Tropical Fish Forums

[lenoirj]

I was gazing into my tank yesterday and noticed a tiny little creature that I am certain is fry. I have 5 Zebra Danios and 2 Cherry Barbs (1 male, 1 female) in a 10 gallon tank. So far, I've seen one live one and one dead one . The live one hangs out in one corner down in the gravel. I don't know how much longer it will survive in that corner! Is there anything I should be doing? Will the other fish eat it? I have no idea which kind of fish it is, either. There could be more but I did a large water change yesterday before I saw the fry and it's possible that some went down the drain with the old water.

Also, my tank is not fully cycled: pH - 7.4, Ammonia - 0, Nitrite - 2.0, Nitrate - 10
A couple of bunches of hornwort
2 water wisteria
1 ghost shrimp (will the shrimp eat the fry?)

Thanks for any info.

[Jun]

The best way to keep baby fish safe is to buy a breeder net, which are available at any LFS as well as larger chain stores like Walmart. It's most likely that the other fish will eat it, or what's left of the process of cycling may kill it, and then the problem would be solved. However, should it survive long enough for you to get a breeder net, that leaves the question of what to feed it, which I am currently at a loss for. If you can find Liquifry, this is a good baby food, however I'm unsure of the size of the little one so this may actually prove to be too large, especially for danio or barb babehs. I've also heard of people straining boiled egg yolk as baby food, but you'd have to look more into that.

The first step to saving it would be buying a breeder net, then maybe someone else will have better suggestions for what to feed the little fishy. n_n''
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[lenoirj]

It's so tiny, I wouldn't even know how to catch it. Plus, it swims down into the gravel anytime anything gets near it, so maybe it won't get eaten....

[Jun]

Some babies will actually survive in an aquarium without protection. Another thing you could do for it would be to buy some breeding grass that it could hide in, then you wouldn't have to catch it and it would have more protection. I've kept baby mollies alive this way from the day they were born right up 'til they were big enough to swim with the rest of the fish without being eaten. I still recommend the breeder net, but there are certainly other ways to keep babies alive. :) I wish you and the little one the best of luck!
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[spacecadet]

I have had fry survive in a tank by putting a pile of large stone nearby and or a cave it could hide in till it gets big enough to stay out of harms way. I never added extra food, and wouldn't in a cycling tank. Put a small algae wafer nearby and or a shrimp pellet and it can and will nibble on that. It may find microbs too to eat...then when it's big enough, I'd grind up flake as small as possible. This might work or not. It has worked for me before. I'd say left over food that falls near it will breakdown also and provide food. But then what do I know.