shocker

UPDATE: Still have 200 fry now in a 20 gallon. Put the male back in with the female 2 days ago, this afternoon, another billion eggs laid. I'm going to have to find out who wants some Firemouth fry...must be some kind of deal to be made.

I hear ya...what to do with the fry? I have over 300 Firemouth fry from one batch swimming in my 10 gallon. I have to get them and the mom out of there into the 20 gallon. The mom looks like she has 300 mosquitos buzzing around her. She manages to keep them all in one corner. If ONE fry goes too far, she darts over and sucks it up and spits it back into the "swarm". At night, she spits/moves/herds all of them UNDER the flower pot and then lays on the bottom listing over to one side to block them in. Its fricken amazing watching her.

They are up and around swimming...but I have another issue now I have over 200 firemouth fry in a 10 gallon. Anyone have a complete 20 gallon with stand they want to sell?

Right now they are "Wrigglers". When they actually start moving around, venturing out of the pot, they will be considered "Free swimming" - that's when you'll want to start feeding them. YOU Da Man Jason...thanks! OKAY...I have 10 billion fry. They are all at the back of the flower pot. How do I get the food in there without just dumping it in at the surface and polluting my water trying to get the food in there? Mom wont let them leave...they try..but she spends all day circling the pot collecting kids and spitting them back into the back of the pot.

Right now they are "Wrigglers". When they actually start moving around, venturing out of the pot, they will be considered "Free swimming" - that's when you'll want to start feeding them. YOU Da Man Jason...thanks!

UPDATE: Eggs laid sometime Monday morning, hatched Wed night, Thurs morning. They are a million quivering fry at the back of the flower pot that the mom is guarding. Male removed a couple of days ago. How many days does it take for the firemouth fry to begin free swimming? They "appear" to still have a yolk sac but they are mobile quivering along the bottom. I want to start feeding them but can't figure out when to do it. Any help would be appreciated. Cant seem to find any info on the net that gives me a definitive time

My kid and wife would kill me! Male has been moved. Female is calmed down. Lots of eggs and ready to hatch. If that b*tch eats them I'm going to raise them next time on my own!

Thanks again! I think you and I are the only ones on this website sometimes. IF I did get lots of survivors, whats the best way to cull a few...meaning is there a market for them? Will pet stores take them in trade for a store credit? Charles

I was just going to keep the young in the 10 gallon...and if there were enough...get a 20 gallon for them and use the 10 gallon for breeding, 46 gallon will remain as a community tank. I think thats a good idea...i'll move the male tonight. Hopefully the female doesnt get stressed...he is a b*tch to catch

UPDATE....a week or so ago...the fry disappeared. Both parents were at the top of the 46 gal community tank seeming like they were gasping for air. I had an airstone in the ship where they laid eggs for effect. I turned it off because I thought the turbulence would make it hard for them to keep them together. As soon as I started the airstone...they snapped out of it and returned to the ship and seemed to be looking for fry. Started up a 10 gallon with same water out of the tank. Waited for amonia and nitrites to settle and put the parents in there. They seemed stressed. 3 days later, they laid another large batch in a flowerpot. They look really good (eggs), mother is tending to them. Since there are no other fish, father is not doing much, no digging, no spitting out gravel into a pile. Guess he feels no threats don't need any other places to move eggs. When he ventures into the flower pot, mother sometimes flares at him and pushes him out. Here are my thoughts: Did I cause them stress in the large comunity tank by lowering the oxygen in the water (eheim filter outlet under water so no aeration-stupid me). They then either ate the fry (tons of them) OR they had to surface and in came a catfish or barb and had a lunch? I have towels blocking the sides of the new tank set-up to keep them from getting startled. I have an established foam filter and an HOB fliter that I plan on turning off when they hatch to keep them from being sucked up. Do I leave the parents in and hopefully they are calm enough to raise the fry? Do I yank the parents now and use an airstone to hatch? Do I wait until they are hatched and when they start to free swim, yank the parents? Well? What do I do? Someone...please respond! One more day and they will start hatching (wed night, Thursday morn)

Awesome thanks! My Eihiem Pro is running in the tank but I cut back the intake so its near the surface? Any issues with Firemouth fry?

I assume you took the end off? Straight open hose? How long did you wait until you sucked them out?

Hate to bring up an old post...Pisces carries it in Calgary as of Feb 1, 2009

Thanks for the response. Thats what I'm going to do. The parents are awesome so maybe they will be okay. Have you ever siphoned the fry out?

22 views and no replies? oh well. I'm leaving the eggs and parents in the community tank. Move the pleco and all 11 tiger barbs out to a 10 gallon. 3 cories, 3 glass cats, 1 upside down cat and 5 gouramis are staying in the main tank as they seem not very interested in the eggs. Male is digging to china, female beats the hell out of anything that comes by and the eggs look super healty. I'm treating the entire tank for 3 days on methylene blue to clear up the strange bumps on the male and to keep the fungus off the eggs. Hopefully, the fry survive. If they are in any danger, when they get big enough I'll put them in the 10 gallon and put the barbs and pleco back in the community. I cut the suction tube on the filter off at the surface. I think the fry should stay near the bottom with the parents. I hate catching tiger barbs