when is a good time to extract fry from parents?

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blazin_dragon18

blazin_dragon18

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Mar 16, 2007
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my female argentae and male pearsei have just spawned. the eggs are hatched and the frys are alrdy free swimming by their parents. i would say they're about a week old. is this a good time to extract 'em from their parents? their parents are taking care of 'em, however, they're in a mixed community tank along w/some large tank mates.

also, after i extract 'em, wut should i feed 'em? brine shrimp eggs? would the experienced breeders give me some advice?

some pix of the parents and the eggs: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252679
 
Hi,congrats for the spawning,I would not remove the fry for a few months,giving them enough time to grow and to get use to their new world.
 
If you want to keep them, I would remove them as soon as possible seeing it is a community tank. As for food, baby brine shrimp,crushed flake will suffice. I usually just run air type sponge filters in the grow out tanks until they get a bit of size.
 
yeah, i'll remove them asap.

it's best to setup a grow up tank.
simply get a tank about 24x12x12" and fill it with your tank water (not new or tap water). filter by an air sponge filter.

brain shrimps, crush fish flakes will do the job. or if you are really picky you can go and get some baby flakes, they come in different sizes for different fry. but since they are cichlids they should be able to take on any baby flake.

btw, do not feed the fry until they are free swimming, or else you are just going to mess the water quality up and risk the chance of killing all of them. carry out daily 10% water change for frys are always better then do a weekly 50%. as this will reduce the chance of PH shock and temp shock etc. since newborns don't really like changes in water condition.

also i would keep the grow up tank bare bottom, this will make your work so much quicker!! just suck out any nasty like uneaten food or fish poo when you do your daily 10% water change and this should keep your water perfect.

when they get to a nice size of 1-2cm then you can decide what to do with them. as this size is much more easy to manage, but they won't start fighting each other yet.
 
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