Danio fry growth rate stunted? Pls respond

[Caden Fisher]

Hi! So, I have some zebra danios that I spawned a while ago. The fry hatched April 13th. However, none of the fry are over a half inch. This is mildly concerning since all of my research has shown that by a month they should be an inch or close. I have 13 fry. I feed them solely vinegar eels. I am going to try to start transitioning them to eating some flakes, I also have some fry food that i will feed. Will this boost their growth? I am worried and don’t want to stunt their growth. If anyone has anything to say or confirm please respond. Has feeding them only vinegar eels stunted their growth? Thanks in advance

 

[Colin_T]

Not sure who told you that reach 1 inch in the first month, not even I can grow them that fast. They are usually 1 inch long at 2-3 months.

To grow fish quickly, you need warm water, lots of food, a large volume of water, and regular water changes.

The best temperature for most baby tropical fish is 28C. They don't grow any faster above that and will slow down at temperatures below 26C. Once the fish have grown to maturity, you can reduce the temperature.

Baby fish should be fed 3-5 times a day and have fat little stomachs all the time. They should look like pregnant guppies. The first food is normally green water, infusoria, or liquid/ powder fry food for egg layers. After a week on this you add newly hatched brineshrimp and vinegar eels. Keep feeding the original foods until you know all the babies are eating the new foods. You can tell when they are eating newly hatched brineshrimp because they get orange bellies. After a few weeks on this you add powder dry food and can start adding finely chopped frozen (but defrosted) foods. Keep them on newly hatched brineshrimp until they are mature.

A large container of water will help them grow faster. However, you can grow fish quickly in small tanks as long as you do regular water changes. Even in large containers you should do regular water changes. I used to do a 75% water change and gravel clean the fry tanks every day. The new water was made up a few days before and was dechlorinated and had the same temperature and water chemistry as the tank.

Get yourself some dry brineshrimp eggs and start hatching them in salt water.

The following link has information on culturing food for baby fish.
(238) Back to Basics when Breeding Fish | Tropical Fish Forums

 

[Caden Fisher]

Not sure who told you that reach 1 inch in the first month, not even I can grow them that fast. They are usually 1 inch long at 2-3 months.

To grow fish quickly, you need warm water, lots of food, a large volume of water, and regular water changes.

The best temperature for most baby tropical fish is 28C. They don't grow any faster above that and will slow down at temperatures below 26C. Once the fish have grown to maturity, you can reduce the temperature.

Baby fish should be fed 3-5 times a day and have fat little stomachs all the time. They should look like pregnant guppies. The first food is normally green water, infusoria, or liquid/ powder fry food for egg layers. After a week on this you add newly hatched brineshrimp and vinegar eels. Keep feeding the original foods until you know all the babies are eating the new foods. You can tell when they are eating newly hatched brineshrimp because they get orange bellies. After a few weeks on this you add powder dry food and can start adding finely chopped frozen (but defrosted) foods. Keep them on newly hatched brineshrimp until they are mature.

A large container of water will help them grow faster. However, you can grow fish quickly in small tanks as long as you do regular water changes. Even in large containers you should do regular water changes. I used to do a 75% water change and gravel clean the fry tanks every day. The new water was made up a few days before and was dechlorinated and had the same temperature and water chemistry as the tank.

Get yourself some dry brineshrimp eggs and start hatching them in salt water.

The following link has information on culturing food for baby fish.
(238) Back to Basics when Breeding Fish | Tropical Fish Forums

Thank you so much! This is all so helpful. I really appreciate all of the help that you give to everyone on this forum! You rock! I’m not sure where I heard that they were about an inch after a month; maybe I was wrong. I have a small container of brine shrimp eggs from a microscope kit that I got awhile back. I will hatch some of them ASAP. I think it’s a 5 gram container of cysts. I will move the fry to an empty 5 gallon tank too. I’ve been keeping them at 75F since I know that the danios prefer slightly cooler water. Should I bump this up a few degrees? I will start doing more frequent water changes for them too. Thanks again for all of the help!