So learn me about the best...

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...naturally appointed tanks for raising fry - the ones that one can transplant a mass of angelfish wigglers to, or unhatched eggs be they Corydoras or Australaheros or whatever - shouldn't make all that much difference as at that size they're all foraging off like organisms if they don't have recourse to introduced food. I know that the bare tank method is considered optimal by some/many, but I travel a lot and need a strategy or three to cushion my absences and diminish starvation/death brought about by trying to avoid ravenous parent syndrome wherein I remove babies/eggs to then frequently unserviced (read as neglected) tanks.

So...What are the limits to masses of java moss and algae growths? Are sodden hardwood leaves great culture medium for paramecium, euglena, microcritter-sized forage? Other? What? Hit me, please share and pray teach me thy learned tricks for maturing fry. If I was nearly smart/clever enough in this respect I'd have a lot more fry and species to redistribute than I do, as spawning is not the issue. (Why does that sound so reassuring?) Alternately if anyone can simply save me hours of unsatisfactory cyber-sleuthing and point me that one link or source that breaks it all down and puts it all together I would be obliged. Looking to grow some micro-buffet tanks....

 

[dogofwar]

Hi Sam,

My approach for artificial hatching / raising is to remove the eggs or wigglers (either via moving the flowerpot or rock they're stuck to...or by using an airline to siphon them) into a 1/2 gallon plastic tub (I get white ones with handles and the Dollar Store).

For eggs, I add an alder cone (Rachel sells them), which serve as a natural fungicide...and use an airline to suck away any chunks of fungassy eggs or gunk.

I let the wigglers develop and become free swimming in the tub. Free swimming is when most of them are swimming around...and then begin to feed.

I'm a fan of Golden Pearls for even really small cichlid fry. Adding a piece of plant also can't hurt. I'm convinced that the alder cones develop stuff that babies can eat as well (I've seen them grazing on them).

For the next week or two, I feed the fry in the tub with Golden Pearls...and do (usually) daily water changes consisting of pouring off some of the water in the tub into a bucket and re-filling from the big tank it's sitting on. Takes about 45 seconds.

Next the fry go into something for grow out: Either a bare tank with a mayure sponge filter (slowly bubbling)...or a net breeder in one of my fry grow-out tanks (make sure there's nothing in the tank...or nothing that can/will eat the fry through the nets). Feed, change water, feed some more, change more water. Repeat.

Not sure how this works for catfish or other babies, but it works great for substrate-spawning cichlids!

A pair of M. insignis (festivums) spawned on the magnet algae cleaner in my 180g...so I simply dropped them inside-the-tank part of the mag float into a 1/2g tub, added an alder cone...and I've got wigglers that are about to become free swimming any hour...

Matt

 

[dogofwar]

A couple of points to add:

Doing the daily "dump some out" water changes doesn't completely clean the tub. I think having a little stuff on the bottom (but not too much) provides a feeding source for the fry, especially early on. I periodically siphon out the gunk with an airline tube.

I sometimes use polyfilter (a small chunk) in the tubs to absorb any ammonia or waste.

This is what works for me - would love to hear other folks' techniques.

Matt

 

[mchambers]

Can't say I'm an expert on this topic, but I usually move corydoras eggs and free swimming cichlid fry to a small (5-15 gallons, depending on what's available) tank that has a fair amount of java moss and hardwood leaves (currently using magnolia) seems to work well.

Two years ago, I had corydoras, guppy, and Celestial Pearl Danio fry in a 15 gallon tank with lots of moss and an auto feeder dispensing Golden Pearls, when I was on vacation. Came back to discover that the feeder hadn't worked, but all the fry were fine. I assume they lived off microorganisms in the moss.

Why not use a good auto feeder, like the Eheim Everyday Fish Feeder, to dispense small amounts of Golden Pearls 3 or 4 times a day? I'm doing that now on two tanks, one with Bolivian rams and the other with Corydoras C123, and the fry seem to be thriving. You can get the Eheim on eBay at fairly reasonable prices.

 

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Thanks for that.

Suppose I could do the feeder thing but would really like a more "organic" approach. In any case there's not an off-the-shelf automated water changer, which makes loading up food in an automated dispenser a bit of a problem. Suppose it could be set up to administer minimal subsistence servings, but would still like to set up a tank or two that has its own internal food production so that I don't end up with a lot of rotting and uneaten food fouling the water while I'm away.

Anyone else?

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

I've heard some people say they'll put repashy in their fry tanks before leaving for vacation because the fry can graze on it, and its good for up to 24 hours. Its not a long term feeding, but possibly enough to get them through short trips.

 

[chriscoli]

I have no actual evidence that this helps, but I throw old sponge filters in the tank for the babies to pick at during the day.

I've been slowly switching over from the common, round sponge prefilters on my HOB's to square poret sponges. Well, when I take the round sponges off their plastic core, I don't thow them away....I squeeze them out and put them all in the tanks with my fry that are growing out (I've got something like 5 or 6 of just round tube-like sponges on the bottom of one of my tanks right now). I figure that 1. They are still biologically active even without high current flowing through them 2. It gives the fish more places to hide....they love going inside the tube 3. any bio-funk that's still growing on the sponge is fair game for them to eat.


What I don't know....is if this would support fry for an extended period.

 

[mchambers]

3. any bio-funk that's still growing on the sponge is fair game for them to eat.

If "bio-funk" is not a scientific term, it should be.

Sam, I hear you on the water quality. A couple of thoughts. First, the Eheim feeders can be adjusted to dispense quite small amounts, unlike most other feeders I've seen. Second, it might be possible to culture various types of infusoria, like rotifers and paramecia, in separate containers and then put a fair amount of them in the tank before you leave. I haven't tried it, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. (I actually have a jar of each on my shelves in the basement, and periodically feed them, and am now wondering why I haven't been extracting some for my fry.)