Mystery Fry!

[eschaton]

I came home today shocked to see a single fry in my tank. It's way too early early to tell, but it's small (0.5 cm), and has dark eyes. It stays on the very surface of the water. No sign of any other fry, or of any eggs in the tank.

Fish stock in the tank are as follows, in order of assumed likelihood:

4 Pseudomugil gertrudae (mixed sex group and surface-dwellers when adults)
12 Ember Tetra
2 Glowlight Danios (Gender unknown)
Female Peacock Gudgeon (had mate which came down with fish TB and died/was put in QT, but it's possible they mated before this)
7 Otocinclus (all but two were recently added and are immature)
12 Corydoras habrosus (all but two were recently added and are immature)
Pair of Clown Killies (highly unlikely, as the female was just added last night, though the adults always keep to the surface themselves)

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I came home today shocked to see a single fry in my tank. It's way too early early to tell, but it's small (0.5 cm), and has dark eyes. It stays on the very surface of the water. No sign of any other fry, or of any eggs in the tank.

Fish stock in the tank are as follows, in order of assumed likelihood:

4 Pseudomugil gertrudae (mixed sex group and surface-dwellers when adults)
12 Ember Tetra
2 Glowlight Danios (Gender unknown)
Female Peacock Gudgeon (had mate which came down with fish TB and died/was put in QT, but it's possible they mated before this)
7 Otocinclus (all but two were recently added and are immature)
12 Corydoras habrosus (all but two were recently added and are immature)
Pair of Clown Killies (highly unlikely, as the female was just added last night, though the adults always keep to the surface themselves)

Anyone have any thoughts?

I dont actually know what Pseudomugil gertrudae are so cant really help. Can you not tell by the fin placement and shape though?

I would say the cory's are out (you would know if it was cory fry and it probably wouldnt be near the surface).
Oto's again wouldnt be swimming near the surface.
Glowlight danio's - Maybe if you happened to have a male and female. Females are normally slightly broader and fully bodied then the males.
Ember tetras - Not sure how easy these are to breed to be honest. If they are like a lot of tetras though I would say its possible and probably the most likely source.
Killies - definetly not in that space of time.

In these kidn of setups its not uncommon for most of the eggs to get eaten and only the odd one develope into fry. In my planted tank my fish spawn all the time but I only get maybe 2 fry a month from all the eggs that are laid and then not all of these will make it (I dont go through any special pains to feed the fry or save the eggs).

 

[eschaton]

I dont actually know what Pseudomugil gertrudae are so cant really help. Can you not tell by the fin placement and shape though?

I would say the cory's are out (you would know if it was cory fry and it probably wouldnt be near the surface).
Oto's again wouldnt be swimming near the surface.
Glowlight danio's - Maybe if you happened to have a male and female. Females are normally slightly broader and fully bodied then the males.
Ember tetras - Not sure how easy these are to breed to be honest. If they are like a lot of tetras though I would say its possible and probably the most likely source.
Killies - definetly not in that space of time.

In these kidn of setups its not uncommon for most of the eggs to get eaten and only the odd one develope into fry. In my planted tank my fish spawn all the time but I only get maybe 2 fry a month from all the eggs that are laid and then not all of these will make it (I dont go through any special pains to feed the fry or save the eggs).

Pseudomugil gertrudae are also known as Gertrude's Blue Eyes - or pygmy rainbowfish. They are purportedly easy to breed, though I have not tried to breed them myself yet. The males and females are quite easy to distinguish.

I've bred Corys before (though only the bronze), and come to think of it, this fry isn't acting anything like them

I don't think I can save this fry, but I'll try. It's not worth culturing BBS or getting microworms for a single fry. That said, I stuck him in a breeder trap, and my tank has a healthy population of...everything now, from 5 different snail species, to tons of different pods, to algae in many forms. It also gets a slight oily residue on the surface of the water (which makes the smaller snails float on the surface to try and digest it). Between all that, he may be able to find enough food in the water on his own. We will see.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Ahh right, in that case then yeah it is most likely to be them. Just looked them up and they are described as being continuous spawners.

Really nice looking fish as well.

 

[kribensis12]

I would go with the rainbow's as well.

 

[jourdy288]

Maybe you could feed him crushed flake.