Chiclid Fry Care

[GrrlGoalie33]

I know there are some fish enthusiasts out there...

We found a great surprise in our 55 gallon fish tank tonight...we have Electric Yellow Chiclid Fry.

We thought one of our fish was sick, but it turns out she was brooding.

Any advice on how to care for them? Currently they are in a mixed 55 gallon fish tank with the male and female chiclids, corys, a pleco and assorted tropical fish.

[prarieboy]

Congratulations on being a parent.

Segregate them from the rest of the fish as soon as you can!!

They'll be gobbled up before you know it.

(I'm not actually sure if they should be segregated form the parents though)

[81flames]

Chiclids are great parents and they will defend their young. They will attack almost anything that gets too close, even your hand.
Check out the forum on this website, there is alot of great advice on there.
http://www.aquahobby.com/age_of_aquariums.php

[troutman]

They usually get eaten by the others before too long. It would be tricky to remove them before that happens.

If you notice a female is not eating, she is usually "holding" eggs in her mouth. You should notice a lump in her throat.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/

Best Cichlid store in Calgary:

http://www.cichlids.ca/

[GrrlGoalie33]

The Fry are about 3/4 of a cm long right now. They have lots of hiding places in the rocks and are starting to venture out a little bit.

What I am thinking after a bit of reading is that we will get one of those "holding tanks" that fit on the side of the tank to see if we can't keep them alive. I understand they help with the feeding too.

[Regulator75]

Yup get a holding tank if you want them to survive, something like this.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...1&d=1209189639

Have fun catching those little suckers.

I let nature takes it's course in mu cichlid tanks, survival of the fittest.

[GrrlGoalie33]

After more reading...would you go with the holding tank or set up another tank entirely?

2G tanks can be had pretty cheap and I have an unused 20G at home right now. The 20G would take longer to cycle than the 2G though...

[troutman]

Catching the fry might be near impossible. What might work, is removing the pregnant female before the eggs hatch - again, she will be hard to catch too.