Sad Times

[twingogeekeo]

At the weekend i found 6 platy fry in the tank. The size of them they are new born.

Well about 5-10 minutes ago i glanced up at my tank to see a fry above my tall plant where im guessing he had been hiding so i run to get the net (Next to the tank) to see my Gourami making him a meal as i went to open the lid

Why do fish have to be so crawl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Electric Warrior]

Hungry?

 

[twingogeekeo]

Couldnt been hungry as i feed them at 8.15

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Hate to say it, but babies make a healthy snack. And with most fish, if they can fit it in there mouth, they will eat it. Keep an eye out for your other fry and see if you can snatch them up and get them in a breeder net or something.

 

[twingogeekeo]

I have 6 in the breeding net already from sunday. Going to keep my eye out still i check the tank everyday. But the ones that hide i cant see as the back of the tank is fairly heavy planted

 

[Tizer]

fish cant crawl

 

[twingogeekeo]

fish cant crawl

You dont want to know what im thinking right night with that comment

Its like this but not the thump

 

[Staxx]

its all part of keeping fish tbh. i witnessed my danios chasing down and eating fry until i noticed what they was doing!

 

[MBOU]

Its horrible but its life I still get really wound up over it, like cats killing birds etc. Its just so unecessary but you cant tell them off for doing what is so natural to them.

Though to be fair, I lost my temper yesterday when I was procrastinating from doing my essay, staring out the window in time to see a sparrowhawk zoom past and grab the lesser spotted woodpecker that was feeding on the birdfeeder. I ran and jumped out the window with no shoes on and in the pouring rain to try and get the woodpecker off the sparrowhawk. Darned thing was dragging it down the drive and over the road and just as i got there it took to the air long enough to get over the hedge into the farmers field. Poor bloomin woodpecker was screaming the whole time

I feel awful, it was a female sparrowhawk who no doubt had babies to feed if she was so desperate for food but she wasnt thin and we are in the middle of the countryside... go catch a blooming mouse! The adult woodpecker was back today... i hate to say it but... at least it was a baby that got taken and not one of the breeding pair...

 

[BlueDragon]

The way I try and see it is that most of the baby Fish that will get eaten will either be ill, weak or deformed in some way and probably wouldn't have very pleasant lives if they weren't eaten. And you have to think that they are, after all, protene like anything else is. They're very good for your other Fish and will aid in their health. If you have any preggers Fish then that extra protene will be very good for them and their unborn babies too. It's not a nice thing to see but it means that the others will be healthier for it.

My mam has a pair of Sparrowhawks come into her garden to catch the Starlings. They wait just over the hedge and then swoop over to catch them while they're on the feeders. I've seen and heard them being caught and screaming, so I know what it's like. But I also know that those Sparrowhawks will have babies to feed, and they gotta do it somehow. And we both still love to see them in the garden. They're quite impressive Birds. And they often talk to eachother too : )

 

[the_lock_man]

At the weekend i found 6 platy fry in the tank. The size of them they are new born.

Well about 5-10 minutes ago i glanced up at my tank to see a fry above my tall plant where im guessing he had been hiding so i run to get the net (Next to the tank) to see my Gourami making him a meal as i went to open the lid

Why do fish have to be so crawl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's not cruel, it's nature. Platies have 30+ fry at each drop, on the assumption that most will be eaten. It's not like the female is grieving for the death of her baby - she probably ate half of them anyway.

 

[Gilli]

I know how you feel - if they were in the wild they would stand a chance but in a tank theres no hope! Whats worse is you get all excited about the babies and then they are gone!

 

[Bugdozer]

The fish have an instinct to eat even when they have just been fed because they don't know when they will get the chance to eat again. That's how it would be in the wild - putting the gourami in a tank won't change its behaviour sadly.

 

[the_lock_man]

I know how you feel - if they were in the wild they would stand a chance but in a tank theres no hope! Whats worse is you get all excited about the babies and then they are gone!

Of course there's hope in an aquarium. I've had livebearer fry survive in an aquarium without intervention, plenty of others have too. We shouldn't try to project our mammalian nuturing instinct onto non-mammalian organisms. Like I said, Mama-fish doesn't give two hoots.

 

[mattybee]

We shouldn't try to project our mammalian nuturing instinct onto non-mammalian organisms. Like I said, Mama-fish doesn't give two hoots.

+1