Nine tiny fry have hatched in the breeder net. They move around but mostly hide under the plastic frame of the breeder net. I am not sure what they can eat: I put a drop of liquid from the brine shrimp into the breeder net. Can they eat this and what else can they eat? They are so small that I know they will be eaten if I chance letting them into the main part of the tank but I don't want them to starve! Ideas please!!
I did put hose over the filter intake in case any others hatch. No wonder I have only had 1 or 2 survive when I let them hatch in the tank on their own.
I take it you have no liquid fry food. Since it's sunday night and stores are closin, as an emergency you could try wetting falke food then see if they can get some.if you feed liquid food wouldn't ity just pass thru the net.Guess you'll need a grow out tank/bucket i'd probably rig something up w/o2 and a heater. If its a small amt of water it would be easy to keep the water clean i.e. no fitler. Could it work ? or are cories a seneitive fish ?Cuz i think you'll have to feed infus_ium.Then after a week or so, when they can eat brine shrimp or flake (soaked) you can return them to the net. IDK but i'd probably try to save my babies.
I remember reading about using egg yolk as fry food. Of course I doubt I'll ever have fry so I didn't pay attention to the article. There must be a recipe on google somewhere...
Found it:
Egg infusion is another time honored method of feeding very small fry. It used to be very common in stores, being sold under the name Liqui-fry as a first food for fry. I don't see that stuff around much anymore, but that's OK because it's real easy to make for your self. All you do is hard boil an ordinary chicken egg. Once it has cooled, you remove the shell and the white (you can eat the white if you like) leaving just the yolk. Put the yolk into a sealable container along with a volume of water about equal to that of the egg yolk. You may want to mash up the yolk with a fork a little bit before the next step which is to seal the container and shake it for all you're worth. Others may want to use a blender or a food processor, but either way you get a suspension of very fine particles of egg yolk. As mentioned above, this can be used to help along the infusoria culture in the spawning tank, but it can also be used to feed the fry.
Ok, tried the boiled egg yolk dissolved in water. I mushed the egg yolk into tank water, just a small amount in a plastic baggy. It diffuses very quickly. I turned off the filter and poured some in the net. I am not sure how to tell if the fry have yolk sacks attached still or are "free swimming". A couple can go up and down the side of the net, the rest hide under the plastic frame of the breeder net.
I noticed the neons run up to the bottom of the net when I pour the egg yolk in so I tried putting a canopy plant under the net. The fry move around more with the added cover. Pour babies - it must be like a surfer seeing a shark coming up under their board when they see the neons coming up under their net! The neons don't get in the plants much, so I think the babies will feel safer now.
I also shifted the net to the edge of the tank where the current isn't as strong so the egg yolk mixture would not get sucked out so fast. Also put canopy plants around the sides. I left a bit of egg yolk in bigger particle to leave while I am at work. Not sure they can eat it, or maybe it will pull apart with the current throughout the day.
Fry are bigger, but not real active. Is this normal? They move around most when I move the net.
I've never tried using a spray bottle, but be warned, dont use alot of the egg yolk!! It will cloud your water super bad, it takes like 3 waterchanges to get it out. and I hate "grey" water for 3 weeks...
The fry appear to be eating the mixture. They are getting bigger. Are the whiteish half round things behind their anterier portion the remnants of their egg sacks? Can they eat while they are still absorbing this?
A little egg yolk goes a very very very looooong way.:| Just a pinch of egg is more than enough for many feedings, but I end up tossing it out so it doesn't go bad. I had to scrape the bottom of the breeder net to get the leftover egg off after a day. The fry were having what appeared to be a great time wriggling around on teeny bits of egg mixture as I dug it off the net. It looks just like what you would think reconstituted cooked egg yolk dissolved in water and let sit for a day would look like. Gross. I changed 2.5 gallons of water out of the tank afterward to be safe but not add too much new water. So far the tank water is still clear.
There are many more than 9, about 30, some must have been in the plant leaves and under the frame of the breeder net when I tried to count them before. They resemble mosquito larva actually but are wider in the front. The two dots that are their eyes look like grains of pepper. They are almost transparent.
Will attempt decent pictures - still can't find the manual for the camera. :-(
i'm looking forward to seeing the pics, i hope you find the manual soon.
Steve
ps... have you thought about buying a hard plastic breeder to put them in rather than the net? to me it sounds like it would be easier to take care of.
It sounds like they are doing very well. Good luck with them.
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