Re: Moving fry

["Myongsu Kong" <mkong@brownwoodlaw.com>]

I have had the same experience as John.  If you move both fry & adults,
there is a fairly good chance that the fry will disappear.  In addition to
the stress, I wonder if the parents no longer "recognize" the fry as their
own in the new tanks.  Although I recall a post that theorized that the
"smell" of the water in the spawning tank was a method by which foster
parents (borelli, I think it was) could be encouraged to care for a
different brood, I guess there must be limitations.  For example, I have
had the misfortune to have fry that were sucked up by a power filter (prior
to the use of a sponge covering over the intake), where they survived for a
few days or even weeks.  Whenever I introduced such fry back to the parents
(in the same tank), they were usually immediately chased down and eaten.
Somehow, the parents can distinguish these fry from the fry that they are
currently tending.  On the other hand, on one occasion, I separated the
parents from most of the fry (because of parental fighting) for a period of
about 14 hours and when I re-introduced the fry, the parents accepted them.
Does anyone have any experience or information on how long parents can be
separated from fry and still have the parents recognize the fry?  Or do you
think it is a question of idiosyncracies in parental behavior, i.e., how
good a given pair of fish are as parents as opposed to an instinctive
response?

Also, I'd like to note that I prefer to move the adults, since they tend to
be easier to see & catch - if I try to move the fry, I always find a few
the next day that I missed, requiring another dip into the tank.  If you
are moving fry, you should use a hose, as other people have noted.  I find
that fry do better when siphoned out through an adequately sized hose.  A
hose also seems to cause less disturbance in the tank.

Finally, I'd like to pose a question about water conditions of raising fry.
It seems to me that the water parameters have to be "correct" for fish to
spawn and for the eggs to hatch, but after the fry are free-swimming, they
seem to handle varying water conditions about as well as their parents
(aside from any sexing issues!) and spawning conditions no longer have to
be maintained.   Aside from any discussion of whether the fish are truly
happy in non-spawning water parameters, has anyone noticed a difference due
to water parameter changes, given that the parents are doing well and
assuming no obvious negatives, like poor water quality or rapidly
fluctuating conditions?  If so, at what point does the sensitivity of the
fry equal that of their parents?

Yep, it's not that busy at work today... :)

-mk




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