FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have a 55 gallon aquarium with 20 medium-large cichlids, 1 blue crayfish, and 1 pleco. 2 of my cichids are bumble bee cichlids and recently breed. I noticed my female bumble bee was pregnate at the last minute so i ran out and got a small 3 gallon eclipse system tank for her to have the babies in and when she was finished i took her out and she is now back in the main tank.
Ok, my main question is this. Will the 3 gallon tank be enough to raise my fry's until i can put them in with my main fish. (i have about 15-20 fry's) And the other question that i have is how long will it be until i can put them in my main tank. (the average size of my fish are 2-4 inches in the main tank) And also any tips you can give me on successfully raising these fry would be greatly apreciated.
Thanks

Main problem is that blue crayfish, its a bit too large a species to be in with most of your fish , let alone fry.

Second issue is that bumblebee cichlids are aggressive and territorial, and as the fry start to mature the parents will become increasingly aggressive with them. if all 15 survive,there will be a lot o fighting and persecution.

The usual way to handle things is to leave the young with these mouthbrooders until they are grown on a little, then put them into something like a 10-20 gallon growing out tank, and then either sell them on or start a new tank for them as they get over an inch or so long. 200 litres is usually recommended for adult pairs.

The Eclipse tank should sufice for about 3 to maybe 6 months. They will take about 6 months to reach the one inch size. As git already stated, if you place them back in the original tank, they will probably go down in numbers. Some from the crayfish, and some from other fish.

But, my bigger concern, is adding 15-20 more fish of that potential size, to the tank you have. You are already pushing the bio-load as it is now. Adding that many more fish could really be disasterous. I would recomend you find a fish store that will purchase them from you. Then get about a 20 gal tank and move them to it. Grown them out for about 9 months and take them in to your lfs for trade or sale.

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...