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This
is a page to read BEFORE you breed. You need to have these foods prior
to breeding so that you have them when the fry hatch. I cannot stress
how important it is to be prepared! |
| When you
decide to spawn is the day to start thinking about food for them. If you
used live plants in your breeding tank, then you are already on your
way. Using live plants automatically creates Infusoria, the fry's first
food. |
 | Infusoria |
| LiquirFry #1 |
| Tetramin Baby Fish Food 'E' |
| MicroWorms |
| Vinegar Eels |
| Baby Brine Shrimp (BBS) |
| Decapsulated Brine Shrimp Eggs |
| Daphnia |
| Live/Frozen Foods |
| Chopped Black Worms |
| Frozen Beef/Chicken Livers |
| Frozen Beef Heart |
| Mosquito Larvae |
| Hikari Micro Pellets |
|
| 1) Infusoria
are micro organisms that live in the water. They are created by plant
life in the water. You can grow them automatically in your tank by
keeping live plants in there and adding a drop of Liqui-Fry #1 (if
you use a 1-5 gallon tank or larger). If
you do not have live plants, then click here
for a recipe to make your own Infusoria. I keep live plants and use
Liqui-Fry, so I do not use this recipe. Liqui-fry will also produce tiny
little white worms you may see swimming in your fry tank, do not worry
they are harmless and produce an extra food for your fry :) |
| 2) Interpet's
Liqui-Fry #1 is a liquid food for young fry. Not
only does it provide food for the fry itself, it also aids in the
production of microscopic organisms such as infusoria. Add one drop to your aquarium daily in conjunction with Tetramin's Baby
Fish Food 'E' for only the first few days. If you do not have Tetramin's Baby Fish Food 'E', then a
micro food powder will work. UUse it carefully because it can
easily foul your tank. |
| 3) TetraMin's
Baby Fish Food 'E' is a fine powdery food. It is similar to Micro
Food. This is a good food for the top feeding fry. Use it once a day
with Liqui-Fry for the first week or so of feeding. |
| 4) MicroWorms
- Start feeding MicroWorms on about day 2 or 3. These are small worms
that grow and multiply in a yeast culture. A small amount on the tip of
a Q-tip or a rubber spatula is more than enough. After feeding a few
times, you will figure out the proper amount. MicroWorms can live for up
to 3 days in the water. You will be able to see them wiggling at the
bottom. You can feed the fry MicroWorms as long as they will eat them.
You only need to feed MicroWorms up to the
first 4-6 weeks. You can obtain your own culture through many breeders
online, I myself no longer use them or keep them. Click on MicroWorms above for
instructions on culturing them. |
| 5) Vinegar
Eels are similar to MicroWorms in size. They are cultured in
vinegar and water, live longer in the fry tank and swim around rather
than sinking to the bottom. Vinegar Eels require little attention and
the culture will survive on it's own for months on end. These are great
for breeders who only breed one spawn here and there and have no use for
MicroWorms in between, or those who just don't enjoy sub-culturing
microworms ALL the time, lol. You can feed Vinegar eels in place of MicroWorms
or alternate between the two. Again, feed them until they are 4-6 weeks
old :) Vinegar Eels are raised in Apple Vinegar, and vinegar is a
natural PH decreaser. This is something you need to be careful of. A
drastic decrease in the PH can kill your fry. Make absolutely sure you
rinse the vinegar eels well before placing them in the tank. Click on
Vinegar Eels above for instructions on culturing them. You can obtain a
culture from me and some other breeders online. |
| 6) Baby
Brine Shrimp (BBS) - This is the most nutritional food, I believe.
I start feeding these as soon as possible. Usually around 5 days I
will start adding some. I start hatching them 24-48 hours prior to when I
want to feed them. Click on the title of this paragraph for instructions
on hatching and harvesting BBS. BBS are what we knew as children as Sea
Monkeys. They only retain their nutritional value for about 12 hours, so
only hatch out what you are going to use that day. |
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6a) Decapsulated
Brine Shrimp Eggs - These can be purchased and fed to fry as
soon as they are accepted. You can also de-shell your own eggs at home,
hatch as you would normally and feed live BBS to your fry. Click the
title to learn how. |
| 7) Daphnia
- I haven't used these so I have no info on them. When I get around
to trying them I will write more on them, but they are a food for your
fry. |
| 8) Live/frozen
foods - When your fry are getting to be about 4-6 weeks old
(depending on size) you can start feeding them new foods. Live and
frozen foods will provide much needed nutrition for rapid growth.
Feeding these foods causes the water to foul much quicker and partial
water changes may be necessary after feeding some of these foods. |
|
8a) Chopped
Black Worms - Many fish stores will sell live black worms. These
are great for your adult bettas and can also be great for fry/young
juveniles. All you need to do is chop them up into small pieces and feed
to them. The older the juveniles get, the less you will have to
chop them. |
|
8b) Frozen
Beef/Chicken Livers - Simply take a piece of frozen liver, and
shave it into the tank in small pieces. Shaving it onto a small plate
first might work better for you. This is a very high protein food and
will foul the water quickly. Plan on doing a partial water change after
feeding this. |
|
8b) Frozen
Beef Heart - Follow the directions for the liver above. |
|
8c) Small
Mosquito Larvae - While harvesting Mosquito Larvae for the
adults, you can sometimes find them in an earlier stage where they are
much, much smaller. If you can find these, you can feed them to you fry. |
| 9) Hikari
Micro Pellets - These pellets (which feature a Neon Tetra on the
package) are made especially for small fish. They are very tiny and are
the perfect food to train your fry to eat dried foods. |
