Fry growth/health results based on feeding style

[ButtNekkid]

Hi,

Has anyone any experience about fry raised on artificial foods (breeder feeding) versus food they find in the tank?
Any difference in growth or health?

The reason I´m asking is I just found a couple of bigger Cacatuoides fry in my main tank. I haven´t fed them anything so they have basically found their own food and seem to be doing just fine.

 

[Bart Hazes]

I split a spawn of 40 macmasteri fry after about 4 weeks in the community tank without any feeding of the fry by me. I moved 20 to a 10 gallon where I diligently fed them BBS, microworms and later dry food, frozen food etc. The other 20 were left in the community tank cared for by mom at the start and later going their own ways. Survival rates were basically 100% in either case. Fish length was very similar as well with considerably more variability in length within each group than between groups. The main difference IMO is that the ones I spend so much time raising were fatter and not as sleek looking as the DIY fry. I ended up keeping one pair of offspring for myself and chose them from the DIY batch rather than the hand-raised batch.

Right now I am raising a spawn of ~40 9-day old A. norberti fry and in this case I provide BBS, microworms and vinegar eels in addition to whatever they find between plants, dead leafs, and mulm. I plan to leave them in the community tank for as long as the parents protect, or at least tolerate, them.

So the short answer, if you have a mature tank and are not obsessed in keeping it clean and sterile than you don't need to feed your fry anything, at least for the first 8-12 weeks. By then they'll start participating in regular tank feeding by themselves.

 

[ButtNekkid]

Many times I have pondered how many fries can a tank support naturally when it comes to food.
I have a 1 inch+ thick oak/magnolia/almond leaf litter layer + some botanicals at substrate.

I have noticed that my Otto´s have also stopped dying when I started to add leaves into my tanks!
I very rarely remember to feed them cucumber/zucchini...

 

[Bart Hazes]

Same for my otos. And if I do put in zucchini they are not really interested so I assume they find what they need. In the first few weeks fry really don't represent much biomass so during the time where they won't yet participate in 'regular aquarium feeding' I think there is plenty of food in even smaller tanks. Even more so with the setup you describe. I often don't feed them BBS in community tanks because it often draws in a swarm of tetras that can really stress out the female who suddenly is confronted with dozens of fish threatening her fry. My norberti are different in that they have solidly cleared out half the tank as their territory and no-one gets in there. So I can feed those fry without problem. In a breeding tank with just apistos and a few dithers I assume you can also add some supplementary BBS, just to be sure they get there nutrients.

 

[gerald]

I dont think anyone can predict how many fry a tank can support, or for how long, on natural food supply alone. It varies over time depending on how much food the tank is getting, what types of natural "bugs" happen to be most abundant, and what other animals beside the Apisto fry are competing for them. And of course the number and size of fry! Keep a close watch on the shape of their bellies to judge whether they're getting enough, and supplement with Artemia or other foods if their bellies are not staying well-rounded most of the time. Recycling driftwood, leaves, javamoss, or other substrates between the fry tank and another tank (with large fish that don't eat tiny bugs) or outdoor tubs can also boost your supply of natural food.