What fry food can I grow in my spawn tank?

[Ilikebutterflies]

I'm going to try the planted cycled tank for my next spawn. I'm trying everything I think I might like to see what works the best for me and I have made it this far. I have a sand substrate that has been seeded with sand from a cycled tank. I have java fern, anacharis and a few other things in there as well as some snails that came with the plants. I know I will have infusoria but what can I actually cultivate in the tank? The tank is 29gallons and well lit.

[logisticsguy]

You can hatch bbs in a container that sits or floats at the top of your tank. For the most part worms need to cultured in a separate environment then put into the tank for feed. However there may be a way I do not know about.

[Ilikebutterflies]

I was wondering more about some sort of zoo plankton or freshwater nematode. Certainly these exist in natural settings like ponds and lakes and could be cultivated in an aquarium...

[indjo]

Tank alone may not be sufficient for ALL the possible fry. Yes, you may culture infusoria and what ever micro critters, but they will all be consumed in days. Then you'll need to feed fry like usual. So you'll need other cultures as well.

My tubs are like that - it can support fry for a few days. But then they need extra feeding. Often a few stronger ones (10-20) can survive (until they are 1cm) without extra feeding since I always have live tubifex in my tubs and all sorts of insects nest in them.

[Fabian]

I don't you need sand for your substrate,the male needs to pick up the eggs fallen on the floor.
I think you can add daphnia but don't add them at their first 2-3 weeks.I heard someone said they will consume your newborn fry.

[indjo]

As far as I know, daphnia will not prey on newborn fry. I always add daphnia on the day they become free swimming, hoping they will reproduce and the new born becomes fry food..

I think they're called water mites - the round/oval blackish types. These will feed on weak fry. IMO/IME the key is having food supply for them as well (what ever it may be). All of my tubs have them, regardless how I try to eliminate them. But they don't feed on fry as long as they have other food - one reason why I feed fry egg yolk.

[Fabian]

Does the water mites eat daphnia?Because my first daphnia culture crashed because of some black oval/circle things that keeps swimming around.

[Sena Hansler]

I have had daphnia always in my fry tanks. Live plants seem to be key as for the water mites, they do feed on the weak fry. Making sure your fry have sufficient food (as mentioned egg yolk is good for the mites not to eat the fry, and fry get nutrients). I've only had some water mites but at that stage my fry were big enough to eat anything in there.

I find the easiest stuff to cultivate grows on their own. Infusoria, daphnia, are the ones I stopped worrying about. Always have another food source! Whether that is vinegar worms, white worms, bloodworms or microworms... And BBS is not that hard either :D trust me. My four week old fry are devouring thousands of BBS within minutes. You can never have too much food for them!

[indjo]

Originally Posted by Fabian

Does the water mites eat daphnia?Because my first daphnia culture crashed because of some black oval/circle things that keeps swimming around.

Yes, they will devour anything they can catch. They would even attack adult long finned bettas. In my case, bettas wouldn't eat these mites. So I have to siphon them out to keep numbers as low as possible. IMO in small numbers they help clean the tubs. But too many will also clean out fry food. Lol