My Honey's Have Babies!

[TheRedDarren]

hi all,
just got home from a weekend away, left my 2 honey gouramis in the care of my ex girlfreind with explicit feeding instructions, she must have done it right because when i got home just now, they have babies in the nest!!!
the fry are really tiny and black and are not moving at all except when the male comes along to grab one that is slowly sinking. He takes it in his mouth and puts it back in the nest where it'll suddenly wriggle back up into the nest!
I've just removed the female, thats what i've heard you need to do.

So...
How old are they? i know they must be around 48 hrs old.
Do i move the male when they become free swimming?
i have Liquifry no 1, and have started adding this to the tank.

Any advice please, would hate to lose too many fry, thanks, D.

 

[sylvia]

Firstly, let me say congratulations!

You are right in thinking that they are about 2 days old and what you have done so far is fine. Removing the male when the fry become free-swimming is also correct. The only thing you need to really start considering is what you'll be feeding the fry in 5 days to a weeks time. The liquid food is good for newly hatched fry but they'll need something more substantial afterwards. Idealy, a microworm culture, vinegar eels or some baby brine shrimp. At such short notice, you might be able to hatch some BBS in time though. Crushed or powdered flake (or better powdered catfish pellets) do work but you'll have a higher mortality rate and may have more cannibalism than usual. The other thing to watch is that you are not over-feeding but are fedding frequently (2-3 times a day at a minnimum). You'll probably have to do some water changes soon however careful you are though - when you find yourself in this position, it's useful to have a light-colored bucket into which to syphon the water - that way you can see any fry you accidentaly removed and return them safely to the tank

Can't think of anything else besides that really - good luck!