# Preventing fry from becoming bite sized snacks??!



## pyrofish (May 18, 2005)

Hello everyone.

I am a bit new to fishkeeping...

But anyway, I have a Cichlid tank with 4 cichlids. Two of them are yellow labs, and just recently, I notices some "bite sized" yellow labs hiding underneath a decoration. Cute little buggers if I might say so....

But now I also noticed a big bad brown cichlid just waiting for one of them to wander out of their hiding hole. Adding to the problem, he has sort of lost interest in the food that I'm trying to feed him.

I'm in the process of setting up an extra tank, but I'm not sure if I want to risk putting any fish in it right away, especially since it doesn't have power filtration at the moment. 

So here are my options so far:

1. Relocate the big bad brown fish to the second tank
2. Relocate the fry to the second tank
3. Try to mess with the big bad brown fish; When he feels uncomfortable he hides. This is accomplished by messing with the lighting alot!
4. Do nothing and see if some of the fry manage to survive.

I'm on christmas break now from college, so I've got plenty of time to carry out any of these options!

If anyone has any suggestions, please post them!


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Relocate the fry!!! Gotta get the other tank set up tho.


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## pyrofish (May 18, 2005)

Thanks for the response, that is kind of what I was thinking. But will the fry survive without ideal water conditions? For example, I still don't have a filter for that tank, and I just put the water in it last night. The temperature is fine though. 

Also, how should I feed them, and how big do they need to be before they can be put back with the other fish?

Thanks again.


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

1. Congrats!

2. Both are good suggestions, ideally would be to move the fry, move out the bad brown guy and adults into container of sort so when you remove the decor they dont go after the babies. 

3. Get yourself a sponge filter, take two handfuls of substrate and transfer it into the new tank, place the sponge filter in there and if you can half tank water as well. just helps accumilate and not lose any.

4. get yourself some omega cichlid formula flake food, get a sandwich baggie and smash it up really really good to where it's like tiny, feed them twice a day. Do water changes 2x a week if u can.

5. place adults back in the original tank then. Don't squash any fry when moving them!


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

get a filter, put a bunch of rocks and sand from your other tank in the new one, that should boost the bacteria and it should be enough to keep up with the bio load or the fry, shouldnt be to tough of a cycle for them.


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## pyrofish (May 18, 2005)

Thanks alot guys. I'll be running up to Meijers to get the stuff I need (at the moment meijers is the only place I can get to, but I think they have fish stuff...)

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I also have a Pleco. For some reason he decided to hide in the same hole that the fry are hiding in. Is this good or bad? By being there he is blocking the other adult fish from getting in.


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

he very well may eat them at night so keep him well fed! just from what i've heard when i considered moving some fry into a pleco tank before..


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## pyrofish (May 18, 2005)

Wow...I always thought plecos only ate veggies...Or do you mean that he may have "accidentally inhaled them"?

I following your steps, and managed to find and evacuate 3 of the fry. How many do you think there should have been? Anyway, they seem to be doing fine. They are constantly looking for food! How do I know how much to feed them?

Thanks again!


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

At that age keep the little bellys full. You can see it. The little bellys look like baloons. I feed my fry three time a day. Some people feed more than that. I also have lots of java moss in my fish room and I put a large clump in each fry tank. Lots of little "critters" grow in the moss that fry can snack on between meals. Do you have them in a bare bottom tank so you can see uneaten food? Syphon left over food from the bottom of the tank at least once a day. The "key" to raising baby fish..... Good food/ clean water...


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

BTW, I just had a female P. steveni "taiwan reef" release a load of fry, so I have some about the same size as you. Exciting isn't it..... It never gets old.


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

pyrofish said:


> Wow...I always thought plecos only ate veggies...Or do you mean that he may have "accidentally inhaled them"?
> 
> I following your steps, and managed to find and evacuate 3 of the fry. How many do you think there should have been? Anyway, they seem to be doing fine. They are constantly looking for food! How do I know how much to feed them?
> 
> Thanks again!


Like Ron said, just enough for them to eat in couple minutes, small portions xmultiple times a day.

Fry depending how big the female was if she was smaller could be around 10-12, bigger could be 15-25, but like u said that one fish was eyeballin them, may have already got a bunch.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

theres no telling how many she had, but you can be assured that the fry can hide WAY better than you can imagine, they will turn up in some of the craziest places.


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## pyrofish (May 18, 2005)

After putting the fry in the new tank, they don't seem to notice the food that I give them right away. Then later I see them casually nipping at the food at the top of the water. They don't seem nearly as hungry now as they were yesterday in the transfer container that I used. Do you think I should sink the food, or leave it at the top of the water? 

They also don't seem to start eating it until a while after I back away from the fish tank. Think they might be scared of me?

The tank is a 5 gallon tank, with gravel. Think maybe they will eat more if I put them in something even smaller, such as a fish bowl? Or maybe I could put them in a fish bowl to feed them, and then put them back? Or would that be too stressfull on the fish?

To sum up this post, are there any tricks in getting them to eat?

You guys have been a great help. Thank You very much!


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Hmm personally i would purchase New life spectrum Growth formula, the pellets are designed and made for new born fry, they are TINY! get them from www.kensfish.com

it's worth the buy IMO, and is good stuff. Sinking stuff would be best.


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## Fishboy93 (Jun 11, 2005)

You could try live food they cant resist that....


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

definatly dont switch the fish around every time you want to feed.


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## pyrofish (May 18, 2005)

Now I can see they are definetely eating, it just seems to take them a while to find the food. I ordered that spectrum Growth formula that MalawianPro suggested, along with some "#2 fry crumble". Not sure if that will be any help, but at least I now will have a couple more things to try.

I'm supposed to be going on a three-day skiing trip the day after christmas. Do you guys think they will be fine if they can only be fed once a day during that time? Not to mention, by a person who knows nothing about fish?


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Congrats, you'll like that stuff when you get it in.

They will be alright with being fed once a day, i am gone during the week only at home to sleep on tues/thurs. so they only get fed once a day during the week but three times a day on the weekend.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

just make sure you personally show the babysitter how much to give them, if they over feed in the time your gone the ammonia from way to much food could quickly become a problem in a small tank,


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