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Apisto Borreli Opal had fry. What do I do?

Sordbodan

Member
Messages
74
Location
Toronto Canada
Thanks. The female is behaving the same. There are fewer fry with her as best as I can tell. As for the ones in the 6 gallon, I really can’t tell if they are eating. But they are still there and very active - some are swimming all across the tank. So hopefully that is a good sign.

one question re the hatchery - should I put a heater in it. My ambient temperature is about 72F or 23C.
 

Samala

Active Member
Messages
99
Location
Oviedo, FL
Lower temperature just prolongs the hatching time IME. At 72F/23C it could be more like two full days before you see nauplii. I try to keep mine at 78-80F to get them to hatch in about 24 hours. Can be tough to do in small volumes. In the past, when we have cold snaps in Florida, I've put BBS culture in a big broad-based glass pickle jar into a shallow fry tank that had a heater to get it up to temperature. Did make me worry I would tip it over, but it was very funny to watch the babies try to eat the BBS through the glass jar!

I'm sure more seasoned Apisto-keepers can chime in, but there is natural attrition in fry clutches. My 40gallon has only pencilfish that aren't known fry predators yet I estimate my female manages to get 33% of the total free swimmers to one-month of age before I pull them. The number of survivors seems to stabilize at about two weeks once they are free-swimming.
 
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Sordbodan

Member
Messages
74
Location
Toronto Canada
As Samala predicted, the brine shrimp did not hatch this morning. So I went out and bought a 5w heater - it worked perfectly with my 2L beaker and brought the temp to 76. They are now slowly hatching.

In the meantime my LFS had a brand new culture of micro worms. So I got that as well. And low and behold the one fry that I can still see, loved it. It immediately went up to the worms and started eating - well at least that’s what it seemed to be doing but at 1/4” can’t really tell. And that is the unfortunate news - I can only see one fry now. I’ll see how things are in the morning.

On another note, the LFS I went to specializes in shrimp and apistos.He immediately said I should not have separated them so soon . He mentioned that the mother actually aids their feeding during the first few days by chewing up larger food and spitting it out in a size that the fry can eat. So based on this it wasn’t your imagination Samala- they will do better with the mom
 

Samala

Active Member
Messages
99
Location
Oviedo, FL
It sounds like you are making good progress. Is the last fry in the main tank?

Microworms also easy to culture, my only complaint is the acidic/yeasty smell. Armed with those two cultures you should be able to keep the fry very well fed!
 

Sordbodan

Member
Messages
74
Location
Toronto Canada
The last fry is the last one in the hospital tank who was still there this morning. The mom still has a few with her, so that is good. I hear you re the smell of the micro worms - yuck. The only thing I haven’t quite mastered is how to harvest the brine shrimp. I am using a turkey baster to suck up a bunch, but that means lots of salt water is going into the tank as well. Hopefully that is not really an issue given that some people actually add some salt to their tanks as a perpetual treatment.
 

Sordbodan

Member
Messages
74
Location
Toronto Canada
"I have always found the fry to do better with the female present, I typically remove the male once the fry are free swimming and then the female after about six weeks."

I’ll try an apisto tank next time - no tetras or Rasboras - with only otos and corys. Especially now that I have learned about feeding them, hopefully I’ll be better prepared to maximize the chances for the fry. We’ll see if any fry survive and turn into a male.
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
I hear you re the smell of the micro worms - yuck. The only thing I haven’t quite mastered is how to harvest the brine shrimp. I am using a turkey baster to suck up a bunch, but that means lots of salt water is going into the tank as well. Hopefully that is not really an issue given that some people actually add some salt to their tanks as a perpetualtreatment.
If you use "rolled oats" for the microworms they shouldn't smell unpleasant, just very lightly "yeasty".

You need a brine shrimp sieve for the BBS, you can buy them, or just use some cotton fabric, "cotton handkerchief" is about the right weave. I'm not a fan of any salt, so I like to give them a rinse in fresh water before feeding.

cheers Darrel
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
We’ll see if any fry survive and turn into a male.
Sex determination is temperature related, this happens in the 30 days post hatching, warmer temperatures produce more males, and about 27oC will definitely give you more males than females.

cheers Darrel
 

Sordbodan

Member
Messages
74
Location
Toronto Canada
Hi all, Sex determination is temperature related, this happens in the 30 days post hatching, warmer temperatures produce more males, and about 27oC will definitely give you more males than females.

cheers Darrel
Thanks good to know. I’ll slowly raise the temp. Mine is currently at 25.
 

Sordbodan

Member
Messages
74
Location
Toronto Canada
Hi all, If you use "rolled oats" for the microworms they shouldn't smell unpleasant, just very lightly "yeasty".

You need a brine shrimp sieve for the BBS, you can buy them, or just use some cotton fabric, "cotton handkerchief" is about the right weave. I'm not a fan of any salt, so I like to give them a rinse in fresh water before feeding.

cheers Darrel
Thanks Darrel. Both good tips. Would cheesecloth work as a decent filter?
 

yukondog

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
664
Location
N.W. Fl.
I use a old filter from a coffee pot the kind that has the metal mesh, I lose some of the smaller ones but reclaim them by using a flashlight and a turkey baster or eyedropper in the container I drain them into.
 

Sordbodan

Member
Messages
74
Location
Toronto Canada
One week update. The main tank: The mother is now swimming all over the tank and is loosing her bright lemon coloring. I suspect that means she is done with her mothering duties. She is very healthy and hungry. I see absolutely no fry. I guess all of the ones in the main tank are gone.

Hospital tank: I still have three fry alive. I am feeding them a mix of brine shrimp, micro worms and Hilkari first bytes. I try to feed 3-4 times a day - one of the benefits of working from home. The fry seem to be quite active - and I figure feeding since they haven’t starved yet. Still too small to be able to really tell by looking.
 

anewbie

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,366
This is what i use for brine shrimp:

--
It works pretty well. The thing about bbs is that it is best the first few hours to the first day. The older the bbs get the less nutrient it has so you have to rehatch every other day for optimal results. I found that i could set it up at 3pm it would be ready by 8-9am (I use a small lamp to warm it).
--
A little annoying to rehatch. One nice thing about that device is no shells - if you are using an turkey blaster you need to filter out the egg shells.
--
Also a little loop works wonders for seeing the frys:

If you look around you can find single ones for around $5-$6 or if you have a dollar store ....
--
These are angel wrigglers via a loop:
1.jpg


The last fry is the last one in the hospital tank who was still there this morning. The mom still has a few with her, so that is good. I hear you re the smell of the micro worms - yuck. The only thing I haven’t quite mastered is how to harvest the brine shrimp. I am using a turkey baster to suck up a bunch, but that means lots of salt water is going into the tank as well. Hopefully that is not really an issue given that some people actually add some salt to their tanks as a perpetual treatment.
 
Last edited:

Sordbodan

Member
Messages
74
Location
Toronto Canada
This is what i use for brine shrimp:

--
It works pretty well. The thing about bbs is that it is best the first few hours to the first day. The older the bbs get the less nutrient it has so you have to rehatch every other day for optimal results. I found that i could set it up at 3pm it would be ready by 8-9am (I use a small lamp to warm it).
--
A little annoying to rehatch. One nice thing about that device is no shells - if you are using an turkey blaster you need to filter out the egg shells.
--
Also a little loop works wonders for seeing the frys:

If you look around you can find single ones for around $5-$6 or if you have a dollar store ....
Thanks. I’ll check it out. It seems to be better for harvesting compared to my stirrer method - I definitely get shells and lots of salt water. And I don’t like running the stirrer 24/7. Thanks also for the timing advice. It takes Me a little longer - about 24 hours- to hatch. But like you I restart the process after a day.
 

Sordbodan

Member
Messages
74
Location
Toronto Canada
Thanks. I’ll check it out. It seems to be better for harvesting compared to my stirrer method - I definitely get shells and lots of salt water. And I don’t like running the stirrer 24/7. Thanks also for the timing advice. It takes Me a little longer - about 24 hours- to hatch. But like you I restart the process after a day.
Thanks again for the tip on this. I watched the video and it looks really cool. I wonder what the difference is between using an air pump or not. The only unfortunate thing is that based on their shipping quote, they seem to think Canada is located on the moon as opposed to being next door. I’ll reach out to them via email to see if they will ship USPS.
 

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