What would you do in this situation? Monte Cristo fry

[JDCichlid]

My two Heterospila oscura have laid a large clutch of eggs (their first time). I’m headed out of town on Friday and would be gone a full week.

Would you try to get someone to come over each day and feed the fry OR would you just leave them alone for a week? I guess what I’m asking is if they’ll all starve if I don’t have someone come feed them while I’m gone.

 

[phreeflow]

I’d just leave them be. They will find stuff to eat. Would help if you had a sponge filter for them to graze, a rock with a bunch of algae, etc

 

[jjohnwm]

This will depend largely on timing. It takes a few days for the eggs to hatch, and then several more before the fry absorb their yolk sacs and start swimming and eating. They don't need any attention from you before that, and you might well be back by that time.

Personally, I find "have someone come feed them" to be one of the most terrifying phrases to hear as an aquarist. This plan probably causes more problems in the hobby than almost any other mistake we can make.

As stated above, a mature sponge filter would be a good food source for new fry, as would a rock, some driftwood or a handful of plant matter such as Hornwort, Guppy Grass, etc. Anything with a decent growth of algae and biofilm will host microflora and fauna that the fry can graze on.