Newborns

[tiffyg]

We noticed yesterday that our yellow lab is pregnant.  Here's the issue:  Should we move her to another tank and wait for her to have them and them move her back with the rest of the fish so she doesn't eat the babies?  If we do that, what do we feed the babies to ensure that they will not die? (if she doesn't eat them first.)  Any input and advice would definitely be helpful!!

 

[Malawifan]

I would put her in another tank on her own. If you let her spit in the main tank they will get eaten. If you don't have another tank you could always use a breeding net.

 

[lalo99]

You can move mom. Just make sure the tank has a cycled filter on it. Otherwise, you risk killing her and the fry. Fry are sensitive to water conditions. They do not tolerate ammonia well at all.
Once the fry no longer have an egg sack they can be fed. Small portions only. Too much food will hurt your water conditions.Don allow food to rot on the floor.

 

[tiffyg]

you said once they are hatched from the egg they can be fed, but what do we feed them?  I personally think that the food that we have is too big for the little ones to eat....

 

[lalo99]

They dont really hatch form the egg. They really grow on top of it. The egg sack becomes their food for the first few weeks. Once it is absorbed you can feed them. Just crush up some flakes or some pellets. Newly hatched brine shrimp work well also. Also a food called Golden pearls is really good for fry.

 

[Tizer]

depends on the size of the fry, it varies a lot from species to species. yellow labs would be fine with crushed flake food, you don't need to feed them until the egg sack has disappeared. Yellow labs are extremely hardy.

 

[tiffyg]

So, if I leave the mom in the tank that she is in with the other fish, the fry won't live will they?

 

[bullit]

you might be lucky and few will survive ifs there plenty of hiding spots