How To Care For Fry To Enhance Their Survival Rate

These are some pointers should help you give newly hatched or newborn fish the best chance of survival.

Rearing Your Fry

Delivery Tank: Fry can be left in the delivery tank for about a month, after which they should be transferred into a larger aquarium of about 20 to 40 gallons.

Absent of Motherhood: Once the female parent has been removed, you may bring the water level back up to normal (that is, if you had lowered the water level in the aquarium previously to make it easier for the newborn fry to swim to their hiding places and avoid being eaten.)

Environment: Fry that are properly fed and reared in well-lit, planted, and established aquariums will usually grow faster and more uniformly than those raise in bare tanks.

Filtration: Include a corner filter with carbon and floss inside to provide filtration and aeration. Prevent fry from getting into the filter inlet by covering it with pantyhose. Alternatively, use a sponge filter or your regular filter with pantyhose over the inlet.

Water Change: Make frequent, partial water changes as the lack of proper tank maintenance can lead to stunted individuals or mass mortality rates. When the fry are initially moved to a larger rearing tank, start with 10 per cent water changes for the first few days and gradually increase the percentage. This will encourage maximum growth.

Sibling Segregation: To ensure that as many fry as possible survive, sort the sizes of the growing fry to prevent the larger fry from eating smaller ones.

Feeding Your Fry

Types of Food: Most fry can be fed special fine-powdered food, or live foods like daphnia, microworms and infusoria. If you feed them cultured live foods, try to introduce as little of the cultured medium as possible into the tank, because even the smallest quantities can fuel a potentially dangerous bacterial bloom.

Amount of Food: Increase the amount fed gradually. After a week, the fry should be big enough to eat newly-hatched brine shrimp, and eventually, regular fish food.

Caution Food: Brine shrimp (Artemia) are the largest of the live foods commonly used to feed fry, and pose little threat of introducing dangerous microorganisms in the rearing tank.

Quantity and Frequency: Several small feedings daily will ensure maximum growth. Avoid introducing large amounts of food into the aquarium, as the excess eventually turns into decaying matter and pollutes the water.

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