My First Baby Pictures!

[Cichlidoclus]

Hello everyone. What a pleasant surprise I had this evening when, while watching my fish eat their evening meal, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something move out from under a rock near the front left corner of the tank, and then back in again. This is the same area of the tank where I took the pics of Bully Boy and female #2 several days ago. In fact, this rock is one of her favorite resting places.

At first I assumed that the object was simply a piece of algae, but then I reasoned that the current in the tank wasn't strong enough to do that, and algae certainly can't move in one direction, and then in the opposite direction of its own volition.

So, I rolled by chair over to investigate more closely, and to my surprise, there was one of the three fry I had put in the tank six days ago, darting in and out from under a corner of the rock, eating who knows what. He is currently about a half inch in size, and like many fry, is a silvery color. This little guy, possibly the sole survivor of the three, has now been dubbed "Junior". Yeah, I know, really original, right?

I tried to take a short movie of Junior with the Casio Exilim EX-Z50 digital camera, but being as he was hovering too close to the rock, the lighting was too dim; so, the three images below, extracted from three much larger images, will have to suffice.

For most of you hardened, old-time pros, fry pictures probably don't impress you anymore; but hey, for me personally, to know that at least one member of the very first spawn in the tank has managed to survive this long is a special moment.

Happy six-days-old Junior!

[stacic8679]

Awwww I think he is cute. Congratulations.

[Cichlidoclus]

Hello there fellow Teenie Weenie Fish!

While I've bred a number of fish before -- bettas, discus, angels, copadichromis borleyi -- just knowing that at least one of those three fry has made it this far along, was, and continues to be, an inspiring moment. What is also interesting is that while female #2 frequently rests in that very spot, and must be aware of Junior's presence, she has made no attempts to eat him -- and it's not even her fry. He belongs to female #1 who released her fry on June 17th. Oh, the love!

Right before coming to this board, I saw a picture of a Pseudotropheus Elongatus. Another online friend had mentioned this species to me before, and suggested that Bully Boy -- who is Junior's father -- might be one of those, or at least a hybrid of one of those, but after looking at a picture of one, I was doubtful. However, the image I just looked at a few minutes ago bears a striking resemblance to Bully Boy. The main difference is that Bully Boy only has about three and a half vertical bars which fade out about halfway up his body. If you want to see the image that I am talking about, go here:

cichlids.com: P.ndumbi, and P. elongatus.."mpanga"

The other two males in my tank also bear some similarities to the above fish. So I am wondering if my fish might be one of these hybrids:

Melanochromis Johanni x Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos
Melanochromis Johanni x Pseudotropheus Elongatus
Melanochromis Cyaneorhabdos x Pseudotropheus Elongatus

Anyway, it will be interesting to see if Junior survives, and if he does, what he will grow up to look like.

[MissFishy]

Very cute! I love baby fish, it is so rewarding to know you've raised a fish from a fry.

[robinanne]

awesome! congratulations grandpa!

[Cichlidoclus]

Hello MissFishy. Yes, I am indeed hoping that I will be able to raise "Junior" from a fry to a full adult whatever-he-is.

[Cichlidoclus]

Hello again RobinAnne. Being as "grandpa" is a human term, we need to think of something new for when we become grandpas -- and grandmas, of course -- to our new fish. Any ideas? Man, I'm stumped!

[SmokeyN'Tiger]

Congrats! I just got a 5 gallon tank, as a starter, since I have never had fish before. I didnt know anything about the fish, i had a molly and a platy. the molly was super energetic and playfull...while the platy would hide often. I was concerned since I am new to all of this. Well i believe it was week two..I came home from school one day and by the filter, there was this little tiny thing moving very fast. Come to find out, my platy had babies. I was scared because I didnt know what to do. haha. I dont remember exactly how many she had but about 3 hid in the rocks, i believe my molly ate 2...Another week after that, I was getting ready to leave one day, and i saw one come up from the rocks and go back down. Since then I have not seen any of them, both of those fish also died....the molly im sure overate... when i went to feed both of them, he would eat anything that came his way. The platy lived longer, she went last week.

I recently got 2 more platies for my tank.
they seem to be doing fine and they are happy little fish!
=]

[Cichlidoclus]

Hello SmokeyN'Tiger. Sorry to hear of your loss.

As you probably learned from your experience, it is always good to research the kind of fish that you are going to buy, prior to actually purchasing them, in order to learn what their specific requirements may be. This can help you to avoid a lot of problems and heartache in the future. There are so many online sources where one can obtain this information, such as on tropical fish related messageboards like this one.

While I can't tell you exactly why your fish died, being as I am not familiar with your setup, I would advise you to educate yourself regarding the nitrification cycle and "new tank syndrome", as this may possibly have something to do with the death of your two fish.

If there is one thing which I would suggest to you, it is read, read, read, and research, research, research. Our aquatic pets deserve the best treatment that we can afford them.

Thanks!

[Cichlidoclus]

Oh, BTW, to learn the latest regarding my fry, please check out my personal log. Thanks!