New Fry

by **miami754** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 12:18 am

You are right in general, gumbii - but my tank is not a species tank. Any babies I let be born in the main tank are quickly eaten up by the other mbunas. Also, I have heard quite a few people say they left their mom in the fry tank and she ate the young. I'm sure there are cases where both things happen. However, I can guarantee that demasoni, acei, and red zebras will eat yellow lab fry. That is how I keep my numbers down. I'll separate one holding female at a time and let the others stay in the main tank and be eaten. I also separate the mom so she doesn't get beat up by the males. It is very hard on them seeing as they don't eat for 3-4 weeks. Separating them allows you to keep the female separated until she builds her strength back. The females I don't separate always live through the harrassment, but they are much worse off than the ones I separate and let rebuild their strength before reintroduction. Just my experience though. We are all free to do as we like. That is the fun of the hobby.

by **gumbii** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 2:54 am

ah i see...

demasoni sometimes get bloat like tropheus moorii... so be carefull if you see them eating fry or other meaty meals... i usually let algae grow like crazy in my tank... so the demasoni and other mbuna are always munching on something... the only fish that i have that eat thier young after a wile are my south american cichlids... if i don't feed the females they will eat the fry... all of they...

by **miami754** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 3:25 am

Yeah, I have 16 mbunas in there so I don't think any one of them gets enough fry to bloat. I also let the algae grow and never feed them meaty foods. I feed spirulina, zuchini, and lettuce.

by **gumbii** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:02 am

zuchini and lettuce for reals...???

i feed they spirulina 20 flake and new life spectrum... never had bloat... i feed that to my tropheus tanks too...

by **miami754** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 1:21 pm

Oh, I forgot that I feed them New Life Spectrum as well.

They LOVE real vegetables. I rubber band a piece of zuchini to a rock at the bottom and they go to town. They will eat through it in a couple of hours. I have a suction cup clip that I put a piece of lettuce on - they absolutely love that as well.

I read somewhere that the beta carotine helps their colors. I'm not sure about this as I have never really researched it, but I mostly do it because they love it so much and it provides them some variety.

by **gumbii** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 1:44 am

hmm... i'll try it soon... i feed my goldfish all kinds of fruits and veggies... from oranges, to peas... everything... i guess giving them some veggies couldn't hurt... but i don't want they to make a mess...

and i know that new micro crab food is like steroids for fish colloration... i forgot what it's called... i think cyclopse or something...

by **miami754** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 2:09 am

Thanks, I'll check into that cyclopse stuff.

I have never had a problem with them making a mess with the veggies. Just take it out after 10-12 hours and you should be fine. They eat right through the middle and then I take out the outside rine that is left over.

by **elscion111** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 2:19 am

hmmmm, interesting I gotta try it sometime...

by **gumbii** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 2:29 am

yeah... my ancistrus would eat squash that way... i love feeding my goldfish oranges... just slice it open and in a couple of hours they just leave the peel...

i used to feed my tropheus peas... but then i got used to making them gel foods instead...

New Fry

23 posts • Page 2 of 3

New Fry

23 posts • Page 2 of 3