# Do fry die for no reason?



## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Like the tittle states do fry die for no reason? Because every now and then I look into the tank with all of my Salvini fry and see that some have died! I have NOT being using Alagefix or anything unusual just Prime and Stress Zyme and I feed them twice a day. I do weekly syphon water changes maybe around 30%. Thanks!


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## stuckinthemiddle (Feb 26, 2008)

Good question, *** wondered that too.

Mine do. Seems that most of mine that die are smaller than the rest. Perhaps natures way of culling.


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## HiImSean (Apr 5, 2007)

are the fry still with the parents? maybe they're not getting food? i never see dead fry in my tank, they just disappear


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

That could be it that they aren't getting enough food because there's so many of them in such a small space! Mine have been dieing at different sizes some small and some are fairly good sized ones. I just don't understand it!

Nope I have them in my 29 gal because I took down my 20 gal L and I am currently cycling the new 30 gal for the growout tank. And I know it can't be anything wrong with the water because ever since I have stopped using Alagefix I haven't had any problems with any of my tanks and the fry were still dieing in the 20 gal L from time to time. So it must be either a natural thing or lack of food! But I do feed them very well!


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

What are you feeding Cichlidlover?

The reason I ask, if you are feeding baby brine twice a day but only doing weekly water changes, that would be my first guess.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

I only feed them flakes. But that is a good question and I know if I was feeding that much BBS that would definitely be the problem!


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

Yes fry will die for no obvious reason. My experience though is that the majority of the Die off is in the first couple of weeks as the weak and deformed fry sort of self cull. By that I mean the ones that would never make it die off and the healthier ones keep swimming. After that losses are much fewer and further between if at all. Like has been said though frequent if not daily water changes are best to insure maximum health and growth. And I'd feed them a little more too. :thumb:


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I would say that fry start off very delicateâ€¦ and it doesnâ€™t take much to kill themâ€¦ As they grow in size they should also grow in stability.

It doesnâ€™t take much aggression between fry to cause a fatalityâ€¦
It doesnâ€™t take long for a fry to starve to deathâ€¦
It doesnâ€™t take much pollution to degrade their health to the point of deathâ€¦

I also agree that the fry themselves will cull off weak or deformed fish. Although I find the better I get at fry care the more fry surviveâ€¦ leaving me with the duty of culling.


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## lostnight (Jun 3, 2006)

And some may have internal problems not visible that will lead to an early death. I would think this would be less of a problem with fry that have healthy parents that aren't closely related but are of the same species.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Wow!! Thanks guys! :thumb: I will keep an eye on them and let you guys now if any more die or if something pops up! Hopefully these deaths are just natural deaths and nothing to worry about!


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## Blu-ray (Apr 28, 2008)

More water changes and using newly hatched brine shrimp ( that spreads in all water levels and all fry are able to get some ) will decrease the losses.


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## duaneS (Aug 31, 2006)

I agree with the genetic abnormalities and aggression the cause for many deaths, I do think 2 Xs per day is perhaps a little light, if you could feed more often and small amounts it helps, or if you let lots of algae grow, it provides extra grazing. I try to feed 2 or 3 Xs during the evening after work, not a lot, but I believe the rapid growth requirements of fry beg for more.








I also like to puree peas








and wet down and grind up dry food with tank water and shoot it directly into the school to make sure it isn't wasted.


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## Nathan43 (Jul 9, 2007)

Joels fish said:


> Yes fry will die for no obvious reason. My experience though is that the majority of the Die off is in the first couple of weeks as the weak and deformed fry sort of self cull. By that I mean the ones that would never make it die off and the healthier ones keep swimming. After that losses are much fewer and further between if at all. Like has been said though frequent if not daily water changes are best to insure maximum health and growth. And I'd feed them a little more too. :thumb:


Agreed, it's been my experience that above seems correct.


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## MetalHead06351 (Oct 3, 2007)

Don't mean to break topic, but what kind of cichlid is that DuaneS? I've been looking for one more fish for my 125 and I like the looks of that one.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Thanks guys! 

I will start to do more water changes and feed them more! Would 3 times a day be good? One time in the morning, afternoon, and at night? I will also start to feed BBS more. I have a BBS hatchery and the frozen cubes. Anything else I can do?

I agree with Metalhead about that cichlid that you have DuaneS that is an AMAZING cichlid! I love it!

Thanks again guys! :thumb:


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## dogofwar (Apr 5, 2004)

Toby H is on the money.

One way to keep fry well fed is to have a large "mature" sponge in their tank. They can graze on it whenever they're hungry.

A mature sponge will also help with bio-load.

When I had a pond, I'd also take pieces of pond plants and add them to fry tanks. Lots of microscopic goodies for them to eat.

Most cichlids can transition to finely ground flake pretty quickly.


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## duaneS (Aug 31, 2006)

Metalhead
it a female Nandopsis haitiensus
Here's a pic of her mate, they are separated at the moment, giving them a break from spawning. She's @ 10" he's @ 12".








They are great fish, but they "usually" don't play well with others.


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

Black Nasty, very cool 8) .


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Here's a few updates:

I just did a 50% syphon water change on the 29 gal where the fry are and I have been feeding 3 times a day and I haven't seen any new deaths as of yet!

And

My Salvini fry are now free swimming!!  Here's a new video! BEWARE there's a lot of fry! 

http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m20/ ... V01897.flv


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

Very awsome CL. Maybe you had ought to seperate those two before you have baby sals coming out of your ears :lol: :wink: . If you were losing fry during the wriggler stage, I'm not sure there would be much apart from water changes that would have made much difference as to whether or not you lost fry. Since their still consuming their yolk sack they cant starve, and are probably at their most delicate stage so a funny look could cause a few deaths.Now that they are free swimming your work gets a bit harder, but you already know that. The majority of fry loss for me is always just before to right after the start of the free swimming stage. After that the hardest thing is finding homes for all the babies.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

The fry loss was from the previous batch the older batch not the new batch. The older batch is around a month old! And that's where the losses were coming from! Yeah I am afraid your right that I will need to seperate the pair otherwise I will have too much fry!


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

I see , hmmm did I miss that ? Oh well so long as your not losing any now .


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Yeah exactly! I guess I didn't explain it all the way! I am sorry! I am sure it was either aggression issues or lack of food! Either or because the rest are doing really well! Sorry about that!


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