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#1
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Fry in Hospital tank!
Last week I bough 2 male and 2 female cherry barbs and put them in a
"hospital" tank for a while to ensure they were disease free. They joined my 70 gal community tank yesterday. They were in quarantine exactly one week and were not exhibiting any signs of disease or stress. All's well etc. Well I went to clean out the power filter media of this 10 gal hospital tank and saw a tiny (I mean about 1/32") fry in the bucket of filter water. It really was a miracle that I saw it at all, except it darted along erratically and caught my eye. So, I carefully looked inside the hosp tank and it turns out that there are about 20 darting fry! I immediately removed the power filter, took its filter floss, and wrapped it around and rubber banded it around an air stone. It should act as a sort of sponge filter. Next, I ground up some flake food into very fine powder. I've "fed" them twice today by tapping my finger into the dust and then shaking off what stays on my finger into the water. The little fry disperse and chase after stuff, but honestly, I can't tell if this "feeding" method is going to work. They are just too small. I'd like to try and raise them, but I have a few questions. 1) What kind of food should I be feeding them? 2) Is that HUGE 10 gal tank too large? 3) I plan to do 10~15% water changes every few days. Will this be all right? 4) Should I get a better filter? 5) For all I know there are many more unhached eggs.. Will varying fry sizes be a problem? 6) How long until these fish reach maturity? Thanks! Djay remove "nospam" to email me directly! |
#2
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Fry in Hospital tank!
Djay wrote in message ... Last week I bough 2 male and 2 female cherry barbs and put them in a "hospital" tank for a while to ensure they were disease free. They joined my 70 gal community tank yesterday. They were in quarantine exactly one week and were not exhibiting any signs of disease or stress. All's well etc. Well I went to clean out the power filter media of this 10 gal hospital tank and saw a tiny (I mean about 1/32") fry in the bucket of filter water. It really was a miracle that I saw it at all, except it darted along erratically and caught my eye. So, I carefully looked inside the hosp tank and it turns out that there are about 20 darting fry! I immediately removed the power filter, took its filter floss, and wrapped it around and rubber banded it around an air stone. It should act as a sort of sponge filter. Next, I ground up some flake food into very fine powder. I've "fed" them twice today by tapping my finger into the dust and then shaking off what stays on my finger into the water. The little fry disperse and chase after stuff, but honestly, I can't tell if this "feeding" method is going to work. They are just too small. I'd like to try and raise them, but I have a few questions. 1) What kind of food should I be feeding them? 2) Is that HUGE 10 gal tank too large? 3) I plan to do 10~15% water changes every few days. Will this be all right? 4) Should I get a better filter? 5) For all I know there are many more unhached eggs.. Will varying fry sizes be a problem? 6) How long until these fish reach maturity? Thanks! Djay remove "nospam" to email me directly! 1-What you are feeding is fine. You can do things like new hatched baby brine, but since this sounds like one of your first successes in having a fish spawn, keep it simple. 2-Not at all, but reduce the water level as the fry will find it a bit hard to locate food in the larger volume. Might not be a problem, but something to consider. 3-That level of water changes might be a bit high for the fry. Their body mass isn't that great, as long as the food is getting eaten, not too much water deterioration should take place. 4-Everyone has their personal favourites for filtration. With tiny fry in a breeder set up, my choice is a small seasoned sponge filter, air driven, with minimal flow rate. 5-Not with cherry barbs, perhaps one of the gentlest fish available to the hobbyists. 6-Full size, maybe a year or more. Sexual maturity, about 6-8 months. Jim |
#3
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Fry in Hospital tank!
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!! You're a fishy-mom!!!!!!!!!
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#4
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Fry in Hospital tank!
Well the 20 or so fry seem to be doing fine. I'm feeding them egg yolk soup
(sparingly) once a day and ground flake food powder twice a day.. Fishy-mom? I don't know about that.... at least they only depend on me for clean water and food! Can you just imagine having to diaper all those fry? "Kelly Upton" wrote in message .net... Congratulations!!!!!!!!!! You're a fishy-mom!!!!!!!!! |
#5
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Fry in Hospital tank!
4-Everyone has their personal favourites for filtration. With tiny fry in
a breeder set up, my choice is a small seasoned sponge filter, air driven, with minimal flow rate. I'm hoping to start breeding soon. Where can I read/see more on the setup you're suggesting? Thanks; Duncan |
#6
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Fry in Hospital tank!
Duncan A. McRae wrote in message le.rogers.com... 4-Everyone has their personal favourites for filtration. With tiny fry in a breeder set up, my choice is a small seasoned sponge filter, air driven, with minimal flow rate. I'm hoping to start breeding soon. Where can I read/see more on the setup you're suggesting? Thanks; Duncan I can't direct you to a web site, although I am sure others here can put you on the track. In essence, I use the Jungle sponge filters in fry tanks as they come in smaller sizes than other brands. The unused filters are stored in whichever tank is deemed to be the cleanest/healthiest, so that a load of good guy bacteria can colonize it. These filters are only added once the fry are freeswimming for egglayers, day one with livebearers. Egglayer set ups usually have at most a small airstone for circulation until spawning has happened and the breeders are removed. My favourite book to recommend to hobbyists just getting underway is Tetra's The Golden Encyclopedia of Freshwater Tropical Fishes by Dick Mills and Dr. Gwynne Vevers. ISBN 0-307-46633-7. It's from 1982 and may take a couple tries to find it, but for the price and the amount of information for new hobbyists per dollar spent, it's a bargain. Yes, there is a Tetra slant to the equipment and there are upside down photos, but it may be very handy to have around. More current info is available in the Baensch Atlas series, but they can be cost prohibitive. Jim |
#7
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Fry in Hospital tank!
I make my own sponge filters.
Materials needed: a 5 in X 5 IN piece of 4 in thick foam of the type used for upholstery or crafts A 6 in X 6 in quarry tile or piece of 1/4" glass an 8 in to 12 in piece of plastic pipe, I often use 3/4" PVC I make a hole in the middle of the block of foam. I then glue the foam to the tile or glass using silicone sealer. I put the pipe in the hole and let it set for a day or two. Put the filter in a tank, drop an airstone down the pipe and it's finished. You can vary and of the above dimensions by an inch or two and it should still work just fine. This method works for air-driven filters, but does not work well with power filters because of the small pore size of the foam. I have purchased several different brands of foam filters and I like my home made ones better, mainly because they sit on the bottom of the tank and don't float around. If I am going out of town for a few days and I have small fry I sometimes add a second or third filter to the tank. There are a lot of little critters that live in an established sponge filter and they provide some snacks for the little ones. "Duncan A. McRae" wrote in message le.rogers.com... 4-Everyone has their personal favourites for filtration. With tiny fry in a breeder set up, my choice is a small seasoned sponge filter, air driven, with minimal flow rate. I'm hoping to start breeding soon. Where can I read/see more on the setup you're suggesting? Thanks; Duncan |
#8
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Fry in Hospital tank!
Paul Irwin wrote:
I make my own sponge filters. http://www.petfish.net/sponge_filter.htm -- "When you've lost your ability to laugh, you've lost your ability to think straight." -To Inherit the Wind |
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