confused wrigglers

[azzakat]

my wrigglers have started to free swim and they don't seem interested in sticking to the parents. They go all over the tank and just end up hanging around the filter. I thought this may be because the filter is black so i tested this theory by temporarily removing the filter but they just grouped in the corner. Is it normal for them to swim around on their first day without attaching to the parents? when does this happen

[samir]

its not the wrigglers that are at fault, its the inexperience of the parents. try putting a small light in one corner maybe that will help

[Merrilyn]

Unfortunately this is not unusual.

Fry are 'programmed' to head for the darkest object in the tank. Hopefully that will be the parents.

The fry have around 48 hours to attach, or they will perish. You can do a few things to help them find their parents.

Lower the level of the water

Remove any dark objects in the tank

Paper the back and sides of the tank with light coloured paper, so there is nothing to distract the fry.

Reduce the amount of lighting over the tank, so there is just enough light for the fry to see, but so that the parents appear dark.

And most of all, keep your water quality pristine with small gentle water changes.

Good luck.

[azzakat]

they eventually found their way to the parents but nearly 1 week now since they hatched only 10 are alive. Most of them were found dead over a few days on the bottom of the tank and i witnessed dad eating a few