New babies and no clues

[seal]

Hi guys

I have what I thought 2 males: a blue snake diamond and red melon with new babies that have attached to the larger discus and am unsure what to do.

I have an internal filter that generates a fair amount of water movement and when I noticed fry that had just hatched and near a plant decided to turn the filter off temporarily to stop movement in hope they would attach to a parent.

Well today they have, so should I keep the water movement off or turn it back on. How strong a swimmers are fry?

AND what should I do next?............is there somewhere I can read about how to care for new babies?

WHAT will these fish look like given their parents being different fish?

Cheers

ANY help is much appreciated

SEAL :?

[Trebs]

The fry won't handle a current very well. What other filtration do you have on the tank? I'd always be very careful about turning off part of your filtration as that can lead to mini-cycling if the rest isn't up to the job.

[seal]

Yeah thanks

I have just turned it on as my fry have all but disappeared bar 1, so not sure what happened. I guess I need to work out the ideal tank scenario, since I have parents that can breed. Do you know what the ideal tank set up is?

Cheers
seal

[Merrilyn]

Hi seal, great that you had wrigglers, even though they did disappear. At least you know you had a confirmed pair, and a fertile male. Great start.

Now if you want to do this breeding thing properly, you will have to make a few changes. Put a sponge filter in that tank, and start cycling it now, because when the fry are free swimming, you will need it. A power filter is far too strong for a breeding tank. The babies will spend all their time swimming against the current instead of eating, and finally swim themselves to death.

The other problem is that the fry can be sucked into the filter by the strong current. Many a batch of fry have disappeared this way. A sponge filter bubbling gently will give you sufficient bio filtration, provided you do frequent water changes, and will be safe for even the tiniest fry.

You can expect you pair to lay eggs again in about a week, so you have plenty of time to do some reading on raising the fry. You'll find lots of good tips on this forum. Anything you don't understand, just ask.

Just remember, fry need warmth, clean water and good food. They will feed off the parents for the first week, then it's time for you to set up a brine shrimp hatcher, so you have food on hand. Brine shrimp is the best first food for fry, and is very easy to hatch. Once the fry start eating the shrimp, you will be able to see the orange shrimp showing thru their bellies. Then you'll know you are well under way.

I leave my lights on 24/7 while the parents have fry, otherwise the fry scatter during the hours of darkness and seem to take a long time to get back to the parents when the lights are turned on. Constant lighting has the added bonus of allowing the babies to feed day and night, and I find it improves growth rate.

Good luck with your breeding efforts, and keep us posted.

[kalebjarrod]

Ladyred,

nice work i like the hints

Q.

if you have your lights on 24/7 so the fish can feed and don't scatter, how do you feed them at night? or are you refering to when the parents are feeding?

thanks

[seal]

Thanks for the feedback guys....much appreciated....

What exactly do these sponge filters look like? I actually turned my power filter down at present, but am keen to try and set up for an ideal breeding environment.

I have plant life in the tank, so will that effect the plants with no water flow? I also noticed yesterday that my snails just went crazy when I turned the power filter off and turned into a million in no time. I have been battling trying to keep the snail population down by siphoning and squishing and even added a clown loach but they are hard little buggers to get rid of.

Also I have been wondering if the parents will eat their young with too much human interference etc. Is it safe to go up to the tank when they are raising babies and do water changes etc as my discus can be timid at times?

Thanks again

Greg

[Merrilyn]

Hi seal, go to an aquarium shop and ask to see a sponge filter; there are lots of models, mostly driven by an air pump, and safe for fry.

Plants will be fine, but the snails could be a problem. They just love to snack on fresh fish eggs.

I still do all my normal tank maintenance when the parents have fry, but I don't allow strangers near the tank, and I always make sure my movements are slow and calm so as not to frighten the parents. Yes, they will eat their eggs or fry to protect them, if they feel the tank is not a safe home for their precious babies, so keep your hands out of the water.

Ryan, I leave the tank lights on 24/7 when the fry are feeding off the parents, during the first two weeks of their life. I find I get a better growth rate this way. Parents just get their normal three feeds a day. HTH

[seal]

Thanks again

I will let you know how I go when I change over my filter..............It would be good to find out how everyone does battle with snails though?

Cheers
Greg

[Merrilyn]

Just squash and vacuum Greg - sorry I don't know of any other safe way to remove snails.