Hi, I have a few hundred little wrigglers now and they have been eating frozen brine shrimp and tropical micro pellets thisarvo, Oscars are gutsies right from the get go aren't they. I had to hatch them in a nursery tank because the parents have eaten all previous clutches of eggs.

There is still some debris in the bottom of the tank from when I took out the slate - infertile eggs and the gluey stuff around them that looks like snot. I started to take it out with tweezers but it looks like the babies are eating it..is that right or is it bad to keep it in the tank with them?

Thisafternoon I started to feed them small amounts often. What do I do tonight? I know they need lots of food but I don't want to leave too much in there because I suspect that the meth blue might have killed my biological filter and I don't want a waste problem..it is only a 18litre tank. Should I set the alarm and feed them through the night? What have other's done.

Also, if I do everything right, what sort of percentage survival should I realistically expect? I knew I wanted to have oscar babies but at them moment I am overwhelmed at the numbers!! I never had this success with my guppies!!!

HELP, I HAVE JUST TESTED WATER...WAS 2PPM AMMONIA. DID A 30% WATER CHANGE AND TOOK IT DOWN A DEGREE IN TEMP AND IS NOW 1 PPM. WILL AMMO LOCK OR PRIME KILL THE FRY OR SHOULD I PUT THE BABIES IN ANOTHER TANK??????? SHOULD I JUST RIDE IT OUT WITH PARTIAL WATER CHANGES?????????

Thanks
Sharyn

Have they still got their yolk sack? Normally you don't feed them until it has completely disappeared, this is a source of food for the first few days.

The methylene blue will indeed upset the biological filter so if possible, make sure that the fry are in a tank that has pristine water conditions, I doubt whether they will survive if the water becomes polluted.

Be very careful with your filtration system, remember that they are very little fish that will get sucked up quite easily. Normally the filtration system isn't quite as efficient because you must have the flow rate too high.

You will have to carry out regular water changes because a lot of food will be going in which it will pollute the water a lot quicker.

Keep the tank well lit and feed your fish several times a day, if you can get into a routine then all the better. If you can get into the routine feeding them the correct food than they should grow quite quickly. The best food to give them is baby live brine shrimp. However, this isn't really easy to get hold off unless you ask them yourself, which incidentally is very easy if you can get a brine shrimp hatchery. However, it's probably a bit late for you now, something to think about next time.

Powdered baby fish food is what a lot of people give their young fry so you might want to consider this. Anyway, good luck, and keep us posted. By the way, you should expect some of the fry to die, this is quite normal, as for how money, I couldn't really say for sure.

Thanks for the reply. There is only a little bit of yolk left, their little head and eyes are bigger than their little bellies. I am using a sponge filter.

Do you know if prime or ammo lock are toxic for fry? I have no idea how a well cycled and well prepared nursery went haywire?????? Should I remove the debris that the babies seem to be eating / clinging to? Do you think that an ammonia spike in my little nursery will prove fatal no matter what I do? None of them seem to be dying yet but I am pretty sure that 1 ppm is too high for little tackers.
Thanks again, Shaz

If the fry are exposed to high levels of ammonia, even for a short time then that could prove fatal, they'll be very vulnerable at this time in their life. I don't see why Prime or Ammo Lock should be toxic to fry, all it does is convert ammonia into non-toxic form, so in fact it should actually help your situation.

If I was you I would use this experience to gain knowledge, rather than worry yourself silly about what's going to happen to the fry. The Oscars will lay again and you will learn by what has happened before. If you use prime then you shouldn't have to worry about the ammonia, remember that when you do your ammonia test, it will still present, but it is not in its toxic form, that is always something that seems to confuse people, Prime oe Ammo Lock does not remove ammonia.

I would remove any debris from the tank, this should help keep the water clean. But remember to maximize the chances of the Fry's survival, you need to keep the water in very very good condition. In future if you are taking the eggs and hatching them artificially, do it in a reciprocal where you can add methylene blue, then transferred the newly hatched fry into a cycled tank.

Congrats and on a quick cycle note, you have the parents in another tank? And there is another filter in your house? Then just move some of the media form the parents tank to the babies filter. This will instantly fix your Cycle issue...

And please post a pic or a vid... I want to see them!

Thanks ever so much again!!! It is 2.25 am here and I have just Checked the nursery. Most of them are still alive, there little bellies are much smaller so I popped in some more frozen brine shrimp. Why did I not think to use the other filter!!! Do I have another tank....I have 12 functioning cycled populated tanks in my house! Duh! I am on it and will try some prime too. I know I will have more eggs in a few weeks but having so many baby oscars is nothing short of intoxicating!!!! Thanks thanks thanks

I just had another thought, when I had Malawi babies, I did use the powdered baby food, 3 or 4 times a day.

But I also did a 25% water change(YES USE PRIME) everyday for the first few weeks. I figured it wouldn't hurt to keep the tank EXTRA clean. And I must have done something right, as I lost 1 fry out of about 300...

I hope this all helps!

Thanks Nicki-Sue. Tried to take photos, will try again in the light of day because they were unrecognizable...even to me!!!

I just dosed the tank with Prime, I used about 0.4ml as it is only about an 18 l tank. I have been battling with the Oscar's cannister filter (it's great but like an old car that you have to take apart and wrestle with when you need to restart it) I cut off a wad of my much cherished and cultivated sponge and put it inside the babies filter, topping up with chemzee before I closed it, washing the filter in mum and dad's tank water.

The debris had all floated to the top anyway so I scooped it out. In the morn I will do a 25% pwc.

If I lose them at least I know I will have tried everything and I have learnt SO much for next time...I hope I don't though, they are very very cute.

Did I say thanks...THANKS THANKS and to you too OFL. It's 3.10 am and I am going back to bed...keep you posted. Shaz

You are welcome Shaz

Your welcome Hun! Please keep us posted.

Sounds like you are having loads of fun with your oscars

a food you can feed to baby cichlid is liqui-fry no.2 for cichlids (in the england)

It's morning and they made it through the night!!!!! I reckon you can watch them growing...they r changing so fast. I,ll head to the lfs today delboybully, see if I can buy that food here in Aus. They do seem to like the frozen baby brine shrimp. They act just like their parents do with blood worms. There is this movie about to be released about Pirahanas and the trailer reminded me of my oscars.