Got Convict fry, now what?

[Weasel6]

Got home this A.M. and noticed that I have fry. No what? How do I go about feeding them? I have tubifex worm cubes, flakes, shrimp pellets, cichlid granules and cichlid pellets on hand. What to feed them and when do I start? They must have hatched last night so they are 12-14 hrs. old. Want to raise a few to keep and use as feeders for other fish in big tank.

[hanif]

you might want to try liquiy fry for egg layers this will be fine for the first few day. then you can feed them newly hatched brine shrimp, or if you are unable to do this you can crush up flake food into very small mouth size pieces and feed them that way also crushed pellets will work as long as it is small enough for them to eat.

[hanif]

what do you meen when you say using the rest of the fry as feeders for the other fish in the large tank, you not going to feed them to the larger fish surely not.

[hanif]

it would be a bad idea to feed them to your other fish and pretty cruel if you ask me ,you be better selling them to your local aquarium or trading them in for proper food which im sure your larger fish will appreciate more and your young convicts will certainly be releaved.

[Bantam]

a lot of people raise convict (and other) fry purely to use as feeders. i believe you can specifically buy feeder guppy's in the usa although it doesn't happen over here.

each to their own i say.

you may well have started a moral debate here :D

[Weasel6]

I may turn some into my LFS but he's only gonna take so many. Convict fry are I'm sure "a dime a dozen".
What's the difference between feeder guppies and fry when it comes to live food? I'm an equal opportunity fish keeper and I thought all fish were created equal. I mean, I can't discriminate against the poor guppy can I? Is the guppies lives any less important because he's a "guppy"? Is he merely a second class fish who's sole purpose in life is to feed others whereas the Convict's noble and "blue blooded" background should be protected from these seemingly savage and barbaric acts? Why must the peasants always defend and fight for royalty? Is he not called a "convict" for a reason? Are the guppies expendible because they are so prolific in todays LFS? Then again, peasants were too in the Dark Ages.
Or is it because Convicts are egg layers? Are livebearers expendible and egg layers are not? Are we as humans not live bearers aswell? Hummm? I might be on to something here. Now I know what to do with my 9 y/o when she gets on my nerves, I'll feed her to my Tiger Barbs. :D




That'll get'm going !!

[Bantam]

big fish eat little fish - its a fact

[dpmac10]

does any one fell bad when they feed there bigger fish somtimes i fell bad when i put the feeders in there and right when they hit the water they get eat up. and in my tank there isn't any where for them to really hid so at night when my catfish hunt for food they are just out in the open that must be horible not being able to sleep worring your going to get ate what do u guys think or do u think they even now that another fish might eat them in the tank.

[ChilDawg]

Fact: If raised well and in good-quality water, baby Cons and Neets are better feeders than so-called feeder guppies and goldfish, what with the conditions in which they are kept.

Fact: Some fish are piscivorous.

Fact: Some people don't like the use of feeders in their aquaria.

Fact: People oft-breed danios and such as first food for piscivorous fry.

Fact: I think that it is more the fact that Cichlids are well-regarded that makes Cons less expendable than guppies.

Fact: The tiger barbs wouldn't eat your 9-year-old, and, even if they did, she would cause massive water-quality problems long before they finished.

Fact: This thread sure as sugar needs to get back on track.

Your fry will need some good-quality fry food, but flakes (specially formulated for fry) are less messy than the liquid egglayer food suggested earlier. It depends on what type of water changes you intend upon doing as to which you would use.

Y'know what? Use them however you see fit (the Cons, not the 9-year-old). If you believe in fish-eat-fish, and you can bring yourself to use them as fish food, more power to you. They're healthier than the ubiquitous guppies and will make a good fish food.

[Weasel6]

New problem.
Its time for a water change and the female is taking the fry out for a swim during the day and hovers over them. Do I wait til night and siphon the water off the top and not clean the gravel for now or clean the gravel and work around them as best I can? Will the female eat them if she get spooked?