You can leave baby fish (fry) in the tank, but most will get eaten by adults unless you provide many hiding spots or separate them, as most fish don't care for their young and see them as food, although some species have parental care; for best survival, use a breeder box in the same tank or move them to a dedicated fry tank to protect them from parents and other fish.
How to Raise Baby Fish Fry in Your Aquarium
Fish who were born via live birth traditionally are better off being separated from their parents. Create a good home for the fry. Young fish are more susceptible to infection and disease than adult fish, so take extra care to make sure that their tanks are properly maintained.
Using water from your established aquarium is a great way to acclimate the fry to water conditions of their future home. In about 4 to 6 weeks, the babies should be large enough to release into the main aquarium.
Once the fry are born, they can't stay in the tank with mom and dad. “”You're going need to get them out to a different tank,”” said Chris Bailey, manager at Petco, 4625 N. Oracle Rd. “”Otherwise they'll be eaten.””
Monitor the fish closely for signs of stress or ammonia or nitrite poisoning (lack of feeding, loss of color, clamped fins and increased respiration).
These are the best and most responsible ways to get rid of unwanted fish:
Week Eight (day 50 to 56)
Most of the fish have darkened in color and their eyes have started to protrude. Over the first eight weeks the fry achieved an average increase in body length of 27% per week. This means they more than doubled their body weight each week.
7 Fish That Can Live Without Air Pump
If a fish isn't getting enough oxygen, you'll see it gasping at the surface, moving sluggishly, and displaying rapid gill movements, struggling to take in enough oxygen, often described as "flappy gills," while bottom dwellers may also rise to the surface for air, indicating significant distress and potential issues like overstocking, high temperatures, or poor water quality.
Are Fish Capable of Feeling Pain? The simple answer is yes. Many scientific studies over many years have demonstrated that fish feel pain. To be precise, this doesn't just mean that fish physically react to potentially injurious stimuli, but rather, that they actually experience a sensation of pain.
Lack of oxygen
The most common cause of natural fish kills is lack of oxygen in surface water. Lack of oxygen can asphyxiate most susceptible fish species within a few hours. Depletion of oxygen in water can result from natural processes and storm events are very often involved.
Tap water is safe for your tank so long as you treat it with a water conditioner to remove harmful toxins and chlorine.
Guppies are highly prolific livebearers giving birth to between five and 30 fry, though under extreme circumstances, she may give birth to only one or two or over 100. The gestation period of a guppy is typically 21–30 days, but can vary considerably.
We find that warming generally increases growth rates of fishes, but the population size structure shifts towards smaller bodied individuals.
No, you don't have to clean the gravel every day. If you have plants they can take up some of the goodness from the poo and you can do a once-a-week gravel clean (do a ten percent water change at the same time), but you don't have to thoroughly clean the gravel so a good cleaning once a month would be sufficient.
If you have a large community tank with several species of fish, it is likely that many fry will get eaten by other fish. Minimizing hiding places the young fish can use and adding a more aggressive species or two to the tank will help with this natural population control. Sell or give away extra fish.
Just like weekend feeders, you can find blocks of fish food designed for longer absences. These products are usually called things like 'holiday fish food' or 'slow release fish food' and can feed your fish for up to two weeks. These blocks are made up of compressed fish food.
Happy fish are healthy fish that actively explore their surroundings, enjoy mealtime, have plenty of space for swimming, don't have any obvious signs of illness, and get along with their tank buddies.
Common causes of stress include poor water quality, overcrowding, and incompatible tank mates. Erratic swimming, hiding, or a lack of appetite are all signs your fish may be stressed. Maintaining proper tank conditions can help prevent fish stress.