wigglers not wiggling

[Corie Dora]

My cac wigglers don't seem to be wiggling as much as the wigglers of other cichlids I've spawned (Angels, Cons, Pseudotropheus) Is this normal for them?

They were eggs last weekend, and dropped off the side of the cave Monday night. I see one of them twitch every now and then, especially after the female 'washes' a few of them and spits them out, so I know they are still alive. I fed them some frozen bbs once on Wednesday, but haven't since, as I then learned they don't need to be fed until they're free swimming. The weird thing is, they were wiggling lots until I squirted the bbs over them. Its like they just slowed right at that instant and still haven't started to move since.

Corie

 

[Apistt_ed]

Hello,
It's still a little early to say if they are alright or not, but if the female is still taking care of them and haven't eaten them then they should be perfectly fine! depending on the temperature of the tank, it can take a little longer than 3 days for them to be fully free-swimming. A general rule is as I said, if they are still there and you can clearly see a yolk, then they are still fine. Start to worry if the female changes her brood care dress back to a dull brown, as that is usually a clear indication that they are gone. I'd give it a at least till the end of the weekend. By then they should at least start to move around a little more than they might already have. Also, when you fed them frozen bbs, did you mix it with the tank water? Just to make it easier not to worry about drastic changes in temp and water params. When they are all free swimming, you should feed them then with a small pipette in small portions but at least 3 times a day. Make sure to keep with small frequent water changes and keep their bellies nice n' full and pink and there should be no worries. Congrats on the spawn and keep us posted! Hope this has helped..

john

 

[Corie Dora]

Thanks John

She's still caring for them, and she's still in breeding dress. I can definately see a yolk still, but some of them look as though they may be smaller now, are they supposed to shrink?

The tank temp is 74 degrees. When I fed the bbs, I tossed a frozen chunk in a cup of tank water and piped it in to them. So I suppose it would have been colder than the tank itself. I'm not sure of my water parameters right now-I use almost exclusively RO water, and the last time I had it checked it wasn't running super efficiently, so the water wasn't 'perfect', but it was perfect for what I need it for Other than that, I also put tap water into the canister filter when I do water changes. And there is a small amount of buffers in the substrate. I just stopped checking at one point, beacause it was always the same. So I just do the same routine, and pay more attention to how the plants look.

Should I be charting my water parameters again now? (groan)

Should I turn the temp up a little on the tank, to get the fry moving?
Should I start feeding them now?

Also, I they're in my 35g community, which consists of 1 cory, 5 black neons, 2 odessa barbs(leftovers from another tank)and the pair of Cacs. I want to leave them with the parents for a long time; should I be as concerned about frequent water changes in such a large fully planted tank?

And I know the barbs are probably not a good idea. My husband *really* *really* likes them there, and I've agreed to let them stay for now. If they eat this spawn, then they're out. That's the deal. I think the stress of trying to net them would disturb the nesting female apsito anyhow.

Corie

 

[Apistt_ed]

Hello,

The young fry may look smaller if they have absorbed the yolk. As they absorb the yolk, they will look slimmer than they did when they hatched. so yes, they do shrink... a little. You still don't have to worry about feeding them just yet. When you no longer see them on the gravel and they are starting to hover over it instead, that's when you feed them.

You won't need to chart your parameters. It's not really neccessary because the eggs have already hatched and you don't need to turn up the temperature at all. At this pivotal moment in the fry's life, from studies it shows that sex determination is from week one to up tp 2 months and your temperature is fine for a more even mix. Everything you've done so far is right so why fix something not broken right?.. hahaha

The water changes should be at a regular 20% a week, as that's the general thing I do. It aids in the better growth of the fry.

The only problematic tankmates would be the corydora or the barbs as you mentioned. They have been known to be fry snatchers but it's up to you whether you'd like to keep them in or not. Apistos can be great parents also, so I wouldn't put it past them to hold their own against tankmates. Good luck!

 

[Corie Dora]

All the fry are free swimming this morning!!! The female has moved them to a new locale, and I fed them some bbs. They seemed to be eating it. So I guess all's well!

Yeah!!

Corie

 

[Apistt_ed]

CONGRATS!

 

[Mike Wise]

If you keep your fry at 74ºF you will probably get mostly females. Sex is determined by temperature over the first 2 months freeswimming. I'd raise the temp to 79ºF to get more even sex ratios.[/list]

 

[Corie Dora]

79F!!!!!? Wow! That's hot! I'm afraid I might cook some of my plants at that temp....or at least make them somewhat unnattractive. Especially since one of my ballasts is burned out right now and I only have half the lighting I'd like to have on there. These fish are in my planted display tank in my living room. Perhaps I'll raise it to 76, and hope that helps. If I get too many females this time, next time I'll scoop the fry to a grow out tank early on, and keep the temp high.

Thanks so much for the insight Mike

Corie

 

[cdawson]

79f is not very hot at all actually, cockatoos breed really at temps of 82. In fact that's how I got mine in the mood. Most fish can withstand temps in the high 80s for long periods of time. Fish like altums and discus need temps of 80-82 on a regular basis. Same with SW tropicals.
Anything over 85 is considered HOT, anything under that is basically normal in some circumstances.

 

[Corie Dora]

Ya, I know lots of fish like it hot; it just *seems* really hot to me, as I'm really more of a plant person. I'm just getting into fish more these days. In recent years, I've really only used fish as decorations to set off my plants, LOL! keeping the temp under 76F is one way to keep the plants bushy, especially when you're not using MH lighting.

I guess I'm lucky that my fish like to breed at lower temperatures

Heather=^..^=

 

[cdawson]

keeping the temp under 76F is one way to keep the plants bushy, especially when you're not using MH lighting.

really? I've never heard that before, that's good to know.[/quote]