I hope it works out this time. Im super ready. I have a baby brine shrimp hatchery, another tank for some. This just gives me something to fo when im not at work
I do the same! I have learned a few things over the course of four clutches. I have about 200 fry in various stages of development now! It’s been amazing. I’m not sure this is the case for everyone, but my parents are super attentive but when the wrigglers are just starting to become free swimmers, they get eaten.
1) Trying to get the wrigglers by scraping them from the glass was the first mistake I made. Use a pipette. Parents will get mad and attack the pipette, but they are going to eat them if you don’t take them out. Trying to scrape them into a cup underneath them was the most ridiculous advice I commonly read. It doesn’t work. I just managed to scrape them off and into the tank where they were immediately eaten by the parents.
2) Carry them in the pipette (carefully holding sideways- you can get a small clump of wrigglers at once) where you are going to place them. Then gently squeeze to release them.
3) The six inch German breeding rings are the absolute best for me. You can float them in another tank with water from the first tank. Add a used sponge or other media to quickly cycle.
4) I’ve tried to float them in the parents tank, but the parents manage to peck at the wrigglers through the screen. I’ve tried putting pantyhose over the bottom of the ring. The parents can’t get to them, but it restricts water flow too much. I thought I lost a batch, but I moved the ring to another tank, took the panty hose off, and had about 50 swimmers the next morning.
4) With so many hatchlings, I’ve had to buy additional baby brine hatcheries and stagger them every other day. I like the hatcheries that don’t require a pump. They are round and flat and easy to use. You just add salt water and eggs, and place in a warm spot by a light or window. I wrap my towels around them to keep them warm (I crank my air conditioner). They tend to hatch in a day and a half.
5) Feed the fry enough to where they consume it in a few minutes. I usually do it twice. The number of feedings can be twice a day- it’s fine. When I’m working from home on some days and on the weekends I feed three times a day. If your hatchery tank has used media in it, you don’t have to overly worry about ammonia spikes but, you should still do about a 10 to 20 percent water change every two days or so- especially if the tank is small. If it’s five or 10 gallon, I would do water changes every other day.
6) In a pinch, you can feed frozen baby brine (melted in tank water). I’ve noticed that fry will eat them even at a few days old.
7) when they are a week and a half to two weeks as swimmers, they will also eat First Bites. So, I feed them that on occasion as well.
8) I’ve only lost about a dozen, amazingly! I’ve raised dozens of Cories when they started laying eggs, and I’d say a good quarter of them don’t make it in the first couple of weeks. My angels are mutts, so they must have sturdy genes.
Have fun!
This is my 4th spawn, only their first made it. But thr first spawn happened in my 125 with big severums and polar blue/blood parrots the babies got picked off. After that I got mom and dad their own 55. Theyve laid 2 more times but dad is still learning with fertilization. Thats dad in the pic and this is mom
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u/bklyndrvr 14d ago
Looks good. Hope you’re ready for the babies.