Looking for thread/ how long can they stay

[blkrob]

I've been looking for a thread for few days now. I'm just not finding it.

How long can fry stay with parents?

I've had my 2nd successful spawn. I'm not trying to breed for anything other then knowledge at this point in time. I have a pair in a 37g bb with 6 youngsters. It's been about 2 months. I will be giving them away or putting them down.

I do a w/c every other day. I understand that more w/c's are needed. But this is still for my education and development. Is there a point when the youngsters are doing harm to the parents?

Can someone please direct me to the threads I should be reading.

Thanks

Robert

[mmorris]

Surely they aren't feeding off the parents at this age! I'd be more concerned the parents may kill the fry in order to spawn again. Frankly, I don't know.

[Eddie]

Hey Robert, I've seen threads where people kept fry with the parents until the fry became adults. They were small batches and the fry were not feeding off the parents.

I don't recommend it by any means.


Eddie

[blkrob]

Thanks for the prompt replies guys.

They are not eating off the parents. The parents don't seem to mind them. The parents haven't shown any interest in breeding. I'll give them away on Thursday then.

So is there a time when fry cause parents issues? I understand a large brood would take it's toll on the parents with stress and their slime coat. From what I've read most people separate parents from fry at 6 weeks. Is there a reason for this outside of hopes of them breeding again?

Thanks again

Robert

[Eddie]

I guess you'll get alot of different answers but I'd say 3 weeks is long enough IMO. This depends on the size of the brood and how well the fry are feeding away from the parents. By 3 weeks, they should be feeding well, if not completely on their own.

I've only raised a few batches of fry and the first, I moved at 7 days (Heckel Cross) and the my recent successful batch (Blue Scorpion Cross) which were moved at 15 days.

Could they have gone longer, sure.

Eddie

[blkrob]

They are eating everything. I was in no rush to move them. I will keep this in mind for the next spawn.:D

Robert

[blkrob]

Not sure when it happened, but I gave away the fry Thursday. I did a w/c Saturday and started a w/c today. I couldn't figure out why the fish wouldn't move.:o They're guarding eggs. So I just drained a 1/3 of the water and left them alone.

I'll pull the fry a 3 weeks this time and see how things go.

I guess I was fortunate they did kill the they fry.

Thanks guys,

Robert

[mmorris]

So I just drained a 1/3 of the water and left them alone.


Did you fill the tank back up? There's no point in lowering the water until the fry are free-swimming.

[blkrob]

Nope. I didn't. I should have completed the task because I doing a w/c later tonight. They ate the eggs. I don't think I can blame them either. My 6 yr. old had a play date. So, I had four very hyper girls running throughout the house. I'm sure they got spooked and figured the hell with this.

Another lesson learned.