# Peacock fry and Baby Brine Shrimp



## bur01014 (Sep 24, 2009)

So was told to feed my fry Baby Brine Shrimp. I bought some of the frozen Sally's San Francisco stuff that comes in cubes. I have about 10 fry....so should I just drop in one cube into the tank? I did this (after warming it up in tank water) and just poured it in. They are so small and seem to float throughout the 10 gallon with ease. I think i noticed most of the fry venturing out a little to snack on a few. They are only a day old. Am I feeding them properly? Should I be doing half a cube twice daily? Pouring in the warmed up cube the right way to distribute the food? They are so small in a somewhat planted tank, that i have a hard time spotting them....Any help, input, or personal experience for what works and what doesnt....thanks!


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## Gibbs (Apr 21, 2008)

I would have suggested crushing up some NLS. Feed them 3 times daily and water change every 3 days.
Maybe forget about the brine until they get a bit bigger, brine can get messy and foul your water if not all eaten.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

While they are very small it might work better to keep them more corraled in a breeder net. Small fry use up a lot of potential growth energy looking for food in a full tank and much will get missed and sucked into the filter before they can even find it. You would end up using much less food and getting more into them if you reduce their roaming room for a while. Once they have really learned where the food gets put in and come to get it right away you can give them full run of the tank.


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## livewireumd (Jun 5, 2009)

This is the way i feed my convict fry and they seem to be growing nicely (they're still in my main tank with the mom)

1. Fill a cup with about 2 inches of water
2. Crush up a few flakes and blood worms in between fingers and drop it in the cup of water
3. Spin it around until nothing floats anymore
4. Pour it into the area of the tank where the babies and parents are (it should all sink slowly to the bottom where it's poured in)
5. The parents will eat the food that's too big for the babies and the babies will eat the small stuff that the parents leave behind

I usually do this 2-3 times a day.

Funny Note: Yesterday one of the small flakes drifted far from the nest and one of the babies swam off following it and began to pick at it. My jewel saw this and slowly snuck over then zoomed in and gulped the baby and the flake down in one snap then took off running before the mom noticed.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

livewireumd said:


> 4. Pour it into the area of the tank where the babies and parents are (it should all sink slowly to the bottom where it's poured in)


The problem is that mouthbrooder fry do not stay in one area like substrate spawners. Since the parent do not care for fry at all (in fact they will eat them if they catch them), mouthbrooder fry spread out over the whole tank and hide. If they stayed together it would be nice quick buffet for a predator.


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## livewireumd (Jun 5, 2009)

good point!


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## Aura (Oct 29, 2005)

I feed my fry baby brine shrimp along with powdered NLS. One entire cube is too much to feed 10 fry, (in my opinion). I take a small container with a little bit of warm water and dissolve a very small chunk of the cube, then take an eye dropper and squirt it down to the area I want it or just pour it in if the fry are scattered all over. I feed my fry small amounts 3 or 4 times a day.

In tanks with filters other than sponge filters, I turn them off for a few minutes so the food doesn't get sucked in before the fry can get to it. Make sure you don't walk away or you might forget to plug the filter back in! 

Between feedings I drop in a couple of NLS 1mm pellets and have seen the fry munching on those while waiting for their next meal.

I normally keep my fry in a breeder box in the fry tank until they get a little size on them, like MalawiLover suggested and for the same reasons.


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## bur01014 (Sep 24, 2009)

I've tried the crushed up flake and they didn't really go for it.....would it be alright to crush up my NLS Cichlid Forumla....i think they are 1mm..... and then squirt it in the area where the fish are?


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Yes that would be just fine. I do that for my comp fry.


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