# unlucky with nigripinnis and cyp fry



## somethinfishy (Feb 10, 2008)

i have had one spawn of the paracyps and two from the same pair of cyps (kigoma). in total *** had 13 fry i currently have 4 left wat have i been doing wrong i have taken the fry and kept them in a seperate tank and they live for 3-4 days swimming fine and then just randomly die i feed them a liquid fry food and occasionally some crushed flake. what have i been doing wrong.

all replies are appreciated


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

What type of filtration do you have on the tank,what size is the tank and, are you doing water changes on it ?


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## Gordon C. Snelling (Apr 15, 2007)

I would also lose the liquid food, it works sort of but not the best thing out there.


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

ya the liquid food does not work very well at all. Just crush up some flakes or feed them some cyclops or baby brine.
I think there just not getting the right amount of food


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## Charles (Feb 25, 2003)

I just feed mine crushed flakes and microworm... I never had any luck with liquid food. But if they die in 3-4 days, the water might be the cause. Did you check your water chemsity and compare that to your orginal tank water?


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

I hatch live baby brine shrimp. This I use for a couple of weeks but I must say that I have had more losses with cyp fry than other cichlids.


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## Tanganyika Boy (Mar 7, 2006)

I share my experience in raising Cypri Leptosoma fry. I feed them BBS in the first week. Every time I feed them i mix some crushed flake or cichlid stick. After the first week, i feed only crushed flake or cichlid stick. Usually they can eat dry food at this moment. I raise the fry in a hatching plastic box and place it in the main tank. Until they grow up to 2CM, I remove them to a fry tank where they have much space to swim.

Before I move them, I will mix the main tank water to the fry tank. Therefore the water parameter in the fry tank is ready for the fry. I have been doing this method for 150 fry in this year. Every fry grow healthly. When they are 4CM, i place them back in the main tank.

I hope it can help.


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## Multies (Mar 9, 2007)

maybe the liquid food is fouling up the water. *** always hated liquid food. and anyways, cyp fry are large enough to eat crushed flakes after the mother spits.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

I don't think food is the issue here: that would take a bit longer. I'm guessing it's a water quality issue but we need more info from the OP before making more guesses.


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## somethinfishy (Feb 10, 2008)

um im at school now and cannot give my water parameters to u guys.(im only 16) the fry i most recently took was approximately 5 days ago there was only three fry and i lost two in the same day but the other one is still alive and appears well but is not eating any crushed flake. 
i think i will hatch brine shrimp for them now.

how old should the brine shrimp be?

will the hardness of the water or the ph of the water be the reason the loss (are the fry more sensitive to the water parameters)

i water change once every 10 days and i only use box filters as i don't want to such the fish up with the use of a power head filter.

would i be able to use a different sort of filter (the tank the single fry is in holds 81L)


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## m_hsiao (Feb 13, 2008)

i was feeling sort of lazy to comment on this post but i just went through the same thing as you and i know how it feels like.. i lost about the first 2 full batches of my paracyp fry until i started using a sponge filter.. i put the fry in a 5G tank with a small sponge filter and i change 15% of the water once every 3 days.. be sure to siphon out the food waste and the poopoo when you change the water with a siphon cleaner.. once you do this, all your fry will survive, i got about 10 fry now growing up healthy up to 1" now.. feed crushed flakes.. it's a lot better for the water parameters..


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## somethinfishy (Feb 10, 2008)

i currently have them in a 13 gallon tank at the moment with a sponge filter and with a heater. and i still lose them i dont know wat im doing wrong i feed crushed flake and a liquid food sometimes i dont know wat i am doing different

and that has been the same for my parcyps and cyps i have 4 from 13


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## Multies (Mar 9, 2007)

so if its not the food, it could be the water. 
lol dont worry im 14  
we'll be waiting for the water prems.


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

Feed brine shrimp after 24 hours - in other words, when they hatch.


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## cerissa (Mar 18, 2008)

This is starting to sound interesting.  
What I usually do after the mother has either spit her babies or if I strip her, I put the fry into a homemade tumbler and place them in the same tank as the parents. (I usually get about 7 to 10 fry every 3 weeks due to several females holding at the same time). This way, the water parameters they've been used to stay the same for the first week without the care of their mother. I usually feed live baby brine shrimp or cyclop-eeze. They love that stuff! 
After a week or two (usually when they look like they're starting to outgrow the tumbler, I transfer them to their own 20gal tank. The 20gal. has already been cycled and fully established.
Wish you the best of luck! :thumb:


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

m_hsiao said it, water changes. You can't change the water once every 10 days. It's very hard to maintain healthy water in such a small tank. If you were to do a partial water change every 2 days I'm sure you will have better luck. I would leave them in with the adults anyway.


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## mcorbeil (Jan 16, 2007)

I've had similar issues with Cyprichromis, I'll usually tumble them in the main tank until their egg sacks are completely gone and their bellies turn silver. By then there already eating small particles that get sucked up into the tumbler. 
The only other thing i can think of is temperature. They don't like the changes at all. Match the temp to your main tank, if not a tad warmer.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

I have excellent luck with stripped cyp/paracyp fry in a 10 gallon tank. I've found the paracyps to be more sensitive than the cyps, but my losses are minimal. I strip the fry into the mom's tank water, then slowly mix in water from the 10 gallon. The waters are pretty close already, except that the 10 gal is cleaner.

I use a sponge filter and a HOB; the HOB intake is wrapped with a piece of foam to prevent the fry from being sucked up. I feed very lightly for the first couple days, especially if they still have some egg sac. Once they are actively foraging, I feed crushed NLS ~3 times a day. The fry miss some, and so I remove fuzzy food with a turkey baster daily. I change the water weekly, or sooner if I have time. My fry tanks are kept around 78 degrees F.


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## somethinfishy (Feb 10, 2008)

alright i think i will have to try a do more water changes and i will check the differences in the water between the parent tank and the fry tank tonight i will post later.

so i should be keeping the fry in the parent tank in a fish breeding trap for the first week or so and feed them baby brine shrimp

should it be frozen BBS of should i hatch it myself?


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

It doesn't have to be that complicated. I think your 13 gallon tank is fine even for the first week, but that you need to provide excellent water quality and food. Frozen BBS are fine, just be cautious about over feeding. Crushed food that you've been feeding the adults is also fine.

One way to manage water quality: do a large water change in the adult tank a day or two before the fry are to be removed. On the day you transfer the fry, do a 50% water change on the 13 gallon, but add back in tank water from the adult tank. Then, get the fry in a bucket of adult tank water, and slowly add to it with water from the 13g. Make sense? I use about 15 minutes to acclimate the fry to the new tank, and then pour them in.

Additional questions for you: Are you stripping your females? After how long? How are you handling the fry? 
:fish:


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## somethinfishy (Feb 10, 2008)

yeah i am stripping my female as there in a bit of a comunity tank and i strip between 18-21 days depending on when i can and if i can see them through the mouth of the female,

i stripp int a small container which i float in the fry tank that is already established then i add some of the fry tank water to the container leave them for about 15 mins then pour em in

the parent tanks water comes from the same tap as the fry tank and i add no chemicals to the water so the difference shouldnt be to drematic should it ? (from fry to parent tank)

i havent tested either yet i will test tonight i havent had time to test lately 
i will post the parameters as soon as i test them .


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## Charles (Feb 25, 2003)

fry is sensitive to chlorine. That might be your problem.


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## somethinfishy (Feb 10, 2008)

so i should just add extra water conditioner to the fry tank when im doin water changes on that tank


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