How do I take care of my fry?

[JazzyBear1982]

I have a 45 gallon African Cichlid tank and my blue "stud" keeps mating with all the females in the tank! The fry didn't survive.....until today! I came home from work and saw a beautiful blue baby swimming in my tank! I caught it and put it into a breeder box in hopes it would have a chance at survival. It looks like the mom fish is still holding tho--is that possible? She hiding real good so it's hard to say for sure.....

But how do I take care of the lonely fry? What should I be feeding it? How long should I keep it separated from the rest? I've only had my tank for 6 months so I'm kind new to this whole thing...

 

[JazzyBear1982]

Here is a pic

 

[VioletGoby]

Cute! Keep it seperated or it will be eaten. Feed it crushed up flakes.

 

[toddnbecka]

Best option is to provide more cover on the bottom for fry. If a few survive and grow out on their own the tank won't become overcrowded too quickly. I'd swap the plastic breeder box for a net breeder (better water circulation), in either case a bit of sand on the bottom would be helpful for the fry to feel less exposed. Feed the fry small amounts of crushed flakes or pellets, NLS Grow pellets would be great.

 

[JazzyBear1982]

Thanks for the suggestions! Our Small Fry seems to be doing well! How long should I keep the little one separated from the rest of the tank?


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[toddnbecka]

Until it's too big to fit in the mouth of the adults. I once had a single J. transcriptus fry in a plastic breeder box. It got tired of the confinement after a couple weeks and jumped back out into the main tank, did just fine on its own. IME the one/few that survive the first day or two after being released by the female usually make it through.