Fry food

[Kasakato]

I have 5 baby fish in a small 5.5g tank. They have been eating liquid food for the past day. Someone at my LFS told be to crush some flakes in to a power and they feed that to them. I have also heard that brine shrimp are good food too. Hoe do I grow these shrimp? Which is better, crushed flakes or brine shrimp?

 

[Mofo2713]

Brine shrimp have much more protein which fry need when growing to help them grow quicker. The easiest way is to go to your local Petsmart or anywhere else that sells a brine shrimp hatchery for about $10. Here's the link. http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...older_id=2534374302030537&bmUID=1100536170339 It isn't the most effective way but it is cheap and works fine.

 

[Kasakato]

Up here in Canada they sell that for 15CAD. Does it include the right amount of salt and eggs? How do I know how much salt to put in after I use the pouch included?

 

[megladonsharky]

i just got some baby brine frozen shrimo at petsmart.. about six bucks for a 48 cube

 

[FawnN]

When feeding brine shrimp, they need to be newly hatched for the fry to eat. The regular frozen brine shrimp will be too big for them to eat. So if you really want to try that, you can go to petco and buy a bag and try to hatch them yourself for about $3.99 a bag.

I personally think you should save your money and time by trying to hatch your own shrimp. It's more work then anything.

If you have any food that can be crushed into a powder, the fry will eat it.

I will switch off by crushing regular flakes, spirulina and shrimp pellets for my livebearer fry in a baggie and feed them that. And once they get bigger, I will feed them bloodworms and brine shrimp, along with everything else. Be sure to feed them at least 3 times a day and keep up with your water changes, since the crushed foods will foul up your water fairly quickly.

Congrats on the fry.

 

[Maillis]

You can find frozen baby brine shrimp in most petstores.

 

[Kasakato]

I will be going to my LFS later this week. I will check to see what kind of brine shrimp they have. When I am doin a water change in my fry tank where do I get the replacment water from? My other big tank or should I use tap water.

 

[Mofo2713]

Up here in Canada they sell that for 15CAD. Does it include the right amount of salt and eggs? How do I know how much salt to put in after I use the pouch included?

The pouch comes with everything you need. Just add the pouch plus the amount of water it tells you to and you are ready to go.

When I am doin a water change in my fry tank where do I get the replacment water from?

Just add it straight from the tap. Just make sure to add your dechlor before putting the new water back in.

 

[FawnN]

When I am doin a water change in my fry tank where do I get the replacment water from? My other big tank or should I use tap water.

Get a bucket, add water straight from your tap and then add your dechlorinator. I will let my water sit for about 5 minutes before I add it back into the tank.

I'm sure you are aware, but just in case you didn't know how to feed the frozen brine shrimp....

Get a cup of tank water and thaw out your frozen brine shrimp in the cup and then pour into your tank. HTH

 

[Kasakato]

Should I use frozen or live shrimp?

 

[FawnN]

Ohhh, I thought we were talking about frozen. Sorry. I personally only use frozen, because of how they clean and package the food up.

I've never tried live foods.

 

[Kasakato]

Which is eaiser? Which is better for my fry?

 

[FawnN]

I'm sure others have used live foods successfully, but I've heard too many horror stories to even try. You run a risk of introducing unwanted things to your tank.

Frozen is so much easier, safer and has the same nutritional value as live. That's just my opinion though.

 

[Kasakato]

Where can I hear a horror story? What can go wrong?

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

buying live food that has been cultured over time will run the risk of introsucing parasites into the tank, but hatching brine in a container as was mentioned earlier is safer. Also when live food is cultured the water that the food is in is usually of poor quality. Similar to a goldfish feeder tank. Similar risks

 

[Kasakato]

So ther risk is lower if I am buying eggs and hatching them myself?

 

[FishyDan]

People nowdays always seam to forget the really cheap and actually one of the better ways of feeding baby egglayer fish. I use to do this decades ago and it still works fine today.

Take a chicken egg, boil it until it's hard, peel it, either through away (or eat) the white and save the yoke. Break off an ever so tiny piece of yoke and rub it between your fingers in the tank. The Fry will gobble it up.

As with any food for tiny fry, you will have to filter a lot to keep from fouling the water. But egg yoke is a great way to go and ultra cheap.

 

[Kasakato]

Eggs like you buy at the store? I have got some frozen baby brineshrimp.

 

[mattrox]

I fed baby dwarf gourami's boiled egg, but second you on the fouling issue. I was at University and only came home on the weekends...... Lots of water changes more than once a week anyway. Needless to say I was not very successful. I just wish I could have been there to do the water changed required.

The fish spawned and it was a suprise for me totally not prepared and could not talk the folks into doing ALL the hard work......

 

[Guest]

Eggs like you buy at the store? I have got some frozen baby brineshrimp.

No plastic ones I think someone allready mentioned that the frozen shrimp is too big. I would take an egg & boil it as if you would for yourself, cut the egg yolk into a little piece and put it in the aquarium then mush is with your fingers and it will turn into powder for the fry to eat. I just did that.