Hello my oscars laid eggs and they hatched. I just noticed the fry today theres about 30-40 from what I can tell. Theyre all clustered with eachother near the bottom around the sand/rocks and the parents are hovering over them like hawks. What should my next steps be? I need to find something to feed the fry and should I remove the fry into an isolation tank/breeder net or leave them in with the parents?
Oscar Eggs hatched
- Thread starter Fogs
- Start date
Crumble up pellets what you feed the adults. Also if there is any algae in the aquarium including on the glass the free swimming fry will find microorganisms to munch on during the day. Make sure to cover intake on filters if you haven't done so.
Congrats, tlindsey is right this should be pretty easy for you. Fine prepared foods should be fine if you want to go over and beyond baby brine or moina will go a long way. If it is a well established tank they will find food around. At this point the hard part is figuring out what to do with all of the fry that survive.
I suggest allowing the parents to care for the fry to gain experience.
I suggest allowing the parents to care for the fry to gain experience. Are there other fish in the aquarium beside the Oscars?
You can probably get more to survive if you take them away, but it is a lot more work. You will have a more fun tank if you watch them raise them. Long term you will probably get a better pair if you give them the experience. It really depends on what your goals are. Would 20% more fry be more satisfying? For commercial production people take the eggs away to increase production.
At the moment they sound like still in the wriggler stage, feeding off their yolk sacks, so they do not (and shouldn't be fed)yet.
They will need to be fed once free swimming.
f you remove them from the parents at this stage, you will need to place an air stone near the pile to mimic the parents fanning them. The parents fanning helps keep detritus from settling on them, which can kill them) and also provides oxygen.
below wrigglers
now free swimming
In the pic below the yolk sac is more easily seen, the mouth has not developed enough to eat
below a free swimmer
The free swimming fry sometimes feed off the parents slime coat, a very nutritional source, and is thought to contain factors the help bolster the immune system, just like breast milk in humans.
They will need to be fed once free swimming.
f you remove them from the parents at this stage, you will need to place an air stone near the pile to mimic the parents fanning them. The parents fanning helps keep detritus from settling on them, which can kill them) and also provides oxygen.
below wrigglers
now free swimming
In the pic below the yolk sac is more easily seen, the mouth has not developed enough to eat
below a free swimmer
The free swimming fry sometimes feed off the parents slime coat, a very nutritional source, and is thought to contain factors the help bolster the immune system, just like breast milk in humans.
Doesn't sound like you were really expecting this. So if you weren't and didn't have a set plan to breed Oscars I'd say let the parents watch the babies. Oscars make great parents (usually) it will be fun to watch them care for the young.
What else is in the tank?
above you can see fry feeding on the slime coat of haitiensus
After free swimming I like to use a pipette or turkey baster to directly shoot pureed food into the school of fry
I puree flaked food, and thawed peas in some tank water
