Honduran Red point fry!

[kebuchan]

Hi all,

A pair of my honduran red points spawned a few days ago and yesterday when I was doing a water change I saw these white specks swimming around beside this bridge ornament. The parents spawned in this bridge ornament that I have in my 55g. I'm not sure why they chose that, there are 3 other terracotta pots with entrances big enough for both parents. Anyway, so I have about 20-30 fry

When I noticed them I panicked, stopped siphoning out the water and took out a bunch of fish. I think it will help the parents to have less fish to deal with in protecting their fry.

How do I feed the fry? Whatever I put in there, i'm sure the other fish are going to get it. I have some BBS eggs ready to hatch sometime today but if I drop those into the 55 g they will probably get eaten before they back it anywhere near the fry.

There's also a bunch of dead hornwort around the sides and inside the bridge ornament but I didn't want to vacuum around there for fear of sucking up some fry. Do those rotting leaves etc help with food for them?

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[Big Vine]

Congrats on the spawn, Kevin. *thumbsup2
The decaying plant matter will likely become somewhat of a magnet for food particles, so yes, it may indirectly serve as a food source. Not sure whether they'll eat the actual plant though. I've had success using Hikari First Bites with cichlid fry. Simply take a small pinch of it between your fingers and dip your hand down into the tank and let it go right near where the fry are. Finely-crushed flakes work as well.

BV

 

[kebuchan]

BV,

Thanks! I saw those at the petstore, so I guess I'll be picking some up for the fry. I have a couple of questions though:

1. Aren't the parents going to freak, grab the fry and run when my hand gets that close?

1.5 When do I start feeding them? They're 2-3 days old now...

2. Mr HRP goes over to a terracotta vase in the corner and seems to be flirting with a large female HRP who is also really blue/green in between watching the fry. He does not seem to be nipping at her so I don't think it's aggression. Should I expect another clutch of eggs from the Mistress?

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[skratikans]

they wont steal the fry away from you...just take the rest and use liquid fry ...make sure to feed several times a day and dont over do it with the feeding amount bc these are small fish...and its easy to degrade their water quality this way...do many water changes at least every other day ...and you should be set..