Whats best?

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

My kribensis are having another batch of fry, And I wanted to ensure the survival of the little tackers. So I've decided so use my 5gal to hold these guys until they are ready to be deported or relocated. What would be the best time to remove them? I'm thinking after 3days (I recall reading it somewhere) or after a week?

Plus will the parents feel lost and bewildered that their fry have gone missing? I won't be a cradle snatcher, but this time I want more than 3 out of about 50 to survive. I probally will remove fry every second batch, And this is the second batch. :D

I think my filter currently in my 5gal may be too strong. 600L/H but its blowing against the wall. And plus its a cheapy so it is quite weak.

another thing, my gravel in the 5gal is quite large and corse so I guess I will have to change to sand?

thanks in advance. BTW the eggs are 3days old should be within the next week we see some wrigglies.

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

Thanks for your replies, I am overwhelmed....at the lack of replies.

anyone ever remove fry from their parents? and If so when?

my new gravel is brown and like small broken rocks....making my water very dirty. I've put carbon in it and I washed it alot before I actually put it in the tank.

[demon_surfer]

most of the people on the board are american..so would be in their beds right about now ;)

lol


anyway, i am unsure of the time to take the fry but make sure you leave a couple behind. I understand that if you take them all this can upset the pair, because the male will want to mate again ASAP and the female will still be all tuckered out. So leave maybe 5 in there for them to take care of.

as to the filter in the tank. I dont think it will be too powerful, provided you put something on the intake to keep the fry from getting sucked up. I used the net from a net breeder on my Jewels.

As to the gravel, if you stick with what kribs prefer in general it should be ok. However, it is a good idea on fry tanks to have no gravel at all. They have a nasty habit of working their way down into it and then being squished when it moves.

hope this helps

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

oh ok, I really need to know when to take them out but thanks for the reply....I left it a few days....had 22 views...slackers :P

anyways yeah the gravel looks to be a problem, its not clearing up just staying dirty..its really fine...and yeah I did find out they fit into the smallest holes..

I didn't actually think to leave any behind...good Idea I was thinking how they would be upset.

But anyone out there got any ideas on removal...any fish doen'st have to be directly relating to kribs.

[demon_surfer]

I imagine a net would do more harm than good.

I woudl suggest trying to herd them into a see through bottle...or if they are very small try a large turkey baster...I have read that this works quite well on small fry.

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

ok I got how, where and what.

but WHEN...

hmm i'll try the see through bottle, might use a jar though...I'll leave 5 behind or somthing like that as you said.

When is the question, its 1st day hatch and they are squrming about. when do i remove them?

[demon_surfer]

i *believe* it is when they are free swimming. ill do some reading and post for yah

[demon_surfer]

Ok I did some reading and no one mentions one specific time to remove the fry. Some people recommend taking out the eggs and letting them hatch in the tank by themselves. Some recommend leaving them with the parents till they decide to try and kill them.

Really you can remove them whenever you want after they are free swimming. Just make sure you dont take them all or the parents will turn on each other :)

good luck, hope i helped

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

Thanks for the info, and yes you did help. I will take them out soon. I think in 3-4 days. I've changed my gravel and my heater is coming. I will leave a few behind so the parents have something to direct their attensions towards.

they have hatched and broken free from there eggs. Their eyes are forming and a few of them are starting to become more like a fish. In the next few days or so they should become free swimming.

thanks again it was realy nice of you do research. Sorry I wasn't able to respond sooner it seems my compute decided to have a crash. it is still in the process of setting up

[MoJo]

Let them with the parents as long as possible. I usually remove cichlid fry after they are free swiomming for about a month and a half. Really depends on the fish. I have never bred Kribs. I have read that removing the fry too soon could dissolve the pair bond and stymie future breeding. Make sure to cover the intake of your filter with a gauze pad to prevent them from being sucked in. When it's time to remove the fry do it just after you turn the tank lights on in the morning. They will usually be huddled near the gravel. The simplest way is to use a hose and siphon them out. If you move them to another tank try and use the water from the parents tank. For some reason it helps the mortality of the fry.

Demon: This is done often for fish that are hard to breed. Removing the eggs poses a couple problems. The first is that you have to mimic the actions of the parents by ensuring water is flowing over the eggs. Cichlid parents will fan the eggs to keep fresh water flowing over them. The second thing would be to treat your tank water with Methylene Blue to keep any fungus from forming on the eggs. All in all it's possible but you are much better letting mother nature do her job. The up side is that they will breed again. And unless you are making a living raising fish...why bother?

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

Well it all turned out differently to what I had originally planned (of course!). this morning I took the torch and gave the nest a little shine and to my shock there where none left. So using my pressured thinking methods I picked up the nest (prolly wasn't such a good idea) and 1 fry darted out and I lost track of it. Then I realised the mother was moving back and forth and she had moved the fry to the pot in which I intended the laying to occur. There were only 5 left anyway (not the cause of the upraising of the nest) so I figured it wasn't worth taking them out, it has only been a week since they have hatched. So instead of wasting my heated water. I've moved the 2 last surviving kribs from the last spawn into my 5gal so they can grow faster and with less worry about getting eaten.

I had 2 white clouds and a paradise fish in the 5gal which is now in a roughly 10" long tank. the measurements are 10"x6"x6". how many gals?

anyway'z thats my spiel

[MoJo]

The fry you put into the tank with the Paradise fish and white clouds just became feeders. Good luck.

[Mystroe_TheMyst]

Sry, I must not have made myself clear. My paradise fish is in a seperate tank. while my other fry is in my 5gal. so they are seperate.

There are no fry left in the main tank, i think mother got hungry. I was looking forward to seeing 30-50 fry swin around