Fry Emergency!

zabak80

AC Members
Jun 13, 2005
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I was feeding my fish tonight and I saw the smallest fry!!! I am totally unprepared for him though, no extra tank or breader net!!!

I want to save him until tomorrow morning and I can get a breeder net.

I do have a rather large regular fish net I was thinking of scooping him up in and then hanging it in the water as a temporary breeder net.

Any thoughts?

I totally did not expect this! I wish I had another tank set up for him.

Can I just put him in a glass bowl maybe?

Help, I need suggestions!
 
You could try the 'net in the water' thing until you can come up with something else tomorrow. Set it up so the lid for your tank prevents him from jumping out and put in a small piece of a plant for him to hide in. With him being kept up at the surface where the other fish can easily see him, they might peck at him and freak him out. I'd go with a small tank to keep him in or a tank divider so he can stay in the main tank instead of the breeder net thingy. The breeder net is just for temporarily separating the mother and babies while she gives birth and maybe a couple extra days for her to recover. Fry won't survive in it until they are big enough to keep from being eaten by the adults.
 
sky.eyes.woman said:
Fry won't survive in it until they are big enough to keep from being eaten by the adults.
:duh: Great, I didn't know this...They've been in there for several weeks, does it matter that theres only 3 of them??!! I guess I'll have to think up a new plan :(
 
I have a fairly constant stream of fry in my tank - and don't do anything special for them. As long as there's some cover (Java moss is particularly food for them to hide in) I'd always advise that you just let them get on with learning how to survive. I've also heard that chances of survival when reintroduced drop massively if the fry haven't been exposed to bigger fish since birth.
Hard though - seeing numbers dwindle.. but just remember - if they did it once, you'd better be ready for them to keep on doing it!! (fertile things that they are!)
Hope that's of some help..
R
 
I have 2 balloon molly fry and 3 platy fry in a breeder net for almost 4 weeks now. They are growing quite rapidly and seem to be doing fine. I'm soon going to set the baloon mollies free as they are about the size of small neons now.
 
Thats what I've been feeding mine, crushed up flakes really fine, and also shrimp pellets, they crumble into a powder really easily
 
Holly, I guess 3 fry in a breeder net is better than 30...your 'new plan' for them can be something as simple as a big storage container with a filter in it, they won't care if they aren't in a fancy tank. Just make sure the filter is a sort that won't suck them up and kill them. A seeded corner filter powered by an air pump is cheap and it works. If all you have is a power filter you can put a sponge over the strainer holes to keep babies from getting sucked into it.

A good way to crush up flake food for babies is to put a small amount in a little plastic bowl and grind it up with the bottom of a pill bottle or some other such container that fits in the bowl. You won't need to crunch up a lot at one time.
 
I have platies and guppies, much of the time they give birth around the same time and the babies literally just sit around places that they can quickly bolt into if needs be(someone trying to eat them)

But, now, Just last night my female guppy "Tsunami" had around 50 fry and they are all hovering at the bottom and my other fish don't even look at them as food anymore. I guess since I keep them fed well, have floating plants, and plenty of hiding spaces for the fry, the adults don't think it's a good idea to chase food, when food comes to them 2-3 times a day.

I just think that after awhile, the older fish in the tank(if you keep them well fed) stop even going after the fry. This has just been my experiences or luck, however you look at it. I have large pockets of fry in my tank that just chill and hang out together without the adults messing with them.

Sorry, just chiming in with my experience with babies :)
Lakota
 
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