will find babies still sit on airstone. Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[helterskelter]

Feed courgette i found the male would keep the fry in the cave for at least a week at first then once they grown a little they soon start to venture out and about.

 

[indir-emir]

Ok thanks. Will feed male BN some veggies tonight. And see if the babies come out for a bit of a late night snack away from dad lol.

Cheers,
Indir

 

[Clarissa]

HI indir-emir. I find that the male usually takes food into the cave for the littlies for a few days so always have something around for them.

You are going to really enjoy it when the babies come out to forage on their own. I hope you post a pic

 

[indir-emir]

Hi Clarrisa,
Will do my best for pictures now that ive got a good camera in the house No more nokia n95 5mp camera lol.

After talking to a bunch of my friends in the fish hobby, they say if they dont leave soon i should remove the dad and shake the fry gently out of the cave. Even if the egg sack is on them, they have said they will be fine. Would this be okay to do?

Some of the fry seem to have completely eaten the sack and i dont want the to die. And i havnt seen the male take in any food for the babies... Even in my latenight sit ups

Would it be ok to shake the fry out genty and remove dad and cave to the main tank again?

Regards,
Indir

 

[parny]

I would leave Dad with them for a couple of weeks, As you say he has been doing a good job until now so they is no reason to remove him. When the fry are hungry they will come out to look for food.