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Raising Cichlasoma fry - take 3

dogofwar

CCA Members
One of my favorite fish that I've brought back from Uruguay is an acara from a little pond in NW Uruguay called Arroyo Zanja Honda - Cichlasoma sp. Zanja Honda.

Here's a picture from Felipe of a younger one.

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One of my pairs has bred several times and does an excellent job of parental care...until they decide to breed again in a couple of weeks.

They have several hundred very small fry and I have tried to separate and raise the fry two times before, neither time with success. I've successfully raised a couple of other kinds of Uruguayan Cichlasoma so this one is a little puzzling.

Anyway, the first two times I set up a new 10g 1/2 full of water with a (mature) Poret filter. I fed Golden Pearls a couple of times per day for the first batch. The second try I added frozen copepods to the diet. Both times, after about a week and a half, the fry died off almost overnight. Not sure why. I added and removed some fresh water to the tank nearly daily and added some Polyfilter to remove any waste. This approach has served me well with most fry...just not these guys.

Here's what I'm doing with batch #3, which was free swimming a couple of days ago. I siphoned about 1/2 of the fry from the parents tank into a different 10g tank. This time instead of a Poret box filter, I used a large, fine traditional box filter that has been running in another tank for some time. I gave it a squeeze prior to adding it to the fry tank but it has plenty of gunk on it (which I've seen the fry grazing). I have air to it running slowly.

In addition, I added prepared newly hatched brine shrimp to the feeding mix. It's easier to feed a couple of times a day over a weekend. During the week it's harder. I'm going to try to feed 2-3 times per day and add/remove water daily to keep up with water quality, There are a couple of hundred babies, at least, in the tank.

I'd really like to get a group of fry from this fish. It's otherwise, I don't think, in the hobby. They're quite striking and very different than the "Bella Union" Cichlasoma dimerus in the hobby.

Happy to get advice and keep everyone updated!

Matt
 

dogofwar

CCA Members
Knock on wood, fry seem to be doing great - grazing on the filter, eating the baby brine... I added an old-school sponge that's been sitting in another tank into the tank with the parents (and the other half of the fry)...

Matt
 

chriscoli

Administrator
great news....keep us posted! are you able to see them get little orange bellies as they eat the BBS?
 

dogofwar

CCA Members
Thanks :)

I think so..they're tiny little fry!

They're definitely grazing the sponge as well. I keep the air flow to it quite low so that they don't get sucked into it.

Will really know if this plan is working in about a week...

Matt

great news....keep us posted! are you able to see them get little orange bellies as they eat the BBS?
 

dogofwar

CCA Members
There are a lot of fry and they're very small. And I'm not around to feed them (except in the AM before work and in the evening after).

The gunky, fine pore sponge gives them something to eat all day.

And I think that the baby brine is small enough.

Also, with so many fry I think the death of bunch can produce enough ammonia to kill the bunch. I've seen a few dead ones but not enough to cause issues... and I've been scooping and otherwise changing water every couple of days.

Matt

great news! Any idea on why this approach made the difference?
 

dogofwar

CCA Members
Fry are still kicking. I've switched to goldenpearls primarily now. Going to be away for the ACA so will leave them with some Repashy gel food.

What's interesting is that there are a group of Amatitlania septemfasciata fry next them - basically the same care and same age (actually a day or two younger).... and the Amatitlania are like double the size!

Matt
 
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