Black Skirt Tetra Fry

kittledee

Small Fish
Nov 14, 2015
36
4
8
62
#1
I have a breeding pair of black skirt tetras and this morning the eggs hatched! I have a bunch of super super tiny fry swimming around in my 10 gallon "baby tank". Mom and dad were taken out yesterday. They are so tiny that if I wasn't looking for them I would never have seen them. Here's my question I hope someone can answer for me. I have mixed a tiny bit of cooked egg yolk with a few drops of tank water and made a watery paste and put a few drops in the tank. Even though it looked completely dissolved to me, once it was put in the tank, the water separated and the pieces of egg yolk are still kind of big for them. I'm going to the local pet store as soon as they open to get some newborn fry food. How often do I need to feed these little guys? I don't want to foul up the water because I think even with the sponge filter it would be too strong and suck them up- but I don't want them to not eat enough.. I have had lots of baby guppies, platys, mollies and Corey cats. These babies are much smaller than any I have ever had. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance! Happy Friday everyone! TGIF!!!!
 

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
Jul 19, 2004
3,682
33
48
38
Cape Cod
#2
Babies need to eat several times a day - if you have any mature plants / Moss / algae you can move some to the nursery tank and the fry will eat tiny microorganisms from them. Good luck!
 

kittledee

Small Fish
Nov 14, 2015
36
4
8
62
#9
Thanks! So far they're doing great! I think they're growing already! When they first hatched, I wasn't sure they were even fish they were so tiny! Now I can see them swimming around without having to search for them. If they all make it, I'm about to have a ton of tetras! LOL! I'll be looking for fishy homes for some of them for sure! Ha ha!
 

kittledee

Small Fish
Nov 14, 2015
36
4
8
62
#10
Ok so we made it through the 1st week! Black skirt tetras have grown a lot but are still super tiny. I have bought "First Bites" baby fish food by Hikari, and they are starting to eat that now, but funny enough, they prefer egg yolk. So I was getting worried because the bottom of the tank had "leftovers"from their egg yolk meals. I tried siphoning it out using just an air line, but I kept getting rocks stuck in the line, and would also end up sucking up a couple babies into the bucket. So I had an idea - I put a couple Cory Cats in there with them last night. This morning they had all of the nastiness piled up in a big ball in the middle of the tank and I just scooped it out with a net! These guys are amazing!! I think I'm going to have to start paying them, so they don't form a union and go on strike!
 

Likes: arcab4

kittledee

Small Fish
Nov 14, 2015
36
4
8
62
#14
Here's an update on my Black Skirt Tetras born on March 17, 2016. 2 1/2 months old and best I can tell, I have 18 of them. This has been a really cool experience! I didn't know if any of them would make it!