getting fry to eat

[ifixoldhouses]

How long can fry go without eating? I got them Fri morning, and they ate a little bit friday night, I can't get them to eat anything now. I have the temp as high as it will go 86. They are schooling all over the tank, but won't eat anything. I've tried seafood mix, flakes, bloodworms, pellets, seems like they'd be hungry by now. I may get another heater tomorrow, anything else I could try, I can't find hikari bloodworms here, that's what their used too.
I got the sally's brand and they ate a few, and now won't touch them again.

[Darrell Ward]

Could be they are just not comfortable in your tank yet. Especially small fish in a tank that's 4' long or whatever. It can sometimes take a while in my experience. I always try to have a piece of branchy driftwood in a tank with new fish. It seems to help them feel more secure.

[ifixoldhouses]

I have a big glass statue that looks like the root of a tree in the middle, I thought of that.

[mmorris]

If you give them something to hide behind, they will hide behind it and it will take that much longer to feel comfortable. How big are they? How many do you have in how large a tank? How did you acclimate them? Were they shipped to you or did you buy them locally (lfs)? Keep up the wc's.

[mmorris]

Ah, I see from other posts that you got them from a good source. Are they in quarantine?

[ifixoldhouses]

If you give them something to hide behind, they will hide behind it and it will take that much longer to feel comfortable. How big are they? How many do you have in how large a tank? How did you acclimate them? Were they shipped to you or did you buy them locally (lfs)? Keep up the wc's.

I have them in a 55 gallon BB tank with a drip and overflow going, I vaccum out 20% a day as well. I got them shipped overnight, I drip acclimated them for an hour, I got the temp upto 88 degrees now. Still not eating.
heres a video from yesterday.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v70/ifixoldhouses/Fish/?action=view&current=fish012.flv

I took the root thing out, one of em was hiding inside it lol.

[mmorris]

They look so lost in that great big huge tank! I don't see anything else obvious. You could try lowering the water level and putting in a divider to see if that makes them more secure. I recently bought 12 inch-long fry and started them off in a 10-gallon. Do you have access to any live food? How big are they?

[ifixoldhouses]

their 1.5" I'm going to try and get some blackworms tomorow, been 4 days since they ate.

[Eddie]

I agree with Martha, they are tiny tiny for a 55. Grow them out in a 29, they will feel more secure. Security=comfort and comfortable babies eat. I would not put any ornaments in the tank either. Try to grind up some Prime Reef in your hand and feed it to them, bet they eat. ;) I'll bet $50!

Eddie

[ifixoldhouses]

I'll take that bet, these lil suckers won't touch a thing, if I drop a cube in they run the other way, I'll put them in a 29 then I guess.

[Eddie]

I'll take that bet, these lil suckers won't touch a thing, if I drop a cube in they run the other way, I'll put them in a 29 then I guess.

Yup, 29, elevated temps and crushed Prime Reef. $50 bucks my friend. ;) You could also add some salt. I know Ardan suggested salt and elevated temps for another member and it worked out. 2 tbsp per 10 gallons. ;)

Eddie

[ifixoldhouses]

Still not eating, I found some hikari bloodworms, they won't touch them, I ordered some prime reef and blackworms, will be in tomorrow.

[Darrell Ward]

For what it's worth, I grow out practically all my fish, because they are cheaper, and I too cheap and poor these days to buy 4" fish at $50 a pop or more. I'll usually get 8,10, or a dozen fry, put them in a 29, or 37gal., grow them out some, and gradually put them in larger tanks as they grow, all the way up to 125s. If you put them in a larger tank too soon, it will scare the daylights out of them for a while. Been there, done that. They will get over it eventually, but we all know it's never good for little ones to go without eating. The risk of stunting small fish is great. From now on, I would suggest not putting very small fish in a 55gal., unless it is a large group to prevent traumatizing them so bad they won't even eat.

[ifixoldhouses]

We need a section on raising Fry, hard to find anything about them.

[mmorris]

You might try lowering the water level as well. I started 12 tiny fry out in a 10 gal. with newly hatched bbs and they didn't miss a beat. They've recently moved to a 20, and soon they'll move to a 55. I would put yours on bbs.

[Eddie]

You might try lowering the water level as well. I started 12 tiny fry out in a 10 gal. with newly hatched bbs and they didn't miss a beat. They've recently moved to a 20, and soon they'll move to a 55. I would put yours on bbs.

I tried lowering the water level this last time and it actually made things worse for my fish. They preferred to swim up and down the 29 than swimming across the low level of water in a 55. That was just my experience with lowering the water. Could have been those particular fry but I'll just stick to the lower capacity tanks.

Eddie

[mmorris]

I'll put them in a 29 then I guess.

I meant lowering the level in the 29. :)