Its raining fry!

[jibruno]

so yes, my pair spawned and after 30 hours my nest burst open and fry began to fall from their eggs... they began hatching about 12 hours ago and i already see some free swimming..

now im a new parent so for the health of my fry, i have some questions

FOOD;
-i have plants and snails in the tank and the tank has been set up for about 2 weeks, i hope i have infusoria , but how do i know for sure? i dont want them to starve
-when do i start feeding things like micro worms, vin eels, BBS, ect?

WATER;
-how often do i do water changes, and do i add anything to the water?
-Should i continue to use my sponge filter?

Now iv done a ton of research, but as everyone knows, things dont always go as planned. so im just asking to get a general idea of how you all have learned to raise fry. im just asking for advice and knowledge to raise healthy fry. any help will be appreciated..

thanks =]


ps. ill post a pic of my lil guys later

[tpocicat]

Since they have an egg sack, they won't really need to eat until they are around 5 days old or so. Vinegar Eels and microworms can be fed any time after that. If the spawning tank water was low, just add about a gallon a day of conditioned same temp water. Once the tank is full, I do 50% water changes every other day. I'm sure others will have more to tell you.

[jibruno]

thank you, thats a good starter, what about the fry that are already free swimming? do i need to feed them?

[jibruno]

soo tiny lol

[tpocicat]

For the first few days they get nutrition from their egg sack. There should be micro foods in the tank if they get hungry. If you don't feel comfortable waiting a few days, you can add a VERY small amount of vinegar eels or microworms.

[jibruno]

ok thanks =]

[JKfish]

Snails naturally produce inforsia, and the plants will with time.

Feeding wise, most fry will absorb their egg yolks by 3-4 days and become free swimming. About one day after they start free swimming, you should introducing food. You'll want to start with the microworms and vinegar eels seeing as they are smaller than the bbs. Feed 3 or so times a day.
I'm assuming that the sponge filter already had benificial bacteria in it, and as such your tank is cycled. Since it is, you should keep it in.

Water change wise, once they start free swimming, you can start adding small bits of water water (dechlorinator is all you need to add) each day to your tank to fill it all the way up. When you do, make sure to pre-heat the water in the bucket to the tank temperatures before adding, and when adding make sure it is a slow process (if you have an airline, knot it so that the flow is extra slow, and use it to siphon the water out of the bucket and into the tank).About 5-7 days after free swimming, start doing water changes.

[vilmarisv]

Congrats on the fry.

It seems that there are many unhatched eggs in your nest that have been lost to fungus.
All those white fussy orbs on your nest are eggs gone bad and you should remove them so they don't decompose further in your water.

You will be able to remove them in clumps, just grab them from the top with a pair of twizzers.

[jibruno]

yeah i figured mold wasnt good so i removed them, i also had a mold growing on the cup and removed that too..
thanks for the advice

[bettalover2033]

Well jibruno, you finally did it! You have fry now.

It seems like everything you asked was covered. Unless you still might have questions?

Though as many suggested, you should wait a little while before feeding. I wait exactly 1 week then feed them, people say at 4-5 days and I just found that it's easier to do it in a week. They are the fastest little scavengers by then.

All breeders have different methods though so you'll be able to find what works best for you.