Dying fry

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ryansmith83;5150447; said:
Just a little update... I haven't fed any BBS in almost two days. I've been exclusively feeding First Bites. I haven't lost a single fry since then. :confused:

I also haven't done a water change yet. At this point, I'm afraid to...
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Well I guess it makes sense. I always use BS Direct. But it's still hard to understand how live bbs could kill off the fry. Could it be the salt?
 
I wondered that, but I've been washing the shrimp really well in a brine net by pouring a few cups of tank water over them. I wonder if the fry are getting choked? Maybe the brine are larger or something? My first thought when I started experiencing these problems was that the fry were choking on the brine egg shells, because of the way the dead fry's mouths were open. It almost looked like they'd choked. But who knows anymore.

I will try a water change tomorrow. That will be the true test. I've been trying to raise a group of these G. parnaibae fry for over a year and it's so disappointing to watch spawn after spawn die these past few months. :(
 
Since I discovered Golden Pearls (from Kensfish) I no longer use BBS. It comes in a variety of sizes and I've had great luck with even tiny fry with it.

I add some to a cup of water and use a piece of airline tubing to blow it to where the fry are.

When artificially hatching / feeding fry I am also a fan of hatching the eggs in a Critter Keeper (plastic container) inside of a bare tank. This allows water circulation but keeps the fry in one place...easier to concentrate food to them...

Try the Golden Pearls. Much better than first bites, in my experience...

Good luck!
Matt
 
Glad to hear they're still kickin'. You could do a good water change in the parents tank and then the next day use that water to do a water change in the fry tank. For now I'd stick with the First Bites if it's working and try the other things on the next batch. Please keep us posted on your progress I'm really interested in how this works out.
 
Wow, First Bites is nasty stuff. The tank was cloudy tonight and stunk. Maybe I'm using too much. Either way, I did my first 75% water change on the fry tank. So far, so good. We'll see if any are dead in the morning. They were all eagerly eating after the w/c. I introduced a bit of frozen daphnia tonight and they actually went for it, which isn't bad for fry who've only been eating food for three days.

Matt, I've never tried the Golden Pearls, but I know a lot of angel folks use them. I will order some. I have a jar of the decapsulated brine eggs but I've never had fry eat that stuff very well, unfortunately. :(
 
Okay, so I've done two 75% water changes in the past couple days and continued feeding First Bites and frozen daphnia, and I haven't lost a single fry. They are growing and acting fine.

So I guess it was the food? :( Weird!
 
Good to know things are getting better! I usually feed live bbs first then switch to decap bs eggs, which are supposed to be more nutritious, but it would actually be easier to start with prepared food.
 
peathenster;5160975; said:
Good to know things are getting better! I usually feed live bbs first then switch to decap bs eggs, which are supposed to be more nutritious, but it would actually be easier to start with prepared food.
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I've been using First Bites for a couple of years now with good success. It is much eaiser then messing around with BBS and IMO a better all around/healthier diet.
 
All is well! *knock on wood* I've been doing 75% water changes and feeding a mix of First Bites and frozen daphnia. I'll be ordering some Golden Pearls to try soon. I now have three 20 gallons full of fry: Geophagus parnaibae, true Orinoco Heros severus, and Geophagus sp. 'Bahia Red.' It's working well for all of them. I hope everyone's ready to buy some fish in a month or two. lol!

Thank you for all the suggestions and input. Tom, I don't know why I've been doing things the hard way all these years. I have always overlooked First Bites in the store and opted instead to hatch brine. At about two weeks old the Geo fry seem to be growing well and the size is pretty consistent. If I'd known this stuff worked so well, I would have ditched the brine a long time ago.
 
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