Alaina
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I am new to this forum, so thanks to anyone who has any expertise to share.
I have kept fantail goldfish for several years. This spring, they decided to spawn for the first time. I was totally surprised and hadn't prepared for fry at all, but scrambled to care for them, buying powdered food, getting a breeder net to separate them from the adults, etc.
I was surprised again when my fish proceeded to spawn again, hatching a whole second round. Now I have a batch of fry in the net together, some about seven weeks and some about two weeks.
For awhile, they seemed to be doing fine - once they began eating I've been feeding them a combo of powdered baby fish food, ground-up adult food, algae, crumbled freeze-dried brine shrimp, and hard-boiled egg yolks. I have been trying to keep good water quality for them, with water and filter changes in the tank. When their net gets messy I remove the babies to a large bowl and clean the net, then put them back in.
But over the last week or so, there's been a noticeable die-off, mostly among the older fry. I don't think they're developing as fast as they could, and some seem to have difficulty swimming before they die. Some, while they still seem relatively feisty, appear to have lost ground, in that their once-growing fins and tails have shrunk. They continue to eat well and most of them are very active.
I am a total novice when it comes to fry. I didn't mean to breed my fish, but now that it's happened, I'm caring for the fry as well as I can, but I'm obviously missing something. I'd like some to make it healthily into adulthood. Is it too late to save the rest? Any advice? Thanks for reading.
I have kept fantail goldfish for several years. This spring, they decided to spawn for the first time. I was totally surprised and hadn't prepared for fry at all, but scrambled to care for them, buying powdered food, getting a breeder net to separate them from the adults, etc.
I was surprised again when my fish proceeded to spawn again, hatching a whole second round. Now I have a batch of fry in the net together, some about seven weeks and some about two weeks.
For awhile, they seemed to be doing fine - once they began eating I've been feeding them a combo of powdered baby fish food, ground-up adult food, algae, crumbled freeze-dried brine shrimp, and hard-boiled egg yolks. I have been trying to keep good water quality for them, with water and filter changes in the tank. When their net gets messy I remove the babies to a large bowl and clean the net, then put them back in.
But over the last week or so, there's been a noticeable die-off, mostly among the older fry. I don't think they're developing as fast as they could, and some seem to have difficulty swimming before they die. Some, while they still seem relatively feisty, appear to have lost ground, in that their once-growing fins and tails have shrunk. They continue to eat well and most of them are very active.
I am a total novice when it comes to fry. I didn't mean to breed my fish, but now that it's happened, I'm caring for the fry as well as I can, but I'm obviously missing something. I'd like some to make it healthily into adulthood. Is it too late to save the rest? Any advice? Thanks for reading.