1st freeswimmers!!!!!!

[limige]

:bounce: :bounce2:finally got wrigglers, then freeswimmers!


i've spent over a year, maybe two watching females lay eggs. i have a total of 4 active females and most eat eggs after 2 days.

well a recently formed turk pair started laying eggs about 2 months ago, when i was moving tanks around. after 3 times with no luck the 4th was finally a success!

this pair has been great, they leave the eggs sit for 4-5 days and finally eat them. my first pair i cleaned the eggs off for them after 3-4 days, this pair i let take care of it on their own.

well, hardly noticed they laid eggs but the day after i noticed i went down to see them missing, which is strange for this pair since they normally let them be. well i looked on the other side of the flower pot to see mom and dad moved the new wrigglers to the back!!!!!

wow wrigglers! i was shocked, tired and had to run to work. so i came home in the morning and lowered the water, turned the sponge down and hoped for the best. yesterday was their 2nd day freeswimming!

but, they seem to be hanging around the flower pot and sponge, mom seems to hang closeby the sponge with them, not sure if they are eating off her or not. i started siphoning about 3/4 gallon of aged tap into the tank before i left to help the oxygen and raise the tds some. need to check ph soon.

i guess this morning i'll start the brine shrimp, this is all so new to me.

if mom and dad aren't nice to the babys should i seperate them or let them be. this spawn looks to be around 30 babies, hard to tell, this tank is very dim. i understand most of the time they follow up with larger spawns, so should i spend the effort to seperate them if something goes wrong or just let them learn by trial and error?

tips and opinions needed and welcomed!

beth_a you had problems with your first few spawns, hows the pair doing now?

[ham helper]

sorry i have no time to give tips, but i'm off to bed right at this moment. just wanna say congrats!! i can't wait till i get some as well!
kimberly :-*

[limige]

oh the other thing i've noticed is, my pair hasn't really darkened at all. they are both red turks.

[limige]

ph dropped into the mid to lower 5's. i siphoned some more water into the tank near the same tds to bring the ph up some.

the fry seem scattered, some are near the pot, some near the parents some just swimming aimlessly. ??? what should i do? filter was turned down, i turned it off for awhile but they don't seem to even be trying to attach. this is the middle of their third day freeswimming.

i started some BBS up today hopefully things go smoothly.
how should i do wc's. when is it safe to do them? i plan on siphoning out the crap and using an airline to siphon in the new water. with the ph drop is it safe to siphon 7.3-7.5 water in that quickly? should i drop the ph some on the new water?

Hey Limige

First of all "Congratulations"

I guess you can say I've had my share of my pairs being less than willing to cooperate :-\ If you look at the end result after trial and error things start looking up ;D

I took this pic just a few minutes ago..... this female is being a really great mom so far. I had to pull the male 5 days ago after he decided to start killing babies.... in the end I have 27 babies left and all seem to be doing fine. I'm thinking of adding a few of these to the pool in a few days :cool:

http://images.snapfish.com/33768%3C6%3B23232%7Ffp3%3B%3Dot%3E2327%3D%3A49%3D8 58%3Dxroqdf%3E2323399%3B%3A%3B6%3A5ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/33768%3C6%3B23232%7Ffp3%3B%3Dot%3E2327%3D%3A49%3D8 58%3Dxroqdf%3E2323399%3B%3A%3B6%3A6ot1lsi

I have noticed after my fry start fs they tend to hang in corners, around the filters and also on the plant leaves.... so I'm guessing they're feeding on the excess slime that's attatching to these areas in the tank (that's just a guess)

I really wanted to see this pair carry this group of fry so I pulled the last batch of eggs the spawned and gave them to another pair of their siblings..... (it worked ;D )

With my wcs ... the pairs tanks ph is in the high 6's and low 7's...... I add straight tap water in the 8's (aged ofcourse) say a few cups at a time over a day or 2 to fill the tank once they start attatching. This is what has been working for me.

As far as seperating the pair once they don't play nice...... hmmmmm..... you may get mixed opinions :-\ I.... myself.... watched this paticular female get really aggressive and very protective of her fry. I figured the male would have been the one to take care of the fry.... was I ever wrong. This female wouldn't allow him to come out of the corner of the tank at all for a few days before he got really pissed and started attacking the babies >:( Then I pulled him...... I believe it just made the bond stronger between mom and babies (my opinion only)
The way I see it is..... play it by ear and a close eye. You know you have a pair and trial and error is the best way of learning ;)

I hth
Beth

[limige]

thanks beth, well, i decided to pull the flower pot out, there were quite a few babies hanging around it, maybe 10-20, they have been so scattered i may have 50 and not even realize it!

anyway, i pulled the pot and they went straight to mom ;D tank has gotten dirty so i'm trying to clean it carefully. i started the flow on the filter a little stronger and am adding water.


it seems so weird seeing such large babies feeding off your parents!!! lol, i can hardly see mine! anyway, update you all later!

[limige]

moms not being photogenic at all, she shakes off the babies and moves around the tank not wanting to hold still but here is one pick with the little ones by her side, not all of them, just some.

Great looking pair Limige :thumbsup:

lots of luck to ya.... it only gets better ;)