Help! Both Fish Parents Died. Can Fry Live!

[dazia6558]

This is the first time that I have had a successful egg hatch.  Unfortunately both parents died pretty much a day after the eggs hatched.  They were German Blue rams so they were very protective parents. I have removed all other fish from the tank, so they won't eat them.  I keep trying to feed them, but they won't eat.  Then all the food is left in the tank, and I try to clean it, but I keep sucking the fry up in the tube.  I have the following questions:
 
How long can they survive without eating?
What can I do to get them to eat?
Is there anything else I should be doing to foster them since their parents are gone?

 

[the_lock_man]

Any ideas why the parents died? And how long ago was it?
 
Fry do need to eat quite regularly, but if they still have a yolk sac attached, because they are only a few days old, then this might explain why they aren't feeding your food. What is it that you are feeding them? Powdered flake (ie your normal flake food, crushed into a fine powder) is often used as a food.
 
You have done the best thing for them, and that is to remove any potential predators - if you keep sucking the fry up when trying to do water changes, then try taking the water from as high up in the water column as you can manage, as they fry will probably stay close to the bottom.

 

[nic1]

Hello,
What are you feeding them? Have you tried egg yolk? Or make infusoria, bay liquid fry until they accept BBS
What kind of tank are they in? A bare bottom tank is easier to clean....

 

[sawickib]

With the tank maintenance maybe try putting a find mesh net around the end to avoid sucking up fry as well.

 

[GuppyGirl20]

As the_lock_man said, I would try and figure out what caused the parents to die. Fry have to be kept in the best water conditions (or at least that is best for them) so I would really explor what happened to the parents.

 

[dazia6558]

Any ideas why the parents died? And how long ago was it?
 
Fry do need to eat quite regularly, but if they still have a yolk sac attached, because they are only a few days old, then this might explain why they aren't feeding your food. What is it that you are feeding them? Powdered flake (ie your normal flake food, crushed into a fine powder) is often used as a food.
 
You have done the best thing for them, and that is to remove any potential predators - if you keep sucking the fry up when trying to do water changes, then try taking the water from as high up in the water column as you can manage, as they fry will probably stay close to the bottom.

It looked like some type of fungus or hole in the head.   I immediately separated and medicated.  It was like 5 days ago when the parents died.  There are about 5 or 6 left from the original approximate 50.  I am feeding them crushed flakes and eggs.  But now, I'm concerned with sucking them up while I clean the old food from the tank.

As the_lock_man said, I would try and figure out what caused the parents to die. Fry have to be kept in the best water conditions (or at least that is best for them) so I would really explor what happened to the parents.

So do you think I need to clean the tank daily to clean the eggs and the flake food.  I'm just concerned about sucking up the fry while cleaning the bottom of the tank.

Hello,
What are you feeding them? Have you tried egg yolk? Or make infusoria, bay liquid fry until they accept BBS
What kind of tank are they in? A bare bottom tank is easier to clean....

It's a bare bottom tank with a couple of rocks, 6 gallon.  I have fed them ground up flakes and egg yolks.  Now I'm having a problem with cleaning the tank because I'm sucking up the fry.  I'm wondering if I should even clean the tank anymore.

 

[GuppyGirl20]

Put a mesh of sorts over the siphon so it doesn't suck up the fry. Itneeds to be small enough for the gunk of the tank to get through but not so big that it still gets the fry. Tip: don't use panty hose becasue it's too fine and won't get the gunk out.

 

[nic1]

I don't know if you've probably already have tried this, but when I have fry I use the smallest syphon hose I have (air tubing) and place a thumb over the outlet bit, when ever a fry comes close I place my thumb over the hole so it doesn't suck it up, it takes a bit longer than using the normal vacuum hose but it's worth it.

 

[paradiddle]

What also works is to use fine filter floss in the end of the siphon intake, it still takes in water at a slower rate, and the filter wool will hold on to a lot of debris, while fry can swim away from slower water intake.