parents lost the wigglers?

[mike J]

I have a pair of scribble reds that have had one successful spawn,they ended up with 17 fry. This same pair just spawned again 4 days ago.Last night when I went to bed they had at least 100 wigglers that they were caring for. This morning I got up and there only seems to be 50 or so left and they are scattered all over the tank, clinging to the walls, the sponge filter and the water surface. Also the parents don't seem to be trying to care for them anymore.

I had the water level reduced for when the wigglers started to swim free but I turned the light off when I went to bed, could this have caused a problem when the wigglers started to swim?

[Carol_Roberts]

It is common for the newly freeswimming fry to be scattered about thr tank for the first 24 hours or so. I do like to leave a small light on 24/7 for them.

[Kagan]

In addition to Carol's recommendation, please be sure you dont have anything vibrating on the tank stand or tank. Also please remove anything dark from the tank. Try to find some white sponge if you are using a dark sponge filter in the tank.

Kagan

[mike J]

Thanks for the reply from both of you. Next time I will leave a small light on 24/7.

Also, I do have a dark brown colored sponge filter and there were a lot of babies on that filter and they did not want to leave. I even tried sucking them up with a small dropper and putting them on the parents but they would just swim back to the filter. So I will also go and get a white filter.

thanks again. This is an awsome forum and I always get the help that I need. Much appreciated.

[Eddie]

Hey there Mike J....can you get some pics of the pair. I'd like to see a nice pair of scribbles! :)

Eddie

[mike J]

if you would like to se some pics i'll try and post one here. never done it before, if it's easy enough i'll post more

[mike J]

that was easy enough. heres one more of dad

[mike J]

and one of mom

[Eddie]

Very good pictures MJ and the discus are really attractive. Keep it up!

[hexed]

Mike,
My pair place the wigglers right onto the sponge filter. They take them from the breeding cone and place them on the sponge filter. I have a valve attached to the air hose so I just turn the air down so there is a small amount of air going through the sponge. This way when the fry go free swimming, they can swim off the sponge and are not held against it by the force of the flow. I leave the flow low until the fry are big enough to swim away from it on their own then turn it up to where I had it in the first place. As long as the wiggler can free themselves from the sponge everything will be ok on that part. I also leave the tank light on 24/7. My pairs seem to be catching fry all day and night. My water level is lowered about 2-3 inches because the parents seem to see them easier at the surface when it is lowered and they do not get the glare from the light above. Do not turn off the light, leave it on. The parents will start caring for the fry once the fry need food. Just let them be, patience Mike patience. My fry took 5 days to attach to the parents but once they found the food supply no more problems. The weaker ones will parrish unfortunately.

[jimmyhat]

I have 2 pairs of those Plus a 3some group that work together? All the same fish & all breeding right now... Nice pictures