Rebecca Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 I saw my Pearls spawning the other day and thought oh, might need to get those guys in a separate tank away from the angelfish and try for some babies. Well I went down last night to find my 5 large angels cowering in the corner of their 5ft tank :oops: So they were hastily moved much to their relief and then it was count the babies i've put some baby food in as these guys are swimming around and there seems to be hundreds of them. Would it be okay to leave them in a tank this big to raise them or should I move them to a smaller tank for easier acess to food? Also can I leave the parents with them or should they be moved as well? I have a tight lid on this tank so they won't get chilled and removed the big filter and set up a sponge filter, any other tips? Also have corys, angels and axolotls spawning and hundreds of baby guppies so must be something in the water I guess :lol: Cheers Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter McLeod Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 If all young survive be ready to have plenty of tankspace. After I had a go at spawning them, at 2 months the fry were in two 200litre tanks and I could barely see the other side, had to sell them for rediculous amounts and even give them away to stop the rest from being over crowded.I can say unlike my fighters they did take quite redily to flakes though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Like most baby fish, it is best to keep them in a rather small tank. This gives them less room to find food, so they can concentrate their energy onto growing. As they continue to grow, they can be transferred to larger and larger tanks (if you have the room that is). With constant feeding and very regular water changes these guys should be growing before your eyes. Good luck to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 If they are free swimming now, get the parents out. They are not care givers except for Dad in the first few days after hatching. Peter is correct, ask Ira. He seemed to be months trying to sell or give his hatch away. If you have any BBS, that is good once big enough (babies), which I'd say they are by now, by the sound of it. Good luck with raising them, and aren't you lucky for TradeMe. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Congratulations. Kinda weird isn't guys how the LFS can sell them for ..what $5+ ea, and then others can't but give them away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 And they are beautiful fish - I've never understood why they are so hard to get rid of. Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter McLeod Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 I found a combination of green water and microworms helpful once they were free swimming. Microworms are male and female unlike earthworms. The male microworms are much smaller than the females. Just have to be very careful not so suck any fry up when syphoning the bottom of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted July 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 These guys are mostly free swimming now and zooming all over the tank much to Dads disgust. He keeps scooping them into his mouth and racing back to the nest and spitting them all out. Very funny to watch but i'll take him out tomorrow. Lucky I have a few spare tanks I guess. I've fed them today and they seemed to be eating everything I put in so it'll be fun to watch them grow (hopefully). Out of all my gouramis I must say I like these the most, they've got such peaceful natures and pretty markings. I think i'll have to leave them in the 5ft as there's too many plants and I know I'd never catch them all. Hopefully if I feed all over the tank and keep on top of the water changes they should be fine. Cheers Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 The way I read this post first Rebecca, I thought the babies were a bit older. Apparently not as Dad is still using the nest, at this stage they are what I would consider in comparison with cichlids, at the wriggler stage. As Peter says, green water is the go now. Why dont you scoop out about forty of them and raise them separately and leave the others to fend for themselves?? Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted July 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 Thanks for that Alan, i might set some up in a smaller tank and see how they go but I'll have to try and raise all of them. I'm one of those people who has to be sure and catch all the baby guppies or I feel guilty :roll: I even have a special tank for the reject fish as I can't bear to kill them So I couldn't just leave the other babies. I don't mind if I end up with lots of them an luckily I have the tank space for them. Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 They would do better in a shallower tank with a lid to keep the air warm and moist (like fighters) I prefered a bare tank so they can get at food and you can remove excess. You would be best to transfer them with the water they are in. I would remove parents ,some times they get sick of caring and start eating. I would get them to a large tank as soon as possible to grow them up. I think they are only hard to sell because people sell them too small. You need to seperate them because I found they grow up at different rates no matter how well you feed them, and it gives the smaller ones a better chance to grow. I used to sell them OK but at the same size as the imported ones. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca Posted July 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Thanks for all your advice, I moved the parents out today and dropped the water level down so it's a bit shallower, I do have a fairly tight lid on it so the air is nice and warm. I've been feeding all through the day and everyone seems to be doing well. It seems these guys are the same as axolotls with their growth rates so I'll set a few tanks up to separate sizes and keep everyone happy. I don't think I'll end up with thousands as I'm guessing the angelfish got some before I realised what was going on but it'll be interesting to see how many I end up with. Rebecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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