# Fry not eating?



## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

My fry hatched about 2 days ago and today i started feeding them (im feeding egg yolk , Brine shrimp havent hatched yet) the fry dont seem to respond to the food the just stay where they are and they food just sinks to the bottom. Will they eat it eventullay???


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Bump??? Help!


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

Well im not sure how to feed fry yet but my guess is they are probably eating it but the water gets cloudy.

Also, when did you start your brine shrimp hatchery?


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

I started it 2 days ago and it still hasent hatched!


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

weluvbettas said:


> I started it 2 days ago and it still hasent hatched!


Did you put a warm lamp over it to increase hatching sooner?


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Yes its got a warm lamp over it and a air pump in the jar but still all i see are the eggs .


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

weluvbettas said:


> Yes its got a warm lamp over it and a air pump in the jar but still all i see are the eggs .


well maybe they expired? check if you can because i had an expiration date one mine!


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

There defantley not out of date because i had the jar (with the eggs in)it sat in one of my heated and the air pump made some of the water splash into the tank and i woke up to find bbs swimming around in the tank but not the jar.


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## bettalover2033 (Feb 17, 2010)

i dont know then go to youtube and type in hatching brine shrimp and click on the first one! thats what it looks like


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

I did everything in that video!!! Please hatch! 
Right i will tell you wot i did :
First i filled up the cup with declorinated water.
Next i added aq salt
Then i added the eggs 
After that i set up a air pump inside the cup
Finnaly i set the cup under a lamp.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

If your fry just hatched 2 days ago they may not be ready to eat yet, I don't usually start feeding fry until they are about 6-7 days old-3-4 days at the earliest if you don't have any live plants in the tank.

BBS can take 18-32h to hatch-I don't use any light on my BBS-just an airstone-I start them in water that is 84-85F and I get hatch in 18-24h usually-sometimes you can get a bad or old batch of eggs........zinc and copper in the water can also cause BBS hatch problems.

What size is your BBs hatch container and what is your salt to gallon ratio and starting water temp?


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Thanks ofl i was wondering why they werent responing to the food. They would just look at it and kinda turn there heads...
The container is just a large cup really so i added just a spoonfull of aqaurium salt. The starting temp is probaly 72 (england is a cold place.. lol) and the lamp mabye gets it up to 75 , 78 at the highest. Hope that helps!


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I think your BBS water is too cold to start and it will take longer for the BBS to hatch.

I made my BBS hatchery out of a 1g plastic peanut container-I drilled a hole in the lid for the air line hose-it works great. I get my water up to 84-85F fro the hatch-but I don't worry about the water temp after that because I use them up pretty fast

Careful not to get any of the salty BBS hatch water in the fry tank-not just for the salt but the bacteria that can kill your fry

Use a brine shrimp net or pantyhose and siphon the BBS in this and rinse well in cool water before you feed-try to keep as much of the BBS shells out of your fry tank-this is what can cause problems in the fry if they eat too many BBS shells

I would also try and get as much of the egg yolk out of the fry tank too-foul water will kill the fry pretty fast.


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

How can i get the water warmer?? 
Im going to be doing daily water changes anyway to stop the water from fouling.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I mix my water at the tap and use a digital thermometer under the running water until I reach the temp I want.
You can also microwave the water or put a kettle on the stove

Always check the temp with the proper thermometer before use..


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

But dosent the water cool down eventullay??


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I start my hatchery with HOT water. Add conditioner, salt and eggs. Then I plug in my airline tubingand they hatch by the next day.


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

I have dipped the cup into one of my heated tanks to make the water temp in the cup rise and hopefully i will have bbs tommorow. Do i need to feed the bbs?


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

weluvbettas said:


> But dosent the water cool down eventullay??


Yes, the water will cool down in the BBS hatchery-but it is a non issue for me due to I feed it fast-I feed the BBS with egg yolk intact other wise they have little nutrition and the fry still starve to death or will get poor growth and development. You can see a sudden death twirl and parasite/pathogen with poor nutrition.
You need to get two BBS hatcheries going about 12h apart to provide the needed nutrition when feeding just BBS

As you are finding out...the easy part is spawning...the hard part is raising and feeding the fry...this can be tricky and a bit harder for some especially when your not set up to provide and meet the needs of growing fish

You can do it.......get another container of BBS going-3Tlb aquarium salt to 1 gallon of 85F water to 1/4tsp/BBS and add an airstone-you should have BBS with yolk sac intact within 18-24H


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Actually I have a defective heater which goes to about 93 degrees. I'm gonna put my hatcheries in a 2.5 gallon with that heater and see the results. I'll update later.


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Oldfishlady said:


> Yes, the water will cool down in the BBS hatchery-but it is a non issue for me due to I feed it fast-I feed the BBS with egg yolk intact other wise they have little nutrition and the fry still starve to death or will get poor growth and development. You can see a sudden death twirl and parasite/pathogen with poor nutrition.
> You need to get two BBS hatcheries going about 12h apart to provide the needed nutrition when feeding just BBS
> 
> As you are finding out...the easy part is spawning...the hard part is raising and feeding the fry...this can be tricky and a bit harder for some especially when your not set up to provide and meet the needs of growing fish
> ...


The hatchery was set up about 1 and a half day ago and up until now i was prepared with everything to feed the fry it was just the eggs never hatched so it was only this morning when i found out i was now unprepared.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Its always a good idea to practice before hand to make sure you can culture/hatch food needed IMO...having everything is one thing...knowing how to do it is another....

But-I have confidence in you.......you can do it.......you may lose a few fry but even the experienced breeders lose fry and stuff happens......just part of the hobby..........we learn-we grow-and move on with more knowledge.......


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Exactly, I used to raise fry on one hatchery...didn't work. Now I have four hatcheries and an extra one just incase.


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Just checked on the fry and there all fine. The fry dont seem to move much. Are they hiding from the male? (im doing the leaving male with fry method)


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

MrVampire181 said:


> Exactly, I used to raise fry on one hatchery...didn't work. Now I have four hatcheries and an extra one just incase.


I also have a infrosia culture going as well basically its just a tub full of live plants on my window ledge.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Great...is the infusoria culture cloudy-if so dip a cup of water out and add to the fry tank...see your prepared........


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Yeah the water is cloudy and full of algae (does this sound like infusoria?)


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

I don't use cloudy infusoria water. I have a jar full of live plants and a homemade sponge filter kept well lit. I change 10% of the water every week. cloudy water just dosen't seem healthy for fry, but that's me  Your culture sounds perfect for them.

BTW I've never left the male with them. Tell me how it goes. I hope you have plenty of live plants (or plastic) and hiding places, because I'd hate to see the male eat them all


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

It hard to say...but if it was me...I would add a cup......small amounts at a time so not to change the water temp too fast-fry can tolerate going from cool to warmer better than warm to cooler.....so if the culture water is warmer than the fry tank water a cup at a time should be safe....

I am so excited for you.......


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Thanks im gonna add some of thw water to it. The infrusoria tank has little white worm growing up the side is this safe??

Mr vamp 
Yeah the male has only eaten the small weak fry but the rest are fine most are actullay sticking close by the male like they want to be with him  .

Im going to change the water tommorow . I hope i dont suck some fry up.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

MrVampire181 said:


> I don't use cloudy infusoria water. I have a jar full of live plants and a homemade sponge filter kept well lit. I change 10% of the water every week. cloudy water just dosen't seem healthy for fry, but that's me  Your culture sounds perfect for them.
> 
> BTW I've never left the male with them. Tell me how it goes. I hope you have plenty of live plants (or plastic) and hiding places, because I'd hate to see the male eat them all


With infusoria cultures-it is the cloud that is the microscopic organisms or infusoria and they feed off the single-cell algae

With some spawns, most really-I leave the male with the fry, I have some set-up that still have both the male and females along with multi spawn and fry of different ages and all is well.

The thing with leaving the male with the fry as long as you can-is one-the male teaches them how to eat and teaches them parental skills-the offspring from fry left long term with the father usually are better spawners and parents IME anyway.....

But very true-without the proper set-up the fry may be doomed...lots and lots of cover is needed and real good feeding of the male especially after the fry are free swimming for a few days. Every male is different IME......


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

weluvbettas said:


> Thanks im gonna add some of thw water to it. The infrusoria tank has little white worm growing up the side is this safe??
> 
> Mr vamp
> Yeah the male has only eaten the small weak fry but the rest are fine most are actullay sticking close by the male like they want to be with him  .
> ...


 Add an airstone to the end of some airline tubing, makes a great siphone for fry 1-2 weeks old


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

That is such a good idea MV ...put an airstone on the end of the airline hose.....I still do it the hard way and just put the fry back in the tank after I clean...lol....

I made a siphon with a couple of chop stick attached to the airline hose so that it is stiff and I have more control, my thumb is the control valve and I use an old 1g ice cream bucket and put it on a dark table and use a flash light to look for fry I suck out and either use an eye dropper or my little siphon to suck them in the tip and put back in the tank....so it can take me awhile to clean sometimes....lol....I will have to try the airstone idea from MV next time I clean.......


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Oldfishlady said:


> That is such a good idea MV ...put an airstone on the end of the airline hose.....I still do it the hard way and just put the fry back in the tank after I clean...lol....
> 
> I made a siphon with a couple of chop stick attached to the airline hose so that it is stiff and I have more control, my thumb is the control valve and I use an old 1g ice cream bucket and put it on a dark table and use a flash light to look for fry I suck out and either use an eye dropper or my little siphon to suck them in the tip and put back in the tank....so it can take me awhile to clean sometimes....lol....I will have to try the airstone idea from MV next time I clean.......


 Well my siphon has a straw from a fast food restraunt at the end to make it stiff then I have the airstone on the front. I take it off when they're bigger and can see them better.

About snails: a breeder sent me a plant with snail eggs on it and IDK how I should go about it. I've never used snails before but the eggs havent even hatched but IDK if I should put them in the tank after I remove the male.


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Thanks can i use some airline tubing as a mini siphon? so it small anothe not to suck up fry?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

weluvbettas said:


> Thanks can i use some airline tubing as a mini siphon? so it small anothe not to suck up fry?


 It will suck up young fry, like under 2 weeks old but if you add an airstone to the end it won't.


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

MrVampire181 said:


> Well my siphon has a straw from a fast food restraunt at the end to make it stiff then I have the airstone on the front. I take it off when they're bigger and can see them better.
> 
> About snails: a breeder sent me a plant with snail eggs on it and IDK how I should go about it. I've never used snails before but the eggs havent even hatched but IDK if I should put them in the tank after I remove the male.


I would add the snails in because snails are good clean up crew and they create infrosia .


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

MrVampire181 said:


> It will suck up young fry, like under 2 weeks old but if you add an airstone to the end it won't.


 
If i added a airstone to it wouldent just bubbles come out the end thats in the tank???


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

weluvbettas said:


> If i added a airstone to it wouldent just bubbles come out the end thats in the tank???


 No because you suck the water like a straw and point it downward. It sucks rather than blowing bubbles.


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

I still dont get ya (im sooo dumb )how do you suck the tube if one end has a airstone on and the other end is in the tank?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

weluvbettas said:


> I still dont get ya (im sooo dumb )how do you suck the tube if one end has a airstone on and the other end is in the tank?


 Ok so you have the airstone end in the tank, then you suck on the other end and then take it out of your mouth before the water gets in your mouth and point it downward into a bucket/jar or whatever you're using to collect water in.


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Oh so your just doing the same thing you do with the normal siphon


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

weluvbettas said:


> Oh so your just doing the same thing you do with the normal siphon


 Yup


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Oh now i get it!!! lol 
Update : By the way all the fry are just floating at the top. Is this normal??


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

weluvbettas said:


> Oh now i get it!!! lol
> Update : By the way all the fry are just floating at the top. Is this normal??


Young fry tend to stay there. I'm not sure why though.


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

Yeah i looked in and i was like " no they dead!!! " then i saw one move and i was "false alarm people , false alarm...."

Mr v have you got any spawns on at the moment?


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

weluvbettas said:


> Yeah i looked in and i was like " no they dead!!! " then i saw one move and i was "false alarm people , false alarm...."
> 
> Mr v have you got any spawns on at the moment?


 Yes, my blue dragon HMPK sibling pair spawned yesterday and the eggs are getting ready to hatch. I looked very closely and can see the little fry wiggling inside them


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## weluvbettas (May 29, 2010)

I bet you get some awesome fry!!!


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

weluvbettas said:


> I bet you get some awesome fry!!!


 They should hatch soon  The parents both fit the perfect standard for HMPKs.


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

weluvbettas: Our spawns seem to be at the same stages of growth. 
My fry are now all hanging at the top of the tank and not moving much. Freaks me out whenever I see one falling to the bottom unmoving and then it just darts back to the top. I can see them eat!

This might be a dumb question but...
Should the new water be aged before performing the water change???


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

vilmarisv said:


> weluvbettas: Our spawns seem to be at the same stages of growth.
> My fry are now all hanging at the top of the tank and not moving much. Freaks me out whenever I see one falling to the bottom unmoving and then it just darts back to the top. I can see them eat!
> 
> This might be a dumb question but...
> Should the new water be aged before performing the water change???


 I just fill up a half gallon jug with water and float it in the tank for an hour and then slowly pour it out.


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