Caring for fry

[josinski]

I have a breeding pair that after many tries have successfully gotten 7 fry to almost 2 weeks old.
They look healthy and growing but when and how do I wean them from the parents? I'd like to keep them in the same tank if I can.

[mac2b4mic]

they just stop eating from their parents, especially cause the parents dont want them to eat off them any more. You need baby brine shrimp. You need to hatch BBS and feed them instead that instead of them eating off their parents. You probably lost a lot of fry because you havent been feeding the BBS...I lost a lot because of it my first go round...
If they dont want to eat the bbs its probably because they dont know its food, so squirt the bbs by where they all are (dont get the brine from a local store as they are WAY to big to eat that. (and who knows if they have any diseases)
I kept my fry in with the parents for about a month, then I moved them because I wanted to start another batch and the parents wont do it again while they are in there.
-Mike

[josinski]

Thanks, I will try the bbs. I did lose a lot of fry, from about 30, but I think it's because the parents were eating them. I don't think that's happening at this point--I've had these 7 now for a few days. Sounds like they could eat off the parents for a couple more weeks if I let them though, right? How long do they go in nature?

[Chicago Discus]

You need to start the BBS right away

[josinski]

Well the mom decided to lay another batch of eggs so she got really protective of them and chased away the existing fry, eating one of my last seven. So I moved the last six into a mini fry tank that sits inside of the main tank. I've been feeding them ground flakes and pellets, and a mixture of egg yolk and spirulina that I coated onto a piece of fabric and lightly baked it just enough to harden slightly. They've been eating both of these things for a few days now and are growing. But they have now developed a slight case of fin rot on their tiny fins so I added some salt...1 tbs/10 gal. This seemed to have work on the adults before, we'll see about the fry I guess.