red jewel babies

[frankroc]

Surprise! This morning went to the tank and I have just aquired a bundle of baby hemichromis stellifer or red jewl fish swimming around. They had approximately 10 of them. Does anyone know if I should separate them into the netting tank or leave them in a free environment with the rest of the west african species.

 

[Randall]

Hemichromis fry

Hello Frank,

Hemichromis fry are extremely small and are best left with their parents for as long as possible (the first four weeks). They should be fed several times daily with an appropriately sized food.

If you only have ten fry-swimming fry, perhaps the other fish in the tank helped themselves to a snack when the parents weren't looking. It's not uncommon for broods to number in the hundreds.

Under the circumstances, it might be a good idea to leave the fry with their parents for about a week before moving them to separate quarters. By this time, the fry should be strong enough to withstand the change.

I've never had much luck with "netting tanks," but if you've had success with this method before, it might be worth a try.

Good luck and congrats!

Randall Kohn