# Thorichthys Ellioti with fry question



## cichlidiot75 (Feb 22, 2005)

Hi y'all,

My Thorichthys Ellioti have about 70 fry. When is it safe to move the fry to a growout tank? It will get a bit crowded soon :lol: Other tips & tricks for taking care of the youngsters is also much appreciated if you have any expirience with Ellioti's.


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## MacFish (Jan 4, 2006)

Need more info. How large is the tank? How large are the pair? How many spawns have they had?

I've had a couple pairs of these guys. One pair would raise fry till almost 3/4" before turning on them. They actually had 2 separate spawns on the go. They kept the larger ones to one side and the smaller ones to the other.

Another pair could not be trusted and I pulled the fry after about a week of free swimming.


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## cichlidiot75 (Feb 22, 2005)

MacFish said:


> Need more info. How large is the tank? How large are the pair? How many spawns have they had?
> 
> I've had a couple pairs of these guys. One pair would raise fry till almost 3/4" before turning on them. They actually had 2 separate spawns on the go. They kept the larger ones to one side and the smaller ones to the other.
> 
> Another pair could not be trusted and I pulled the fry after about a week of free swimming.


Thanks for sharing, especially that it is okay to transfer them to a growout tank after a week of free swimming, I think that's the best thing to do. The pair is hardly adult, the female is two inch and the male is larger but less than three inch. My tank is small for this cichlid, about 38 Gallon/140 liter with a Peckoltia and one pair of Apistogramma. Don't worry about the Apistos, there's plenty of hiding space and they get along just fine.


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## MacFish (Jan 4, 2006)

Yes I would pull the fry if you to haven survive. I normally only pull about 60 -
75% of them though. If you pull them all, the male take it out on the female. Keep an eye out for that.

Long term, I don't think the 38 Gal is going to work but it should be fine for a while.


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## KoenEeckhoudt (Oct 28, 2007)

in addition... If you just leave all the fry in there, is there a chance that just a few survive? Or will the parents really go and kill off each and every single one of them, once they reach a certain size?


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## cichlidiot75 (Feb 22, 2005)

MacFish said:


> Yes I would pull the fry if you to haven survive. I normally only pull about 60 -
> 75% of them though. If you pull them all, the male take it out on the female. Keep an eye out for that.
> 
> Long term, I don't think the 38 Gal is going to work but it should be fine for a while.


I just got home and guess what? Instead of the happy couple guarding their fry, they're engaged in 100% pure cichlid mayhem!  Liplocking, and they've been chewing on eachothers anal fins. I distracted them with some food, they should be fine. I will pull some fry today, for sure.


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## MacFish (Jan 4, 2006)

MacFish said:


> Yes I would pull the fry if you to haven survive. I normally only pull about 60 -
> 75% of them though. If you pull them all, the male take it out on the female. Keep an eye out for that.
> 
> Long term, I don't think the 38 Gal is going to work but it should be fine for a while.


I posted this from my iPhone and apparently I didn't proof read it first 

I meant to say...

Yes I would pull the fry if you want to have the them survive. I normally only pull about 60 -
75% of them though. If you pull them all, the male may take it out on the female. Keep an eye out for that.


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## MacFish (Jan 4, 2006)

KoenEeckhoudt said:


> in addition... If you just leave all the fry in there, is there a chance that just a few survive? Or will the parents really go and kill off each and every single one of them, once they reach a certain size?


In his tank, I would be more worried about the other fish eating the fry. Chances are they will be eaten before the pair has a chance to abandon/kill them.

If there were no other fish in the tank, eventually the pair would start killing them off. Chances are a few would survive providing they had hiding spots to get away from the pair.


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## MacFish (Jan 4, 2006)

cichlidiot75 said:


> I just got home and guess what? Instead of the happy couple guarding their fry, they're engaged in 100% pure cichlid mayhem!  Liplocking, and they've been chewing on eachothers anal fins. I distracted them with some food, they should be fine. I will pull some fry today, for sure.


Sounds like the pair decided one or the other were not doing a good enough job. Could be due to lack of experience or it could be the other fish were able to snack on the fry which made the pair mad. Hard to say. This is a critical time for your female. Watch her closely and be ready to separate them if the male gets too rough.


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## cichlidiot75 (Feb 22, 2005)

Thanks MacFish, and don't worry about the typo, I guessed it right already what you were trying to send with your iphone :thumb:

Well, the funny thing is, because they were fighting all the time and not paying attention to the fry, the fry were all over the place! After feeding some cyclops, the whole family came back together and it's all peaches and cream for now...

I had a similar situation before with a female Aequidens pulcher who kicked the male for not fertilizing eggs. I brought the lazy wounded husband back to the Fish Store and sold the wife, who was still wearing full warpaint 30 minutes after moving her to a bucket for transport.


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