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I see what appears to be anal fins coming in now. They are definitely continuing to grow. The strange behavior shown by the largest one is no more. He is doing quite well and growing solidly. I think he may have been "spreading his wings" so to speak with all that wild swimming. He darts around more normal if you walk up to the tank now.

I also notice that they have more of a flee relfex now. This was not an issue in the first few weeks. I don't think they sensed danger. Now they dart for the weeds.

Theres only three fry? Or are those the only your keeping track of??

There's only three fry (they were "unexpected" I think it's pretty awesome!

wow they really are developing fast aren't they...they actually look cute, compared to some of the adult versions (sorry not a goldfish fan.

they look about the size of my guppy fry...(newborn)

these things grow slow
a 17-day-old goldie is about the same size of a newborn guppy

Hi People

I started this in the Coldwater Forum not realizing my fancy goldfish fry would make it this far. It was an unexpected hatch - in a bucket, where I had placed my goldfish hornwort and javamoss for a few days . I couldn't just dump them. They were about a day old, still clinging vertically to the sides of the bucket when found.

I took the first pics the second day. I moved them at about 5 days to a 5.5 gallon very carefully. You can catch details of the first two weeks here:

http://www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/thread.asp?id=31580

I will use this as a weekly update and will provide 2-day old pics to start, 1 week old, and 2 week old. The other link provides a pic of a fry that died 10 minutes after the picture with something obviously wrong digestive-wise. I have had no other problems.

Fry are eating mainly Hikari First Bites (a finely ground, powdered food loaded with vitamins critical to development) and thawed frozen bbs. I tried hatching some but didn't do too well at that . I also found that some planaria, which are on the plants, are also being eaten when the water is disturbed and they come floating out. .

Water changes have been about 24-26 hours. Water going back in is about a degree or two warmer and I spread it out over time so as not to shock them. I add it with just a cup. The water sits out for a few days and is near their tank in a jug, already conditioned.

A sponge filter, which was unseeded is all they have for filtration. I'll get a picture of the entire set up and post back later. I used New and Improved Cycle. Too keep the water from fouling, I siphon the bottom with a straw connected to an airline.

Here is their first home on day 2:



[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-31 21:15][/span]


[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-05-11 17:38][/span]

[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-07-05 10:10][/span]
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/300092.jpg"]

And another at day-2:
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/300096.jpg"]

At 1 week they were about 7mm in length:

Week 1

Note the intestine with food running under the shiney swim bladder. If you wonder why overfeeding fancy goldfish can cause swim bladder disorder, this is why. Compression.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-07 09:14][/span]
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/300099.jpg"]

Week 2 - Picture A

Roughly 9mm in length, but filling out (compare to the pic above). I think I have a red-cap developing here, or it's the backside of the other eyeball, since he is still somewhat transparent. It's hard to distinguish between the three fry, but I believe this is the most far developed one here.

EDIT: I know this is not a redcap as it appears. I looked head on, which I will try to get a top view of these guys now. I do not see any such feature so it must have been a shot of the other eyeball from the backside.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-07 12:01][/span]
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/300104.jpg"]

Week 2 - Picture B

This is a hungry fry - easily visible is the lack of food in the belly and intestine. This is what I watched for and made sure they had enough food (at least 5 times daily).

Note the early shadow of what will become the dorsal fin.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-07 09:30][/span]
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/300105.jpg"]

Week 2 - Picture C

A decent pic of the developing split-fan tail which began at about 5 days of age.



[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-07 09:12][/span]
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/300106.jpg"]

Week 2 - Picture D

Reflection in the glass - note the swim bladder again.

At this age, I believe I am beginning to see the intestines starting to spiral instead of going straight from the mouth to the vent in a line. From the top, the instestinal line seems to be asymmetrical at this point.

More pics next week, but I'll provide descriptive updates of what is to come, if they continue to do well for me.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-07 09:16][/span]
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/300107.jpg"]

This is very cool, Di --

Thanks for continuing to provide the updates.

Oh Wow. Cory_Di, they are absolutely amazing!!!
My fry lived a week longer than these here, but they never looked as developed as these, they are indeed little beauties...Well done

Ok then, maybe the Hikari First Bites are indeed chock full of nutrients. I've been siphoning off the bottom to prevent them from feeding on useless remnants. Once dried food is in the water after even a few minutes, most of the nutrients have floated away. I've been delivering to each fry a small cloud at feeding time so they get a few bites in the first minute.

I was using my airtube/straw, but am now removing the plants daily so I can see them better and using a bonafide, tiny gravel vac so I can get it better.

They had thawed, frozen, bbs today and I'm going to alternate that with the Hikari First Bites. I basically feed them bbs once daily about a couple hours before I vac the bottom to pick up much of what they missed.

I noticed the growth explosion when I fed them seven times in one day. I didn't realize how fast they digest their food. However, the stomach and intestinal line are all but 2-3 mm in length (at that time), so it moves through fast. I find every 2-4 hours is a good time to shoot for. It's a good thing I live so close to work as I come home for lunch daily to give them one meal.

I've been up since 9am today and it is now 1:00. They have already eaten 3 times. I feed them every 2-3 hours on weekends.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-07 12:05][/span]

OK - I took more week 2 pics. Here is the tank - a 5.5 gal with a sponge filter in it, hornwort, java moss, and the airstone you see is connected to a battery operated air pump. We had high winds and flickering lights. The pump would have gone on if power failed.

I've circled one of the fry near the center of the pic so you can get an idea of their size.
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/300380.jpg"]

Week 2 - Picture E

This is one shot from above so you can see the fantail development better. You can see the pec fins too which were barely visible on day 5.



[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-07 17:01][/span]
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/300382.jpg"]

Diane - These are really cool pictures. How does Grandma (your Mom) like the suprise new additions?

Wow - I'm really seeing development. If I'm not mistaken, I'm seeing the development of internal organs. They are really filling out too.

You are right - they are now about the size of livebearer fry. However, these are egglayer fry. That means they hatch as "larvae" and develop into something that resembles a fish within a few weeks. Whereas, your livebearer fry develop inside the mother and resemble a fish when they are born. That's why some fry food will say for livebearer and others will be targeted for egglayer. My white cloud mountain minnows had fry that hatched at only 1.5-2mm I would estimate. These goldie fry started out at about 3-4mm, but as you can see in the pic, they were only two eyeballs and a tail.

Oh - and if the pics should disappear (I think if this thread is inactive by 1 or 2 weeks, the pics will not remain), feel free to see them here. Try the slideshow feature. All pics are organized chronologically.

Goldie Fry Photo Album

[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-10 21:19][/span]

One more from Day 17.

That is a tetra airstone in the background if that gives you an idea of size.


[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-10 21:16][/span]
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/303231.jpg"]

And another:
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/303230.jpg"]

Here's another Pic on Day 17
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/303227.jpg"]

Bigger yet today. Maybe I'll post more pics on Wednesday. I've been trying to limit the pics to when it is easy to see change. However, I can easily tell the difference between the three. There is a really big one that is aggressive with eating and hunting for food. There's a middle one that is similar. The runt is not as aggressive or may not be as smart and maybe even has problems. He continues to develop tho.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-08 17:53][/span]

Ohhhh they've gottten sooo big .

^_^

- Yeah, I'm feeling like a grandma. And, great granny has been quite interested, to my surprise. She has a softspot for babies of any kind (except spiders and centipedes ). I have to show her blown up pictures because she can't see in the tank that well, but she does go up to it to see.

wouldn't cory_do be grandma considering it was cory dis goldfish that had the babies so it would be the goldfishes babies and the goldfish are Cory_di's babies so that would make Cory_di the lucky grandma

And one more reflection shot.

Week 2 - Picture F

[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-07 17:01][/span]
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/300383.jpg"]

OK, more pics:

Day 17 - The Trio of Fry

The largest I'm referring to as Fry "A", followed by Fry "B", then the runt is Fry "C". The largest is about 12mm now or getting close to half inch.





[span class="edited"][Edited by Cory_Di 2004-03-10 21:14][/span]
Cory_Di attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/303220.jpg"]

Sorry for your loss Di. RIP little guy.

I would have to look back at my posts, but I'm sure they made it to the three week mark. None of mine where as developed as yours, the last ones to die, had lost there transparency, they had tail fins and eyeballs, but thats about it.

I'm so sorry -- I remember how bad I felt when a couple of my fry died. (And they were a couple of the biggest ones in my case, too.)

The guy at the Brooklyn Aquarium Society told me that it's not uncommon for up to 50 percent of fry to not make it to adulthood. Which, as you said, probably explains why fish have so many young ...

how much space a plane takes up?

---

"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Quick question....what's planaria ?


^_^

Yours went for 25 days - I thought they passed sooner? Did they look as developed as the one that died? That's what puzzles me - he looked sooooo healthy. But I have to admit, no other fry exhibited that strange mad-like swimming behavior he did in the week and a half prior to his death. It lessened somewhat a day or so before he died, but maybe at this point he was starting to die already.

I can search for answers all day long, but my brain keeps telling me there are reasons why they lay thousands of eggs.

Nature will determine whether these guys make it. They are getting good, fortified food and up to 50% water changes daily. I want them to get a little bigger and will place a 3-sided corner filter in there (gentle flow, but stronger than the sponge filter and has mechanical filtration). This will help with uneaten food and particulate matter.

I'm concerned with 100% water changes just because I know it can make any fish shocky, even if parameters and temp are identical.

I did thin the hornwort which grew considerably. I figured that the o2 levels may be dipping too much at night. He was dead in the hornwort. I hadn't realized it had grown so much. The sponge filter doesn't move water that much and I figured I better keep it trimmed back. They do feed off of it. There are planaria in it and I've seen them eating that . I see them trying to pluck a single planaria from the glass and even picking off the tips of the hornwort. So, there are definitely nutrients in there for them.

So sad to here your news Cory-Di, it was about this time that mine had all died, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the last two.

I've got a funny feeling I may lose the other two as well, but we'll see. If that happens, then I would consider the possibility that they did eat bbs that I was unable to siphon out of the tank. I know it can load up with bad bacteria in just a couple of hours, but I always see them spitting out what isn't fresh.

Time will tell. I'm just going to stay prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. It's been a hell of a learning experience.

Sorry you lost the little guy....reminds me of that condition that humans get sometimes when they grow faster than normal .

Here's to hoping the two remaining make it .


^_^






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[span class="edited"][Edited by Babelfish 2004-03-18 15:39][/span]

Well, people - sad news: We lost our biggest fry. I guess last night was his last hurrah. He was doing so well I made that optimistic post above.

As I suspected, something was wrong with Fry "A", the largest of my fry. He had been acting strangely for about a week and a half occassionally swimming wildly like he was going mad. I monitored him closely and figured it may or may not be something to be concerned with. Last night he was feeding like all the rest and was acting quite normal for a change. The only spurts I seen him make were more calculated and controlled for about the last two days (like a flee reflex when you come to the glass). They all do that.

Unfortunately, I found the little guy dead when I turned the light on this morning, pointing vertically in the weeds.

I immediately checked parameters (Ammonia and Nitrite - 0; Nitrate 5ppm; pH 7.8 and steady; temp 70F). The other fry were carrying on as normal so I think it was just not meant to be for him. There was nothing remarkable about his body other than slightly popped eyes, indicating he suffered dropsy before he died. This doesn't mean he had a bacterial infection necessarily as a failing heart or kidneys will do the same whether it is from infection or not. He had good color, no fuzz, and looked quite healthy just as I seen him last night and like he had died within the past hour. I took a last pic of him so I could get a close up view of him with the lens.

I'm hoping the other two will survive. This one had explosive growth and was approaching a half inch in length. The other two were no where near as big, so I don't know if that had anything to do with it. I had inquired of a marine biologist as to what stage it would be safe to add a little fw aquarium salt. It was suggested that I not do that until they reach about 1/2 inch which he stated would be about 3 months. So, maybe "hercules" grew too fast for his own good.

I'm disappointed, but not upset. I'm going to be watching the others very closely and hope that it wasn't something like bad food. It is impossible to find every morsel of frozen bbs that is not eaten, but they usually spit out what is not fresh. based on his behavior over the last week or so, I don't think it was that anyway.



R.I.P. little guy - thanks for the lessons you helped me to learn.

[span class="edited"][Edited by cory_di 2004-03-18 15:12][/span]
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