# found babies.. HELP!



## hellsangel (Jan 22, 2006)

Hi All

i am new to posting here but have been reading it for ages... keep up the great work its been a fantastic source of info...

Last night i spotted 7 tiny babies in my piranha tank...







no idea where the rest went but im guessing they were a free meal for the others! I wasnt even aware they were breeding

Now i have these babies... what do i do with them? i have taken them out and put them in a seperate tank... but what do i feed them on... do they need anything special?

Many thanks for your help


----------



## patriotsfan (Sep 6, 2005)

yea feed them some fresh brine shrimp.


----------



## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

Welcome to p-fury

Follow the link below, should help you out.
Breeding Pygocentrus nattereri


----------



## mashunter18 (Jan 2, 2004)

Congrats on your breeding.

How large are the fry??? Its possible you may have many more baby fish in the substrate, you may be able to vac out.
Defenitely feed the little ones right away if you hope to raise them up and grow them.

Fill us in on how its going..


----------



## hellsangel (Jan 22, 2006)

Hi..

They vary between quarter of a cm and half a cm.. they really are tiny!

They are currently in a seperate tank with nothing in other than a filter, airline and heater.. they dont seem to be feeding tho... i have tried powdered fish flake, baby brine shrimp and tiny peices of blood worm... they are still active tho and all still alive!

i have searched the tank and the sand but cant find anything else

Couple more questions please...

Are they liable to breed again and if so how often? 
is there anything i can do to encourage them to breed?
should i put anything in the tank for them to lay the eggs on to make it easier to rescue them?

we educated ourselves as much as possible about keeping the rbp's but didnt bother reading too much on breeding cos we didnt plan on it happening so soon!!!

Many thanks for your help and sorry to be bombarding you with questions!


----------



## eriesteelheader (Mar 28, 2004)

Yes they can and most likely will breed again. The information in this forum will help you greatly. Just so the individuals may be able to help you more let us know:

1. what size tank did they breed in,
2. How many adults are in your shoal now,

give us any info you can if you would


----------



## hellsangel (Jan 22, 2006)

Hi...

My tank is 5'x2'x2' 
The substrate is sand to a depth of about 2" with pebbles scattered in areas
Has plenty of hiding places including real plants
There are 7 rbp's in there smallest being about 3"s and the largest about 6"'s, a blue lobster and a plec 
a large powerfull power head
Ehiem professional II 2028 external filter
they feed daily on a foul concoction of liquidised pellets, algae wafers, prawns, white fish and lean beefheart bound with gelatin!
occasional treats include whole sprats and prawns 
the lighting is soft

i think that about covers it all.... if i have missed anything please let me know..

They are all very active, not really that skittish 6 of them are constantly together, the 7th seems to be a bit of an outcast but isnt bullied.. Oh and they have just discovered a new party trick... jump out the water to get to the food at feeding time.. they got my husband yesterday !









Thanks for your help....


----------



## PiranhaStein (Dec 30, 2005)

What you need to do is go to the local pet store and get some sea monkey eggs. Get a 2 litre something coverd with and air stone. Then you make a capture chamber to get the hatched sea monkeys then you just pour them into your tank for you fry and they'll love them. I would also try so very thawed blood worms. But the live baby shrimp is the best for young fish and will increase survival by a couple points.

Do a search for a real write up or look on ebay. It's ez to setup and go and buy the eggs. If you did it today you could feed ur fry tonight.

Good Luck,

Kam

(Cool trick)


----------



## mashunter18 (Jan 2, 2004)

On the fry not eating issue, I would suggest hatching brine shrimp eggs, and feeding them live baby brine, I never had to much luck with anything else myself.

ON your red belly sizes, the 3" defenitely arent the breeders. If you watch your fish, check morning and evening for fresh orange eggs, should be a make fish circling the area and faning the nest, usually the fish will darken up the day of breeding.

The pleco and blue lobster wont help you keep many eggs.

Sand really isnt the best substrate for breeding, gravel is preferred, the reds like to work the substrate good when spawning, most with sand havnt had good luck with egg survival.


----------



## packrat (Sep 28, 2005)

And most of the other fry are probably in your filter now.


----------



## rocker (Aug 12, 2005)

when doing your water changes use cold water. not too cold but a bit colder than ur tank water now.

and heavy feedings.


----------

