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mine spawned 1 yr earlier in a small QT tank hatched the fry swam with them and then all gone one night , since moving them here they havent really had a chance
not had a spot of their own other than were they are and that is the start of the sump filter
well mine have hatched and have been moved to the back of the tank where i cant see them well enough to photograph
have been giving them very fine powdered food,frozen bbs,microworm and decapsulated brine shrimp egg's
tank is pretty mature with lots of moss so hopefully enoug natural food for some no matter what
and hopefully enough places to hide if the parental skills are poor
so far i have been keeping lots of worm feedings up to the adults though now they have hidden it wll be harder to know what is going on
fingers crossed
Well, I'm down to only a couple of fry now. :cry: Started with a troupe of 75, then down a couple, now suddenly I might still have 3-4. I've tried feeding microworms, but I keep getting this sick feeling when I watch them with a magnifying glass, that it's actually the microworms that are eating the fry! :shock: I've also been feeding "Hikari First Bites" along with a few drops of "Zoe" vitamins (apparently highly laced with spirulina), they seemed to be doing relatively well even last night (though I was down to possibly 20 or so), and this morning hardly a soul to be found! Not sure at what stage the rot set in...
I had them in a mason jar with an airstone & Java Moss, then once they were almost free swimming (and being fed 1st Bites and some microworms) I moved them into a 2.5 gallon tank, floating in the 10 gallon growout. I stuck the sponge filter (loaded with stuff, well aged) in the 2.5 gallon. There's also a fair amount of Java moss in the 2.5. Regular water changes with part 10 gallon tank water & part RO water.
Anyone know how to make green water? I tried, but I don't think I really have it right....
Sorry for the long post, but maybe someone might clue into what I'm doing wrong?
My first few attempts I only got around 6 through. My best was 20+ feeding BBS and microworms.
I found them and Apistos very frustrating and have gone back to africans for a while.
Best result was to let them breed and remove female immediatly - as she was always the egg eating culprut. Male I would either remove on day 2-3 or immediatly. If I removed him immediatly I would set up an airstone nearby until they hatched - then move it so the babys didn't start flying round the tank. This was all done in a standard 2 footer.
Now I am lurking here and being tempted - especially with the nice Rams and Boreli I am seeing.
Steve
Hmmmm... Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way? :banghead Maybe I should put the parents back in the original - very well established - 10 gallon tank with the sponge filter & Java Moss, then pull them when the fry are almost emerging? I've grown numerous fry (completely involuntarily/accidentally) in that tank already, so there's got to be lots of fry food...
gingerbeer01, I'd be doing backflips for even 2 fry surviving into juvie-hood! :roll: I already have a house full of Africans, that's why I decided to try something a bit more challenging.... :banghead
i would assume with increased attempts to ed in a small water volume that you are getting water quality issue's
i would be inclined to try in a larger filtered volume of water , and yes the more mature the better
andrew
The other thing to try is raising the fry in the very mature tank, with lots of organic matter. Maybe cultivate a HUGE bunch of java moss for the fry so there is some 'natural' microscopic food for them.
I was nevere able to raise fry past about 6 days free swimming so I cant offer any posistive help but I have read that people are have raised them in almost straight green water.
HTH
Steph
lost mine today , pity
i guess next time i will pull them or perhasp make a floating hatcher so i dont have to worry about water quality in a smaller hatching tank
My condolences, fishgeek! :cry: I'm sure we'll get it figured out eventually.
I was talking to someone (extremely knowledgeable guy), and he mentioned some sort of disease that seems to hit these little guys around the week mark - give or take a bit. He said the name of the disease (it affects their gills), but I didn't get a chance to write it down, and I can't quite recall. It started with "sag" or "saw" or something... Anyway, he STRONGLY advocates a larger, very mature tank, rather than a smaller, immaculately pure water tank.
So, if anyone can try that, I'd be eagerly waiting for results (of success 8-) ). My female came down with bloat or hex or something, and treatement isn't going too well, so it could be a while before I can resume experimenting (forgot to plug the heater back in after a treatement, and the temp went down to 72 F. :( . She's still hangin' in there though....)
Think I may have accidentally broken the code! :wave2
Think the key is to leave them in a really grungy tank, and let them fend for themselves? I had my old male and new small female (original female didn't make it :( ) in a tank that hasn't been cleaned for a very long time, with grunge all over the bottom. They spawned, but I pulled them too soon, and the eggs fungused. So, I scraped everything off the rock and forgot about the now empty tank. This morning I happened to glance at the tank and there were ~10-12 fry swimming around, obviously eating, and healthy. So, I started feeding microworms & frozen bbs, though I hardly think any additional food is necessary at this stage, since there's obviously lots for them to pick at. Hopefully I'm not jumping the gun, but I really think this time they'll actually make it! :D