Fry question

[ChunkyMonkey]

Congrats! I remember the first time I saw fry in my tank. I came home and thought I saw algae on the back glass. Instead, it was a huge batch of jewel cichlid fry. I made a LATE night run to wally world because I needed a tank then and there, lol. 55gal tank later I was fishing for mom and fry. I was careless as I didn't know mom would eat the fry in a panic when I placed them in a transferring container to carry them to the living room tank. But to make it bitter sweet, that kicked off the second tank addiction, lol.

Keep us posted on your progress with pics too!

 

[kenyi]

I have BABIES!!! and they're huge! Totally clears up my original question about the first fry--- clearly danios...
Mom still has a mouthful! is this normal? I've got about 7 or 10 swimmers so far....She seems like she's doing all she can to hold the rest in and she's ignoring the ones that are out... I got home from work a few hours ago-imagine my suprise to see the baby fish swimming about when I clearly could see mom was still holding!! I'm trying really hard not to plaster my face against the glass and watch every minute- it seems like there are slowly more and more of them popping up! I'm just afraid that once she spits the rest out she's just going to eat them up if I'm not watching.... These tiny fish are making me CRAZY!!!
(reassurance about natural selection, please!!!)
BTW- The danios are safe and sound and growing in their breeder net! Last count, all still kickin'!

:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:
Congrats! Fry really make everyone go :nilly: (in a good way). Anyways, she should be fine with the fry. How long has she been holding? I guess you could strip her, but you should probably wait a little longer first, and let her let her fry out natrually. And the fry won't get sucked up by your filter, right? Just want to make sure, happened to me once and it wasn't pretty. But congrats! Keep us posted with pics and updates! :clap::clap::clap:

 

[alexx]

I'm only a little afraid she's going to eat them- but she needs to release the rest of the fry first!!! lol... Now I can only count about 5 or 6 baby cichlids- not sure if I miss counted yesterday or if a few of them managed to get back inside her mouth without me noticing...
She's been holding for about 3 but probably closer to 4 weeks. I don't really want to strip her. But when should I? Give it a few more days and see if she lets them go? or maybe just if she starts acting wierd?
How many more do you think there are? She doesn't look any smaller...
The more I watch the babies- the more amazed I become- I am astounded at how big they are for one, but also how able they are!! They are just like little cichlids!! eating everything and fighting over territory!! Bad news is that a few of them definately have faint stripes, and while some of them are yellow... most of them look faint blue- makes me think the Kenyi had his way with her. Darn him! he had a girlfriend... until he killed her!!! he's nasty. My favorite, but nasty...
I think they appear strong enough to stay clear of the filter. I didn't do anything to change my filter- just covered the intake with a mesh bag. I have one wiley danio that escaped my fishing to transfer them to the breeder net and he seems to be doing ok with the current. (he is my experiment with survival of the fittest.)
The Cichlids amaze me even more when compared to the danio fry- the danios look like sperm- still, what 10 days after hatching? The cichlids are totally just mini fish right away!! Huge differences- really cool to watch. i'll get some pics soon- need a few things- like a new bulb for the tank and batteries for my camera!! But heck- at least I've got plenty of fish food! thanks all for the congrats, and the help, and the well wishes!
- Alex

 

[alexx]

UPDATE- What is MOST amazing is how my fish keeps answering my questions!

Seems like there are about 15 babies all together. About 10 of them have their own little hiding places staked out and there are about 5 more that hang close to mom and allow themselves to be scooped back up when I get close to the tank- It seemed for a brief moment last night that she was completely free of fry. All of the fry seem healthy- so now I guess I can start worrying about mom! Should I be feeding her some larger food now? or will she eat the baby food too? And- When should I pull her out of the tank?
And- When I pull her out of the tank should I put her back in with the cichlids? Or should i throw her in my 20h community to recover? 20 high is a funny tank that has an admittedly depleated stock list. (which might be a good thing with these new circumstances) 1 4" blue gourami, one 3" red tailed shark, one huge tiger barb and one lonely zebra danio) I might convert it to grow the babies out- I might have to!

 

[kenyi]

UPDATE- What is MOST amazing is how my fish keeps answering my questions!

Seems like there are about 15 babies all together. About 10 of them have their own little hiding places staked out and there are about 5 more that hang close to mom and allow themselves to be scooped back up when I get close to the tank- It seemed for a brief moment last night that she was completely free of fry. All of the fry seem healthy- so now I guess I can start worrying about mom! Should I be feeding her some larger food now? or will she eat the baby food too? And- When should I pull her out of the tank?
And- When I pull her out of the tank should I put her back in with the cichlids? Or should i throw her in my 20h community to recover? 20 high is a funny tank that has an admittedly depleated stock list. (which might be a good thing with these new circumstances) 1 4" blue gourami, one 3" red tailed shark, one huge tiger barb and one lonely zebra danio) I might convert it to grow the babies out- I might have to!

Congrats! Now you don't have to worry about stripping! About the food- I would feed the fry their regular baby food 2-5 times a day and then drop some adult food in for the female twice a day. I normally let the female rest for around 1 week before putting her back in with any other fish, and just tend to keep her in the fry tank. What I normally do is put the babies in a breeder net and let mom swim around for four reasons:

It is easy to count/ round up the fry when they are in a smaller space (breeder net),

it is easier to feed the fry when they are in a smaller space

the female won't try to hold or even eat the fry when they are separated (rare but has happened).

The fry have no chance of getting sucked up by a filter (for you it sounds like it won't happen but to be safe)

If you have space for another breeder net I would get one and use it, otherwise I would try to divide the tank in some way. I'm reluctant to having the mom and babies stay in the same area, and I really wouldn't put the mom in any other tank with any other fish fish that would compete with her or even be abused by or abuse her (Tiger barb might pick fins, she might be aggressive to the gourami). Right now she's really weak and I would NOT put her with the cichlids for at least a week. Best bet right now is to let them mix until you get something to separate the two (Ive tried tank dividers, fry squeeze through them easily) and so I, personally, recommend another breeder net.

Congrats and good Luck!!

 

[kenyi]

How are the fry doing?

 

[alexx]

Fry are doing awesome!! Eating like piglets! Growing like crazy! And perhaps the most exciting to me- they are not really that transparent anymore!! Mostly kinda pink- most with stripes. Unlike a few days ago when they were all the color of their guts! All have the black stripe down their dorsal fins like mom... one only has one eye but otherwise healthy! I Can't wait to see what they will look like when they are bigger. Also- I haven't lost one yet!! not a Danio, not a cichlid!! Unbelieveable!

Definately most exciting of all- I have found a willing home for a few of them!! I was half heartedly trying to convince my sister that she needed a few fry... that her beta wasn't exciting enough... Didn't think she'd jump at the chance to take some of my poorly bred cichlids- wouldn't you know it- I guess she bullied her boyfriend into agreement, and we went out shopping for a tank setup today!! She got a 29 because our mom had an old stand that would hold it... Guess that means she can take about 4 of them and perhaps a couple Danios!! Little small... but I think bc the mom's a lab they shouldn't really get too huge. I'm not worried. If she's anything like her sister there will be more tanks soon...
So exciting! Her tank should be up and running (empty) next week... I'm going to give her some water and filter media to help her speed up her cycle. She lives about an hour away from me. How big should I let the little buggers get before I give them to her? Wait a month, 6 weeks? until they're an inch? what are the rules...? are there rules?! Or should we just wait on the tank? and move them when its ready?

 

[kenyi]

Fry are doing awesome!! Eating like piglets! Growing like crazy! And perhaps the most exciting to me- they are not really that transparent anymore!! Mostly kinda pink- most with stripes. Unlike a few days ago when they were all the color of their guts! All have the black stripe down their dorsal fins like mom... one only has one eye but otherwise healthy! I Can't wait to see what they will look like when they are bigger. Also- I haven't lost one yet!! not a Danio, not a cichlid!! Unbelieveable!

Definately most exciting of all- I have found a willing home for a few of them!! I was half heartedly trying to convince my sister that she needed a few fry... that her beta wasn't exciting enough... Didn't think she'd jump at the chance to take some of my poorly bred cichlids- wouldn't you know it- I guess she bullied her boyfriend into agreement, and we went out shopping for a tank setup today!! She got a 29 because our mom had an old stand that would hold it... Guess that means she can take about 4 of them and perhaps a couple Danios!! Little small... but I think bc the mom's a lab they shouldn't really get too huge. I'm not worried. If she's anything like her sister there will be more tanks soon...
So exciting! Her tank should be up and running (empty) next week... I'm going to give her some water and filter media to help her speed up her cycle. She lives about an hour away from me. How big should I let the little buggers get before I give them to her? Wait a month, 6 weeks? until they're an inch? what are the rules...? are there rules?! Or should we just wait on the tank? and move them when its ready?

:clap:congrats!:clap:I would give her some media, and let her do a fishless cycle, so you're not endangering any of the fry. That should take around 1-2 months, and by that time your fry should be around 1-2 inches, probably good enough to move. There really are not any rules, but I would recommend waiting until they are at least the size of neons, just so you wont have any problems. Fry are a little less tolerant of changes in water chemistry, so I would do a fishless cycle and make sure that your water parameters are the same before the move. Congrats and good luck!

 

[alexx]

Bad pictures from my cell phone- but you get the idea!! They are really getting big!

 

[kenyi]

Looks great!!