Sigh....Fry Question

[Taeniatus]

Hi!!
(a brief history)....I had a BEAUTIFUL pair of pelvicachromis Taeniatus, Nigeria Red. They were F1s, i got them at an auction. 2 months after i bought them, i recognized spawning behavior. A week later, 70 + fry were swarmimg in a cloud under the female. It was Dec. 8th 2001 they were born. On Dec. 20th, the parents were sick. On the bottom with thir noses up, but still alive. The fry, not knowing what exactly to do stayed in their coconut shell. I added Intensive Care, checked ammonia, nitrite, ph etc. All perfect. Both parents died the next day. I then figured that they died from shock. The male wanted to spawn, and the female didn't, so they ate the eggs, while they still had fry. I sprinkled fry food in the water, but the fry wouldn't come out. they would starve if i didn't do something, so I got another female from my 40 gallon, and risked putting the widow in there, she'd either eat the fry, or adopt them. As my luck would go, she adopted them, and the fry came out of their shell . The next month, i removed the female. The next month (march) I realized their growth was not right. I moved 24 to my 40 gallon, and the rest are still in their birth tank.
QUESTIONS:
1: As of April 13, they are half an inch long. are they all permanantly stunted??
2: Should i move the rest to the 40 gallon??
3: What can i do to make them grow faster?
thanks,
T.

 

[Cichlids1]

4 months and a half inch isn't too bad. I've had better, I've also had worse. I doubt that they are permanently stunted. Feed them well and often and frequent water changes will help them grow a little faster. I try to do at least 3 25% water changes a week on fry tanks and they seem to grow at a decent rate. Combine that with food being almost constantly available in the form of Microworms or BBS. Pelvs are fairly durable and as long as the uneaten food doesn't sit there rotting for too long they should be fine.

As for moving them, the more room the better. I wish I could grow all my fry out in 55g or larger tanks. Growth would be so much faster...

Good Luck,
Ken

 

[Taeniatus]

re:

What about adding some Rams and other Dwarfs to the 40 gallon? So far, the inhabitants of it are 3 medium/small Kribs (pulcher), about 70 half inch fry, a small blushing angel fish, a danio that i CANT catch, and an albino Cory.
Thanks,
T.

 

[Cichlids1]

Personally, I would not add the rams. My rams have always did best with fish like cardinal tetras and Dicrossus filamentosa. Something that likes the water a little warmer and not as active as some of the others. The kribs probably have their territories defined and the rams would take a beating trying to set up their own.
I've kept kribs and L. curviceps and L. dorsiger together and they all did well. I've also kept other West Africans like A. thomasi with them too. Some bluffing and puffing but no major conflicts. But, if you want to jump start the growth on the fry, would be taking them (or the other fish) out.