Spawn to free swimming, how long?

[Blybo]

Hi Guy's,
My kribs have dug a cave right next to a breeding pot and are being very teritorial 8-) . I'm assuming that this means they spawned? This was last Wednesday while I was away. How long till I can see some fry swimming cause I can't see inside their cave :cry:

I know they are one of the easiest to breed but I'm pretty excited cause this is my first spawn??? It's in a fairly well stocked community tank so I don't hold much hope for the fry. I saw a polystyrene(sp?) floating fry net at Rayonne aquarium, are these worth a go?

Cheers guy's,
Neil

[Robdog]

If there was action on Wednesday then you should start to see the liitle ones very soon if not already. Kribs are normally very good parents but when the lights go out you have to expect fry losses. Leave a night light on for them and you should get a better survival rate.
You may have to choose one or the other though. Fry survival or other occupant survival as the krib parents will get very defensive when they start wandering the tank.
Good luck

[wickedglass]

kribs usually dig around the place a bit, just in case they feel like they have to move their fry. spawning usually, but not always, takes place in the "cave" provided. generally speaking, your fry should be free-swimming somewhere between today and wednesday. the eggs usually take 2 - 3 days to hatch and the fry take 2 - 3 days to absorb their yolk sack and start moving about. ours laid last tuesday again and the fry were free-swimming yesterday. we removed the male yesterday as we suspected him of cannibalism, which seemed the correct thing to do. our female is a very good mother, and the fry will stay with her for a couple of weeks now. removing the male and keeping her with the fry will give her the opportunity to recuperate from courting and spawning as well as re-inforce her motherhood instincts. in 2-3 weeks the fry will be moved to the fry grow-out tank and after another week alone to make sure she's not in protective mode anymore, the male will be re-introduced.
I would not recommend keeping the fry seperated in a fry net in the same tank as the parents, but if that's your only option, then try that. when our kribs spawned in the community tank we cut some modular plastic sump gridding to size and covered them with plastic mosquito screen secured by cable-ties and cordoned off the part of the tank where they spawned (to protect their brood AND the other tank inhabitants).
kribs generally make great parents, but the males may see the fry as easy pickings. our last male was a really good father, but he died, so we had to get a new male. this one is the new male's first spawn, and it's not unusual for the fish to behave somewhat aberrant to normal on the first spawning.

[Blybo]

Thanks for the replies. I might have to try to to cordon off part of the tank as suggested. I'm hopefully moving house in 2 month's so I put off starting up any other tanks.

Should be interesting when I get home tonight!