Anybody bred bloodfin tetras

[Derekshatch]

I am breeding bloodfin tetras and I have already got the eggs into a different tank. I was wondering if they start off free swimming as soon as they are born? And how fast do they grow/ when are they big enough to go into my big tank? Any other fry care and help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Colin_T]

All tetra and barb eggs take a few days to hatch, then the fry hang on the glass, plants and rocks in the tank for a couple more days before starting to swim about.

With fish, the longer the eggs take to hatch, the more likelihood the fry will be free swimming when they hatch.
eg: rainbowfish eggs can take 1-2 weeks to hatch and the fry are free swimming when they hatch.
eg: cichlid eggs that are attached to rocks or plants can take 4 or 5 days to hatch and their fry can be free swimming when they hatch.
eg: mouth brooding cichlid eggs can take 2 weeks to hatch and the fry are big and free swimming straight away.
eg: tetras, barbs, rasboras and labyrinth fishes (Bettas & gouramis) all have eggs that hatch after a few days and the fry spend a couple more days hanging around developing before they become free swimming.

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The fry are small and need infusoria, green water, boiled egg yolk or powdered fry food for egg layers as their first food. After a week or two on those foods, you can start adding newly hatched brineshrimp, but keep adding the other foods until you know all the fry are eating the brineshrimp.

Under ideal conditions the fish should be an inch long in 2-3 months.

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The following link has information on preparing food for baby fish. Normally you start preparing the different foods a month or more before you breed the fish so you have food ready for when the eggs hatch.

Back to Basics when Breeding Fish

STARTING OUT Make sure you have a pair, (1 male + 1 female). There is nothing worse than spending your hard-earned dollars buying a couple of fish to try and breed and ending up with a pair of fish of the same sex. Let's face it, to reproduce fish you need a male and a female. Two males won't do...

www.fishforums.net

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General fry care.
Have an air operated sponge filter in their tank to keep the water clean but so it doesn't suck the fry into the filter.

Do regular water changes using dechlorinated water.

Keep the tank covered.

Keep the water warm 26-30C for most baby tropical fish and 28C is the best temperature in my experience.

Feed the fry 3-5 times a day and make sure they have fat little stomachs at all times. They should look like pregnant guppies.

 

[Derekshatch]

Would hikari first bites work or I also have brine shrimp eggs that are dried.

 

[Colin_T]

I have no idea what Hikari first bites are. If you are using prepared dry foods, you need a dry food specifically for egg laying fish fry.

The dry brineshrimp eggs need to be hatched in salt water and the nauplii (baby brineshrimp) can be fed to the fry when the fry are more than 1 week old. The newly hatched fry are too small to eat brineshrimp nauplii.

An emergency fry food can be made from a boiled egg yolk. There is information in the link above that tells you how to make fry food from a boiled egg.

 

[Derekshatch]

The dry brine shrip eggs dont have shrimp inside they are just the egg and are a good source of nutrients.

 

[Colin_T]

If the dry brineshrimp eggs are brown, they have the egg shell still on them.
If they are orange, they have been decapsulated (the shell has been removed).
Either way, they are too big for newly hatched tetras.

 

[Derekshatch]

But they are going to hatch like tonight so what do i do? I know that they can survive by eating their egg sac but for how long. There is tons of java moss in tha tank which should hold some food for them. Do you think they would eat frozen mysis shrimp. Its like brine shrimp. I also have frozen cyclops.

 

[JuiceBox52]

But they are going to hatch like tonight so what do i do? I know that they can survive by eating their egg sac but for how long. There is tons of java moss in tha tank which should hold some food for them. Do you think they would eat frozen mysis shrimp. Its like brine shrimp. I also have frozen cyclops.

Get some infusoria

 

[Derekshatch]

Too late I have already said that.

 

[Colin_T]

Back to Basics when Breeding Fish

STARTING OUT Make sure you have a pair, (1 male + 1 female). There is nothing worse than spending your hard-earned dollars buying a couple of fish to try and breed and ending up with a pair of fish of the same sex. Let's face it, to reproduce fish you need a male and a female. Two males won't do...

www.fishforums.net

copied from the link above, which is the same link I provided in post #2.

EMERGENCY FRY FOOD

Some fry like labyrinth fry (Bettas & Gouramis) and Iriatherina werneri are very small when they first hatch and need green water or infusoria. If you can't get these you can hard boil an egg. Remove the shell and white part. Push the yellow yolk through a handkerchief into a small container of dechlorinated water. Put the lid on the container and shake it up, then use an eye dropper to suck some of the egg yolk solution out and put it in the tank with the babies. Do this 3-5 times per day for the first 2 weeks then start adding newly hatched brineshrimp.

Boil another egg each day and make a new solution each day. Keep the solution in the fridge when not using it. Take the solution out of the fridge and let it warm up to room temperature for 10 minutes or so before using it in the fry tank.

Do regular partial water changes on the fry tank or have a small air operated sponge filter in it to keep the water clean. The egg yolk can cause ammonia levels to go up and without water changes or a filter the fry will die from polluted water.

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Do not start feeding until the fry start swimming.​