Who Gives A Fish Forums

They're growing, albeit slowly. Mom's still pretty meh about them, doesn't seem to care too much.

Her coloration does seem to suggest she's in brood care mode, given the yellow hue and black pectorals. That being said, it's possible the bond between her and the fry was disrupted when they were briefly removed from the tank and placed in cups. It's not uncommon for this to happen, and as a result, she may not recognize some of the fry as her own. Typically, only those with exceptionally strong maternal instincts will adopt another mother's fry, and even then, it's not a guarantee.

One thing to look out for is whether she's still displaying the characteristic twitching of her black pectorals when she's near the fry - if she is, it's likely she still recognizes them as her own.

I'm thinking of moving the little ones to their own tank and bringing daddy back home - when's a good time for that? A month or so, maybe a week after that?

You know, I think a good time to move the little ones to their own space and bring dad back home would be when they're about a month or so old, give or take a week. That's usually when the parents start to lose interest in them, and the babies stop going back to mom for protection.

What if I've never seen the babies in a nest, they've always just been loose in the tank? And mom doesn't seem to be doing much of anything with them.