# Fry With Egg Sac Fell Out - How To Keep It Alive?



## BLACK_AFRICAN (May 21, 2008)

Female holding for about 10 days. Tranferred her during sleep mode on the other side of the tank divider. One of the fry with a (bump/egg sac) with long tail went floating in the water through the divider.

I fished it out (to avoid other fishes from eating it) in a net and placed aeration under the net with a few gravel and tiny stones on the same side as the mother. There is a 2nd (smaller) fish whose not eating on the same side as the mom. The holding female dominates the smaller fish. Cannot move her to 2nd tank as it's still cycling.

In the morning, if the fry survives, should I release the fry to see if she will put it back in her mouth?

If she does not put it back in her mouth, how long can the fry survive in the net with aeration below it?


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## krellious (Jan 17, 2007)

i have had fish striped after about 10 days. they have sacks. and have all survived. just place it in a fish net. rest the handle on the tank and have the actual net part it in the water over the breeding net... hope that makes sense. you do this cause the other fish will try to eat the fish through the net. Doing this for me has saved ALL the fry... over 200 of them. so yeah as long as it cant be eaten and can move around by itself it should be perfectly fine


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## BLACK_AFRICAN (May 21, 2008)

Thanks for the reply Krellius,

Quote: just place it in a fish net. rest the handle on the tank and have the actual net part it in the water.

That is what I did when I caught him with the net and added aeration under the net and moved hi around for 2 hours. He seems to be still alive  (too tiny to see him move - not sure if it's the current moving him).

How long should I keep him in the net? How long will the egg sac last before I have to feed him?

On a  note, it looks as if she ate the eggs a few hours after (woke up). No sign of other **** (she had a rock pile) 
This morning she kept trying to get on the other side of tank, pushing her mouth by the side of the divider. She was still holding in sleep mode, 2 hrs after the transfer. 5 hours later - she's eating. Could it be she was only holding the 1 fry, or maybe the shock (new environment)?

Next time!


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

She could have swallowed or released them after the move. Keep an eye out in the tank for them bouncing along the bottom.

As for the one fry with the egg sac, the egg sac should be absorbed completely within a week.

Do you have a fry tank to move it to? The breeder contraptions don't usually work too well for raising fry.


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## BLACK_AFRICAN (May 21, 2008)

Hi Cichlidaholic,

Lost the fry. Next time.

Thank you for the reply.


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## BLACK_AFRICAN (May 21, 2008)

Same scenario again, moved the holding female (not the same female), & she released 2 fry & would not pick them back up. This time it was for 13 days. The oldest fry has been free swimming for 5 days.

I have the 2 of them in a breeding net with airstone, thin tiny flat rocks & shells where they hide under (to avoid adults who may try to eat them). The adults keep away because of the airstone & the rocks hide them.

When will they start eating the crushed flakes? 1 has no egg sac, but doesn't appear to be eating the crushed flake. Tried crushing 1 flake in tiny peices, soaked it to sink and it doesn't look like they've eaten any.

When should I move them to their own tank? I will add them to the main tank when they reach 1".

Any other suggestions to keep them alive....other than w/c, consistent temp...until they find the food or start eating, as they are way smaller than the pic (in the library section of fry stripped @ 10 days)?


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

Are you going to put the mother in a holding tank, if so just add the others AFTER you have removed the mother.

They will just figure out what eating as after a short while, no need to worry. They most likely will not come to the top however. I have to float it down to them


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

You can move them to their own tank anytime. If the egg sac is still there on the one, make sure he/she is good and mobile before moving, though, or make sure you're moving them to a bare bottom tank. If you have a HOB filter on the fry tank, cover the intake tube with a piece of nylon hose or something that will still allow the water to flow through, but not suck the fry into the filter. (They tend to hide behind intake tubes for shelter.)


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## BLACK_AFRICAN (May 21, 2008)

Sorry, forgot to add I placed the female back into the main tank as I noticed she spit the egg cluster (2 white cloudy cotton attached to each other - 1 cluster had 2 black eye specks & the other had no eyes). She did this 2x and did not pick them back up the 2nd time. Therefore, I assumed it was due to nature or she felt they could not develop...so I removed them. She had been in the breeding net for 2-3 days with no mouth action, so I knew she had no more in her mouth and did not want her to snack on the fry.

Fed her 2x for 1 day & returned her to the main tank. She held a corner for a few minutes, but came out to feed & mixed in comfortably with the school - no weight loss. 
Did I move her too soon?

Concern: Cichlidaholic, I don't have any experience with fry, however, even the bigger fry is too small to free swim in the 30G (sorry, free swimming meant they move about (when prompted :lol: but, not quite swimming consistantly, so I don't feel they will find the food. I can barely see them in the net when they come out from under the shell - that's how small they are. They are nowhere close in size to any pics I've found for fry released after 10 days. The 2nd one - I can't even make out if he has all his physical parts ie. tail etc.. 
These are their measurements, length and thickness (as thick as the arrows..... * >:>* and *->>:>*.

Is it ok to keep them in the net for another week to 10 days or until they are truly swimming consistantly?
I placed fake plant vine and a light current under the bottom of breeder net so the adults can't get to them.


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## BLACK_AFRICAN (May 21, 2008)

My dominant male is quite the Player. I just checked the tank & another female is holding :dancing: I just fed them a few hours ago and they all ate. I'm surprised as I only started feeding again 6 days ago & previous to that they were not fed for 9 days (away on vac).

Can't blame the BIG MAN. I gave him 5 females so what's the fellow to do but reproduce!!  
I really don't think it's the 2nd male (suppose to be a female, but has white glow on tip of fins like all the other males and he is the one who gets chased the most. The dominant show male also keeps him at bay from all the females constantly. Big Man is on the prowl 24/7, doesn't he ever get tired of chasing skirt? :lol:

I watch them for hours and still can't see him in the act. Only see him when he shimmies or chases them but they never look in the mood for him to court them. Surprise, this is what they do when I turn off the lights. Can't wait for more fry!!

*Cichlidaholic*, I know you mentioned in a post that you strip @ 18 days, is this a good time to move her so that if she does spit during transfer to assure the fry will be more developed this time? Would prefer if she spit in breeder net, do I leave her for @ least 18 days then if she is not being harrassed?

Update:
It appears by end of day another will also fall victim to his courting as he's concentrating his efforts (chasing only 1 particular female consistantly & moving rocks like crazy. I have another breeder net in case there were 2 holding @ the same time.


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## BLACK_AFRICAN (May 21, 2008)

He did it, the female he has been chasing is now holding, just happened since the last post. :dancing: I turned off the lights and gave them an hour. Guess the water change yesterday perked his libido.

Just had to share this info, as I've been waiting patiently for this to happen and the day has arrived! You can tell I'm new to the whole spawning/fry "thang".


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