Mom won't let them off the cone

[kaceyo]

The female of the pair I'm trying to get fry from currently won't allow the freeswimmers to move off the cone. Long after all the fry have gone freeswimming she is still trying to gather them up and spit them back onto a surface. She's so aggressive and persistant about it that she ends up damaging and killing spawn after spawn even after they have succesfully attached to the parents. She has developed a move where she allows them to gather on her back, then she backs up quickly, rolls so she's pointing straight up positioning the fry above her and against the surface, and starts slurping and snapping them up very fast. She'll get so many in her mouth that they get injured and I'm sure some are getting swallowed. Then she takes them to a corner and spits them onto the silicone, where she tries to bully them into staying put. within 24hrs what fry are left will be scattered and the bottom of the tank is littered with dead and dying fry (pretty grissly, huh?) Meanwhile Mom is still gathering and spitting. I've lowered the water level so mom can't do her little manuver which slowes her way down but still doesn't stop it completely. The water is so low Dad, who is a bit bigger than Mom, can't swim fully upright. Is that bad for him?
Dad won't raise the fry without mom, I've tried it and he freaks out.
Has anyone seen this behavior before? Right now the pair is in about 6" of water and leaning over alot, lol.
Kacey

[LizStreithorst]

What I would do in this situation is pull mom the moment the fry start coming off the cone. Dad will take over the baby raising chores. It's lovely when a pair work together raising the fry, but unfortunatly, that is not always the case.

[kaceyo]

Hi Liz,
I tried that 2 spawns ago and the male was overwhelmed by the fry. He started dashing around the tank and rubbing against things trying to get away from them.
The super low water level is helping but not enough I think. I'd like to somehow get her past this thing where she thinks they need to be stuck to a surface forever.

[LizStreithorst]

Geez, how many fry are there? I've had one parent raise 300. Do you get them started on BBS at the first moment they are able to eat them?

If you have a really nice pair who both dislike caring for fry, there is always artificial raising. I've never done it but I'm sure the info is available.

[kaceyo]

LOL Liz, There are only about 150 fry but he just didn't like the feel of them I guess. I have raised fry artificially before, in fact I raised this pair artificially. They are the only two fish I have left from the three times I've done it. I'd have to really want a particuler spawn to commit to doing it again.
Today things are looking better. I left them all night in about 5" of water which made it very hard for her to manuver to get at the freeswimmers. She couldn't even swim upright. Every time she got to the point of having a few of them cornered I'd blow water at them with a baster to scatter them. She hasn't started doing it yet today so hopefuly thats the end of it.

Kacey

[LizStreithorst]

Well, Kacey I have to say that you're more resourceful (and a lot more knowledgeable) than I am. Good luck with them.

[kaceyo]

Well, Kacey I have to say that you're more resourceful (and a lot more knowledgeable) than I am. Good luck with them.
I very much doubt that Liz. You have alot more experience with these guys. But thanks anyways.

Kacey

[AADiscus]

I would try to get dad used to the fry. This might be your only way. You would normally want the tank bright but try making it a little darker so maybe he won't freak out as much. Take the cone out of the tank also. Get some bbs going and start feeding. The faster you can get them eating bbs they will move on to other items within the next week and dad won't be so bothered.

[kaceyo]

I have about 60 fry from this pair now and they're doing great. The extremely low water did the trick. The male couldn't handle the fry and was too big for the water level I had to use so I removed him and mom is raising them now. Finaly, after about 25 spawns.
Thanks for the help,

Kacey

[AADiscus]

Thats great Kacey.....keep us posted on there progress. Gradually start raising the water level though as they get more attached. That way you can do bigger wc's on them and then start your bbs. ;)