Feeding babies...

[EQ]

hey everyone, I hv a pair that spawned for the fifth times but only on the last spawn they successfully raise the babies.

today is the 10 days of free swimming. I am wondering what sort of food that I need to give them? also, when do I need to seperate them?

cheerz

[Ben]

First of all congratulations on your spawn!

Try and get some newly hatched baby brine shrimp into them as soon as possible!

If you can’t hatch your own you can try frozen baby brine shrimp which is almost but not quite as good as the live stuff.

Feed as often as possible with very small amounts.
You will need to step up your water changing regime, maybe twice per day!

If the water goes foul and there is a rise in ammonia this will kill the babies very quickly.

I highly recommend adding a UV into the tank if you do not have one already, this will keep any of the nasties at bay.

Monitor how the parents are coping with their new babies but you can separate them in 12 days time once they are eating by them selves and are totally independent.

Keep us posted and if you get a chance some pictures would be great!

Cheers
Ben

[EQ]

Thanks for the tips Ben.

I've tried hatching the BBS however doesn't seem to hatch. it's the 5 day
I'll try the frozen one...

today fries do venture a bit further from parents...
any tips on how to hatch BBS mate?

Also I am wondering what will the babies look like?
Dad is golden snake skin and mom is red terqouise...

do u think feeding daphia is ok ?

[Merrilyn]

Hello EQ and congratulaltions on your fry. It's so interesting to watch the parents with their babies. They really are the most fascinating fish.

Following are a few tips on feeding brine shrimp, which you may find helpful. If you have a clean source of daphnia, then by all means feed them to the fry. They may be a bit too big for the fry to eat just yet, so hold off till they are eating the baby brine well, and perhaps taking some finely grated beefheart.

For the first two weeks, I like to leave a table lamp on next to the tank, day and night, so the fry don't become lost in the dark. It also encourages them to eat constantly, and I find better growth rate that way.

The parents should take turns in feeding the fry, and you will notice one parent signal to the other that it's time to take over feeding duties, then move alongside the other and give a quick shake. All the fry move from one parent to the other.

At around one week, you can begin introducing live baby brine shrimp to the fry. Using an eye dropper or turkey baster, gently allow the shrimp to roll down the sides of the parent. Soon the fry will begin to recognise the shrimp as food, and begin eating. Their transparent bellies turn orange as they gorge on the brine shrimp. You can feed them baby brine shrimp three or four times a day for maximum growth, and then at three weeks I begin feeding finely grated frozen beef heart, as well as the shrimp.


There are excellent articles on the net about hatching brine shrimp. A google search will reveal a lot of interesting facts.

[Ben]

I've tried hatching the BBS however doesn't seem to hatch

Make sure you use fresh eggs, as if they have been exposed they will loose there hatch rate and may not hatch at all.
temparature is very important as well, around 28.c should see them hatch within 24 hours.

a few little tips that may help:
http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3757

keep us posted,
Ben

[EQ]

Thanks for the geneorous tips laydred. today is the 2nd day which the babies hv accepted the frozen baby brine shrimps.

Indeed discus are facinating fish. I hv never had or kept such amazing fish which tought me a lot of things in my 15 years of fish keeping.

[EQ]

Yesterday, the female turn so aggro toward anything that I put in the tank.
Especially, when I tried to feed the babies with frozen BBS. She tried to push out the cube out of the tank by leaping out the cube. and on one occasion she leaped out while doing it. I quickly put it back into the tank.


It seem that they don't like me oe let me feed the babies???

Do you guys think I need to move the aggro fish out the tank?
Has anyone encounter this strange behaviour?

[Ben]

This is not strange behaviour but protect instincts to protect their babies from any danger.

Keep feeding them with the frozen BBS and the discus will soon learn it is food for their offspring.

Hth

Ben

[EQ]

How to tell or know if the parents can"t cope anymore?

what is uv? is that somesort of light?

[Ben]

How to tell or know if the parents can"t cope anymore?

Good question!
I have found in the past these few observations:
The brooders will constantly try and shake the babies off there backs, and will try and swim away from their young ones. The brooders might also start to look tattered and bits of their skin starts to fray away and generally look sad.




what is uv? is that somesort of light?

This is a device, internal or external where water is passed over an ultra violet light killing most pathogens. Highly recommended to use with discus!


Hope this helps,
cheers
ben

[EQ]

Thanks for the fast replay Ben....

[EQ]

yoo Ben, How long do I need to feed the babies with BBS for?

Also, which brands or type of UV steriliser would u recomend?

my tank is 2 ft x 2ft x 2 ft.

cheerz mate...

[Ben]

I would feed them for 14 days with BBS, then start introducing them onto a fine beef heart mix, feed both until they are readily eating the beef heart mix, (20 days).


Then BBS can be stopped, at this stage adult brine shrimp will be taken, but feed %90 of their food a beef heart mix.

Ben

[Ben]

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/prod1107.htm

This UV will be perfect for a tank that size!

Very easy to use as it is internal, you will need to clean the sponge intake once per day though.

HTH

Ben