feeding baby apistogramma: food suggestions

[oceanix]

Just got back from a weekend trip and walked into a lovely surprise - 7 adorable baby apisto fry. Removed the dad to prevent any, ahem, "snacks".

Quick internet search says live baby brine shrimp are the way to go, but that's not happening anytime soon, so I'm on the hunt for alternatives.

For now, I crushed up some Hikari adult pellets into a fine powder and added a sprinkle of Hikari freeze-dried brine shrimp.

Heard boiled egg yolk works for some fish species - would it be a good fit for these little guys?

[graye]

Dad's probably in the clear unless the tank is ridiculously small.

You mentioned egg yolk, but honestly, it's not the best idea - it can really mess with your water quality. For a more suitable alternative, you could look into decapsulated brine shrimp eggs or Golden Pearls - both are great options, but they'd need to be ordered, and you need something for the fry now.

In the short term, I'd recommend using a turkey baster to target-feed the fry. Just pulverize the food you have on hand, mix a tiny amount with some water in a jar - about the size of a knife point's worth - and then use the baster to release it near the fry. This way, you can avoid overfeeding, which is super easy to do and can be fatal for the little guys.

Keep in mind, you've got about 5-6 weeks before Momma Apisto is ready to breed again. If you want to raise these fry, you'll need to plan for a separate tank - the teenagers will start to see them as a threat to the next batch, and you don't want any, well, 'family drama'.

[coltin]

Newly hatched brine shrimp and microworms would be perfect for my little apisto fry, but I don't have the setup for hatching brine shrimp yet. Those would be ideal alternatives to the crushed pellets and freeze-dried brine shrimp I'm using now.

[oceanix]

Dad's probably in the clear unless the tank is ridiculously small.

You mentioned egg yolk, but honestly, it's not the best idea - it can really mess with your water quality. For a more suitable alternative, you could look into decapsulated brine shrimp eggs or Golden Pearls - both are great options, but they'd need to be ordered, and you need something for the fry now.

In the short term, I'd recommend using a turkey baster to target-feed the fry. Just pulverize the food you have on hand, mix a tiny amount with some water in a jar - about the size of a knife point's worth - and then use the baster to release it near the fry. This way, you can avoid overfeeding, which is super easy to do and can be fatal for the little guys.

Keep in mind, you've got about 5-6 weeks before Momma Apisto is ready to breed again. If you want to raise these fry, you'll need to plan for a separate tank - the teenagers will start to see them as a threat to the next batch, and you don't want any, well, 'family drama'.

Appreciate the tips. I'll do my best to make it work. The online food won't arrive until Halloween, so I'll try calling around to see if any local fish stores have it in stock. Don't recall seeing anything like it, though.

My tank's only 20 gallons, so not exactly spacious. The only other tankmates were the two apistos and a clown pleco - I'm embarrassed to admit I kinda forgot he was even in there, lolol. I mean, I've had him for years, but he's so stealthy I only spot him once a month. Moved the daddy apisto to a 55-gallon, so he's out of the picture now.

Honestly, I'm not getting my hopes up too high for this batch. I wasn't exactly prepared, but I'm gonna give it a shot and see what happens.

[coltin]

I'd advise against boiled egg yolk, it's a last resort and can pollute the water. If you're really stuck for a week, I suppose it's better than nothing, but be aware of the risks.

[oceanix]

I'm looking into the golden pearls, what micron size would be best for my little apisto fry?

[graye]

I went with the tiny ones - figured if I can eat raisins, which are way smaller than me, your little guys can handle the small size too. They'll be munching on tank bacteria anyway, so size isn't a huge concern.

[oceanix]

So it's been a week and a half since the little ones hatched, and I'm wondering how fast they usually grow. I've got no basis for comparison, so I'm kind of flying blind here.

I ended up scoring some Hikari First Bites at a local fish store, and I've been adding a bit to the tank once a day. I'm pretty sure I'm overfeeding, though - that stuff is super fine powder.

There are at least three fry left, and they seem to be getting more energetic by the day. They still hang low on the sand or in the plants, but they're exploring the whole tank on their own now, and sometimes they even chase each other around.

Mom's been a bit... distant, I guess. This is her first batch, so maybe she's just not sure what to do with them. She'll glance over at them every now and then, but she doesn't really stick close by. Maybe she's just more interested in me, and I don't sit there long enough for her to forget I exist.

[graye]

I think mom's given up on broodcare, probably due to the low number of fry left. When I raise fry, I feed them three times a day with just a tiny amount of food - about the size of a steak knife point - mixed with water, and then I use a turkey baster or pipette to target feed them. I've noticed they grow much slower on prepared foods like powders, so I usually stick to live foods.

Their growth is steady but slow, and by the time mom starts to get aggressive towards them for the next brood, they'll still be under half an inch long. Considering she probably started with around 30 eggs, it's no surprise she's lost interest - it's a practical, albeit harsh, decision. Those little guys are acting more mature than you'd expect, so it's possible you might have missed something - parents can be very secretive about their business.

I've found that broodcare is a mix of learned behavior and instinct, and the common practice of separating eggs to raise more fry can actually hinder the parenting abilities of the young fish.

[oceanix]

Dad's probably in the clear unless the tank is ridiculously small.

You mentioned egg yolk, but honestly, it's not the best idea - it can really mess with your water quality. For a more suitable alternative, you could look into decapsulated brine shrimp eggs or Golden Pearls - both are great options, but they'd need to be ordered, and you need something for the fry now.

In the short term, I'd recommend using a turkey baster to target-feed the fry. Just pulverize the food you have on hand, mix a tiny amount with some water in a jar - about the size of a knife point's worth - and then use the baster to release it near the fry. This way, you can avoid overfeeding, which is super easy to do and can be fatal for the little guys.

Keep in mind, you've got about 5-6 weeks before Momma Apisto is ready to breed again. If you want to raise these fry, you'll need to plan for a separate tank - the teenagers will start to see them as a threat to the next batch, and you don't want any, well, 'family drama'.

I just thought of something else - when I was at school, my sibling found the babies and sent me pics of them in cups. Old habit from when I kept guppies, I guess. I told them to put the kids back in the tank ASAP, but they were out for around 20 minutes. Do you think that could've caused some damage?

Here's a pic of one of the little blobs - finally got a non-blurry one