Raising Fry?

LolaLouie · Jun 16, 2008

Hi,

I lifted up my cockatoo's cave while cleaning a few weeks ago and didn't notice the eggs until i'd vacuumed most of them up. 2 weeks later I noticed a bunch of tiny fry in some java moss. I decided as they'd made it through the 1st 2 weeks to leave them with their mother but then she started leaving them a lot more and they started getting eaten so I caught them and put them in a breeding trap with some java moss... I lost 3 in the catching process (2 eaten, 1 up the filter

) but I now have 6 in a plastic breeding trap. I have been feeding liquifry and baby brineshrimp which they are eating well and they seem to be doing ok.

I have a few questions though...

1. How do you clean out the breeding trap as it is getting very dirty?
2. How long will these fish take to grow big enough to eat adult food?
3. I'm going away for 5 days and then coming back for 2 and going away again for 7.. how do i keep the fry alive during this time?
4. When should i move the fish into my hospital tank (which currently has 4 ADFs in it)

Also anymore advice on how to look after these fish would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance :good:

Colin_T · Jun 16, 2008

1) Breeding nets are better than traps because they allow water to flow through more freely thus keeping them cleaner. Very small bristlenose catfish can be kept in the container to help keep it cleaner.
You don't need to feed them liquid fry food as they can take newly hatched brineshrimp from day one.
2) It depends on how well fed they are as to how fast they grow. Generally it will be at least a month before you can offer them small pieces of normal fish food. Keep them on newly hatched brineshrimp and microworms during the first month and they will grow quicker.
3) Put the fry into a heavily planted tank and add some live daphnia. With any luck the daphnia will produce young while in the tank and the fry can eat them. The fry will also pick on micro-organisms living on the plants.
4) Move them into the frog tank when they are big enough not to get eaten by the frogs.