FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Hello all!

i've had an unexpected spawn of my neolamprologus caudopunctatus shell dwellers.

they are in a 2ft tank with 5 adult fish in total. there appears to be aprox 40 fry though they have not all come out of there cave as their mother is continiously herding back in, the parents are doing a great job looking after them.

i have put a stocking over the filter uptake to prevent fry getting sucked up.

my question is should i remove the fry to a grow out tank?

if so should i wait till they are a bit bigger (they are tiny now like 2mm!)

Most neolamps are very good parents and will leave the young alone even when they're much bigger. I'd not move them until you're ready to sell them (or whatever you plan to do). The older young often help the next batch of fry.

Eric

You will probably not end up with all 40 surviving fry, but you do not need to remove them to a growout tank. The parents will care for them, and if they spawn again, the first batch of fry will also help look after the new fry. Caudopunks develop colonies like this, similar to multies. I also have a 20 gallon full of caudopunks, and I'm on my 5th spawn in just a few months. I usually remove the fry when they are about 2 months old, to make room for new babies.
How are you feeding your fry? Baby brine shrimp and either a liquid, paste, or fine powder fry food work well for mine. Make sure to clean your filter and do small water changes often (2-3 times per week), because fry foods and the added bio-load can wreak havoc with your tank.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

ok guys thanks for your replies!

i have not moved them and they seem to be doing well.

i will wait till they are a little bigger.

they have come out of their little cave today there looks like there are about 80 of them!

they are so cute!

im feeding them crushed colourbits

they seem to like it, havent had time to get BBS

how many fry tipicaly survive in a batch?

In my first batches, I had about 50% survival rates. Caudopunks have some of the largest spawns of any shelldweller, so it is not uncommon to eventually get over 100 fry from a single spawn. Mine so far have probably ben in the 40-60 fry range, so I usually end up with 20+ fry from each spawn. As I learn to care for them better, that number has increased slightly. Due to the population explosion, I have set up a grow out tank that is also rapidly filling up with the fry. Since my LFS will not usually take babies under 1" long, I still have a few months until I can get rid of some of them. The adults in the main tank have been very tolerant of the fry that I've been unable to catch, though, and there is no additional squabbling for territory, so I don't worry about them too much. However, be aware the crushed food can pullute a tank very quickly, causing algae and water quality problems, so the best thing you can do is to do small water changes at least one if not two or three times a week. Even just small 10% water changes will help your fry grow up quickly and in great health.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...