# What the heck??



## Magdelaine (Apr 9, 2005)

I'm currently cycling my 29 gallon tank. I finally got it all put together with the rocks and the substrate and while waiting for my plant order to arrive I spiked the tank with ammonia to 1.5 mg/l (day 1). Day 2 I spiked it to almost 3.0 mg/l and even though I had added mulm and some rocks from my cycled 10 gallon I decided the stuff in my whisper's bio-sponge would be really good to kick start cycling so I took it out of the filter case and dunked it clean in my 29 gallon's water. 

Today, I'm getting ready to test the water when some strange movement catches my eye. It looks like some bit of something or other is _swimming_. On closer inspection I see it's a baby fish! My female guppy has been dead for more than a week and she didn't have a gravid spot for months prior to her passing, plus, it just doesn't look like a guppy fry. It's missing those big eyes they normally have. Is it possible this guy was just living in the filter? It must have come from that sponge! 

I put a piece of lettuce in there but I have no idea what to feed something so small. Obviously I'm not going to add any more ammonia. Any ideas on how I go about taking care of this tiny creature _and_ cycle my tank?


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## garfieldnfish (Jan 18, 2005)

First bites fry food. It looks big enough to eat that. Or crush some flakes really fine. This will actually cycle your tank too since this fry will not eat it all and the left over food will become a source of ammonia for the cycle.


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## Guest (Jan 30, 2006)

If you really want to keep the lil' creature, I would take it out of the cycling tank and put it in an unfiltered bowl or tank. I would also add a few drops of Methelyne blue. Feed it frozen baby brine shrimps. It will grow much faster that way. Make frequent water changes and be careful not to flush it out. 

A close-up pic would be nice if you can manage to catch the lil' bug still for a moment.

Good luck.... very interesting project you have now!

Sponge
PS : If your tank is heated, try to heat the bowl or tank too. If not, try to set it close to a tank that is and away from any air draft. A small air stone will help too but try to go easy on the air flow... don't want to stir the living **** out of it! LOL


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## Magdelaine (Apr 9, 2005)

I just tested the water in the 29 gallon and it's at 3.0 mg/l ammonia with 0 nitrites. I don't see how it could be alive, but it is. So I caught it in a pint jar and transfered it to a quart jar into which I added some 10 gallon tank water so the ammonia won't kill it.

Does this look like guppy fry to anyone? If it is I probably don't have to worry about heating the water, which is my main concern at this point. The only other fish in my 10 gallon which could have had babies, I suppose, are the Danios. Any idea what danio fry look like?


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## SueM (Jan 23, 2004)

You can float the jar in the 10 or 29 to heat it.
Good luck  SueM


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## Guest (Jan 30, 2006)

Absolutely no clue, sorry.

Good move on removing the poor thing from the 3ppm ammo tank. OUCH! That ammo must hurt! Anyway, try to find a larger container than a pint. Remember, the more water, the more stable. That's what you are looking for now. Keep it stable. Now buy some frozen baby brine shrimps ASAP and start feeding it before it dies on you from starvation.

Good luck !

Sponge


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## Magdelaine (Apr 9, 2005)

Thanks for the idea. I'm floating it in the 29 gallon now! I have to find out if the LFS carries frozen brine shrimp...


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## Magdelaine (Apr 9, 2005)

I think from perusing what web pics I could find it's much more likely this is a danio fry. How exciting! I hope he/she makes it. I've looked and looked, and I haven't been able to find any others.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

You could crush up some flakes really small and feed that instead of frozen brine shrimp.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

It's probably still too small to even EAT baby brineshrimp yet. It's not a guppy, so my guess is danio. Crush flake food into fine flour and feed that. You can also try a boiled egg yolk. mix a small bit of yolk in a jar with a bit of water, and shake it up like crazy until it's a yellow liquid. Put a few drops of that near the fish, and it should eat it. If you have a pond or pool nearby with plants in it, get a jar and shake/scrape some plants into it. This should give you a bunch of algae & microfauna "greenwater" which makes excellent fishfood for tiny egglayer fry. let the greenwater settle, pour off the clear water on top, and pour a bit of the concentrated green stuff into the container with the fish. in several days it should be able to eat bigger stuff.


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## Magdelaine (Apr 9, 2005)

I wish I knew of a place to find "greenwater". None of my friends have a pond and since I live in the desert, there's just not a lot of standing water around.

However, I did put some "resting" apo bulbs in his jar, and they have lots of decaying old roots that should provide a bit of something. Also, I have some freeze dried daphnia that I crush up for the other fish, and on a lark I put some of the dust in the fish jar. Little bits seemed to dissapear when he went up to them so I think he was eating it...

And he's bigger so that's a good sign.

Here's a pic from yesterday:


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## CandTsmac (Sep 13, 2009)

*Old Thread but did he live?*

I am new to keeping fish and while looking up some info I found this old thread. PLEASE, if you have time and see this, did it live?

Great story.


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