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Hi,

It's been almost a week since my 2nd batch of Bolivian Ram frys became free-swimming. I managed to catch about a dozen frys in the first day and moved them to a 2.5g tank. The rest were left with the parents and all of disappeared a few days later (corys and tetras got to them). :#(

I didn't have time to cycle the 2.5g tank properly (sponge filter), so I've been changing 50% of the water daily, adding a daily dose of bacterial starter and Prime (to neutralize any ammonia/nitrite, which is around 0.25ppm before each water change), and I also put a bunch of floating Elodea. I feed the frys 3x a day with a tiny bit of powdered fry food (Sera micron) mixed in tank water and use eye dropper to squirt the mixture into areas where the frys congregate (usually on the bottom). The thing is I don't think they're really eating because now I only have about 6 of them left and they're all quite sluggish, just staying on the bottom mostly. They were pretty active & swimming around for the first few days.

I've tried frozen BBS but I think it's still too big for them. I also got some vinegar eels a couple of days ago, but I can't tell if they're eating them or not (I can barely see the eels myself once I put them in the tank - harvesting them is a challenge in itself).

How much (quantity and frequency) are you supposed to feed frys if you're using powdered/non-live food? I wonder if I'm supposed to put a lot more powder in (I only use about a tip of a teaspoon amount at each feeding). They mostly end up at the bottom of the tank as it is. Is there a better food (live or processed) for bottom-feeding frys? Should I try Liquifry or Hikari First Bites instead?

Please help if you could - any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

-P

Infusoria & microworms are the best fry food & after a few days pass on Live Brine Shrimp. Feed them 6 times daily & do a 25% water change daily too.


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Thanks, Jason. Is microworm similar to vinengar eel in that they stay mostly on the surface? Unfortunately none of the frys survived this time (had to euthanize a few last night . I'll be more prepared next time - I'll try to culture baby brine and infusoria beforehand.

-P

You must get a starting culture to start your Microworm culture. I don't know about Vinegar eels & so i cannot give you an answer. Try to get some Apple Snails for infusoria & be prepaired for the next spawn.


http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com