Zebra Danio Fry!

[Brian Feeder of Fish]

I have in my 10 gallon tank a handful of zebra danios. This afternoon, I noticed there were some fry and eggs near the bottom of the tank. My coarse gravel must have kept them from being eaten. I quickly moved those that I could catch to a 5 gallon fry tank I just set up. Since there was no way for me to cycle it, I added some water, gravel, and a filter pad from the main tank. I also dropped a heater in, but no filter. Aside from the handful of gravel I used to try to kick-start the cycle, it is bare-bottom. As of right now, I have a few eggs with several tiny tiny fry. I also know some of the fry escaped my pipette into the tunnels of sorts formed by the gravel, so we'll have to see how those guys do.
Anyway, my main purpose for this post, besides letting everyone know like a proud parent, is to seek recommendations on care. I ran down to the LFS earlier this evening, and he advised for feeding to just grind up the flakes I am already using into a fine powder. I don't think they are big enough for that yet, so I was wondering how I should feed them. A thread I saw on another fish forum suggested feeding ground yolk from a hard boiled egg dissolved in water. I have also heard baby brine shrimp, which I don't think I have access to.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[calivivarium1]

Congrats, but I'm not gonna be one to offer advice on keeping fry alive! The only thing I can say is that my parents were successful in raising platy fry by using Hikari First Bites and whatever else the fry could eat in the tank (they never removed any fry from their main tank).

 

[Brian Feeder of Fish]

Yeah, I considered leaving them in the tank, but I figured they would be eaten. I suppose live bearers eat babies too, but don't they have the advantage of being free swimming at birth? I might look into the first bites though.
Thanks,
Brian

 

[calivivarium1]

I think removing them was a smart move if you want to maximize their chances of survival for sure.

 

[tanker]

For Danio fry, it would be better with a bare-bottom tank --easier for fry to find food, and easier to clean. The fry are too small for Baby B-Shrimp or crushed flakes, I do not recommend feeding Hard-boilded egg yokes unless you know how, it is really messy and spoils fast (very fast).. The fry can eat "Micro worms", or vinager eels. Try looking for "Egg-layer baby food", I have tried this with small fry and they can eat it, but not sure if it is even available anymore.

Good-Luck

 

[Brian Feeder of Fish]

It is bare bottom, there is just a handful of gravel in one spot. About the food, I found a product called liquifry. Is that what you were referring to? Also, where does one buy microworms? How big should they be when I start feeding them each food type? What if I just wait for them to be large enough to eat crushed flake? Or would that be too long?
Thanks,
Brian

 

[tanker]

1) The liquifry should work,
2) Look on-line for Micro worm cultures and grow your own.
3) Should be able to eat BB Shrimp at about 3 weeks.
4) How are you going to wait for them to grow, if you are not feeding them?

 

[Brian Feeder of Fish]

Yeah, didn't think waiting made much sense, but I didn't know how long the egg sacs lasted. I can't seem to find any stores with liquifry, only online retailers. It seems like shipping would take too long, and I've heard that what it really does is encourage infusoria. I don't think any of these foods are available in retailers, and I am not really sure what to do for the short term. Should I try to order some microworms? Or would the liquifry be better? Do you think the tank would have enough infusoria to keep them going until something else arrives?
Thanks,
Brian

 

[fishorama]

You know, as exciting as fry are, they can be a PITA to actually raise especially if you don't already have some equipment & food for them. So, I wouldn't worry about this batch too much but if a few survive, Great!! If your fish are happy, they'll do it again!

I would have some kind of sponge filter or small HOB with a sponge over the intake. Infusoria (micro-foods) grow on the sponge (& plants) & the water movement helps with aeration. Plan on daily small water changes to vac up uneaten food, any ammonia is very hard on fry, often fatal. You might add your lone snail to help too. I agree w/ Jessica yolk is messy & polluting.

Danio fry are surprisingly hardy, that's 1 of the reasons they're used in studies, easy to breed & raise. So, Good Luck!

 

[Brian Feeder of Fish]

I have a filter pad I tossed in there to help cycle it, so I guess there is some infusoria there right? I guess I could stick an HOB in for the pad, but what do you mean a sponge over the intake? I have noticed some scum on the water and wondered about aeration.
The fry are so small, I'm concerned about vac. I haven't actually fed anything yet because I don't know what they can eat. I'll try to post a picture showing their size if I can get a good one.
Will the infusoria on the filter be enough? I'll go ahead and float the guppy grass in there too, since it is not really rooted or anything.
If I put the snail in, would he bother the fry? I am concerned because they are so tiny. Again, I suppose you can offer better judgement with pictures. They are coming.
Thanks,
Brian