Over the last few years I've bred and raised a ton of cichlids here at my house. My routine is always the same: 20 gallon bare-bottom tanks, newly hatched BBS several times a day for food, daily water changes with aged, temp-matched water, and the fry grow like weeds.
Starting at the beginning of the year, a lot of my cichlids began spawning again after a break during the winter. Since then, I have tried to raise about 5 groups of various fry from severums, geos, etc. and they all die, a handful at a time, until there are none left.
Nothing about my routine has changed. At first I thought it was a water issue, but I currently have a batch of Geophagus parnaibae fry that went free-swimming yesterday and I'm seeing deaths already without having done a water change yet.
The fish do not start dying until they actually start eating. For instance, I stripped the Geo fry from the adult fish and the wrigglers stayed in a net breeder in this 20 gallon tank for four days before they went free-swimming. In that time, none died. Now, after their first brine feeding yesterday, I've lost maybe 5 or 6.
It sounds crazy, but all I did was buy a new can of brine shrimp eggs. They look and hatch like normal BBS. Is it possible something is wrong with them? I didn't get them from Brine Shrimp Direct, which is where I usually buy, but from an angelfish vendor who is reputable. I'm sure he and his customers are using cans from the same batch.
I don't know what else to try. First I thought I had a bacterial problem or flukes, but I sterilized the tank this time before the fry went in and used a sponge filter from the parents' tank to ensure it was seeded and healthy. I also don't get why they don't die until they start eating.
Has anyone ever had something like this happen? Is there something I'm overlooking that I should check for? I'm about to start tearing my hair out!
Starting at the beginning of the year, a lot of my cichlids began spawning again after a break during the winter. Since then, I have tried to raise about 5 groups of various fry from severums, geos, etc. and they all die, a handful at a time, until there are none left.
Nothing about my routine has changed. At first I thought it was a water issue, but I currently have a batch of Geophagus parnaibae fry that went free-swimming yesterday and I'm seeing deaths already without having done a water change yet.
The fish do not start dying until they actually start eating. For instance, I stripped the Geo fry from the adult fish and the wrigglers stayed in a net breeder in this 20 gallon tank for four days before they went free-swimming. In that time, none died. Now, after their first brine feeding yesterday, I've lost maybe 5 or 6.
It sounds crazy, but all I did was buy a new can of brine shrimp eggs. They look and hatch like normal BBS. Is it possible something is wrong with them? I didn't get them from Brine Shrimp Direct, which is where I usually buy, but from an angelfish vendor who is reputable. I'm sure he and his customers are using cans from the same batch.
I don't know what else to try. First I thought I had a bacterial problem or flukes, but I sterilized the tank this time before the fry went in and used a sponge filter from the parents' tank to ensure it was seeded and healthy. I also don't get why they don't die until they start eating.
Has anyone ever had something like this happen? Is there something I'm overlooking that I should check for? I'm about to start tearing my hair out!
