Baby Panda Suprise!

[saphphx]

So, I found panda cory eggs a few months back, collected them,accidentally killed them in a horrible air pump accident, collected more a few weeks later before Narco the 5 inch snail got them, and have been happily raising the tiny sperm looking critters. you can just now see their eye markings, oh so cute

But!

I went to feed the little beasts and saw a mini panda about 1cm long in my panda tank! I looked closer and I saw a 2cm mini panda as well! Some of the eggs I missed have hatched and I have babies growing with their parents! they were all side by side til I went to get the camera, then the 2cm hid under the slate after the flash and the 1cm one shot in to the corner! All the parents are about 4cm or so, so I was wondering should I take these babies out or leave them be? they survived growing up with sand hoovering, large snail, the great fungus infection, and 3power outs, so I am not to worried about them getting eaten, but was just wondering how safe are they really, as I did hear parents will eat their fry, but these are already ones that look like fish instead of winged sperm, so they will be ok?

Piccie of him, sorry its soc rap and through the silicon in the corner, but he was insistent on not moving and I wasn't about to poke him lol:

Thanks all!

 

[jollysue]

Wow! Terrific! Lucky and well done!

What kind of filter do you run?

 

[NEONCORY]

That's cool saphphx,

Personally I would not move the survivors unless you have good reason like over crowded or something. I find the small Panda fry is tough to move. Even tank to tank in the same house/home.
I lost few before by moving them to different tank too soon before they reach to decent size. Now I will not move any Panda fry until they become 1/2" SL and 1/4" width. Even then, I try to make the condition as close as possible and even float them in container and add new water little by little.

Beside they will be fine with the parents when they become the size size show their eye mask. Actually they probably not get eaten by parents once they can swim and swim away to safety when the adult fish approach. I don't think the adult fish hunt them down or nothing, but they will get eaten when they are still around the mouth of adult when they forage for the food. So I think it is more accidental than intentional if they eat the frys. I would worry when they are still in the eggs or just hatched and still only a wigglers. Then they might get eaten by the bigger fish. But as soon as they can swim quick enough, they will avoid other fish.
And by the time you see them in open, they are more than capable of not to be snack. Usually when they already have the adult coloration although they are not much bigger than 1/2" and 1/8th tall. Anyway, if you worry or want to increase the number of survivors, just add more things like little stone, driftwood or fine ground plants. Especially Moss or little stones.
I found more survivors after I add more things that create little space where the small fry can hide. And that would give them better chance. Not to mention, Moss would hover small food for them and some tid bit of food end up in the little space where only the small fry have access to.
And also good to start feeding some small fry food to the tank.

I think the tiny Panda frys are the cutest. And some of the eggs do hatch without our help in the tank. Although we try to collect all some is hid pretty good. If not they tend to get eaten otherwise.

So just give them more hiding place and more small food for them. And you probably see more survivors. And that is one small happy surprise when you see them hopping.

 

[saphphx]

Wow! Terrific! Lucky and well done!

What kind of filter do you run?

I run a fulval 4, but I have moved it away from the bottom of the tank, just in case lol.

Personally I would not move the survivors unless you have good reason like over crowded or something. I find the small Panda fry is tough to move. Even tank to tank in the same house/home.
I lost few before by moving them to different tank too soon before they reach to decent size. Now I will not move any Panda fry until they become 1/2" SL and 1/4" width. Even then, I try to make the condition as close as possible and even float them in container and add new water little by little.

Love thy turky baster! I use mine for everything. I normally leave the fry alone until they look like real fish. Around 1/2 inch I guess. Once I can tell its a fish and not some sort of weird squiggly thing lol. I cheat for water changes and use water from the adults tank to change the babies tank to be sure all the nasty things from the tap water are gone. My pandas have always been really touchy though. I have yet to have any to add back into the big tank though, I am hoping this last 20 fry will make it and I will be FORCED (hah) to set up another panda tank Pandas are my favorites, they are the cutest little things ever!

Thanks so much for all the info Neon you, as always, are a star! These new little dudes are tough though! the last fungus even claimed one of my adults! I wonder how many more babies there would have been if not for the fungus. I think you are right about the accidental eating. I have seen corys skitter around other fish fry and leave them alone, but then I have seen corys eat sick or injured fry, which is why I started keeping them, so I wouldn't have to cull anymore as the corys do it for me and get a good meal off it (I normally keep my corys with Endlers )

 

[NEONCORY]

Oh you are embarassing me.
Thanks and you are welcome. I don't know all but I know some about the Panda.

Yeah, I will use the water from parent's tank for water change for fry tank. And tap the parents tank with new cooler water. And I know that would encourage them to make more eggs. So when I need replacement for the fry tank more often, it tend to get eggs more often. Of course, I have to feed them more and often but it is ok since I do change water more often.

And about the culling the other fish frys. I don't know it is such a good idea. The weak or deformed maybe but I would not leave the sick or diseased. You don't want your Corys to get sick by eating those. So I think you should remove any fish that are sick.
Yeah I do not like culling the fish either but sometime you have to do. Especially if you breed the fish that already bred to create the color and finnage.,etc. That means they tend to be bred to closely related fish to establish the color or whatever the characteristic they try to establish. And they tend to have shrunk their gene pool and carry the same undesirable characteristic also.

Anyway, I am also thinking about either get their 2nd tank or move them to bigger tank. I start with 5 adults in 10G but now I have 15 in there. Although I have 2 filters in there and at least twice weekly water change of 50% it is getting crowded. Not all reached to adults yet but I am pretty sure they all growing even the first 5 I had.

And you are right about the frys which self reared. They are the survivors who managed to find the food where we did not intentionally fed the small food for them. So they are the strong fish. But we also know that more fish means less food and less chance to tiny frys to survive. So adding more hiding spots and offering small food like micro or walter worms and infusioa or green water would helpful. After I put more small stones and driftwood to create some small space where only the small frys can hide and I start to see more tiny Panda after month later. I already have tons of Java Moss but it seems some hard objects on the bottom that create some small space seem help the missed eggs. And I always miss some eggs when I harvest them. Some are sneaky and good at hiding.

 

[Barracuda518]

Great story

It says a lot about the great condition your tank is in for the fry to survive like that with no help from you. Well done

 

[saphphx]

Oh you are embarassing me.
Thanks and you are welcome. I don't know all but I know some about the Panda.

haha you're a star you know I don't think anyone knows all about the Panda Pritties, but we would all love to! Everyone says they are like all corys, but I think they are much harder to keep and much more touchy.

Yeah, I will use the water from parent's tank for water change for fry tank. And tap the parents tank with new cooler water. And I know that would encourage them to make more eggs. So when I need replacement for the fry tank more often, it tend to get eggs more often. Of course, I have to feed them more and often but it is ok since I do change water more often.

I'm in the middle of moving fish around and going to move my monster snail out and into another tank and properly set up the pandas for breeding. The only trouble is they have done something wicked with our water which is causing deaths every time I do a tank change, so I have only been doing them on an emergancy bases until it all sorts itself out.

And about the culling the other fish frys. I don't know it is such a good idea. The weak or deformed maybe but I would not leave the sick or diseased. You don't want your Corys to get sick by eating those. So I think you should remove any fish that are sick.
Yeah I do not like culling the fish either but sometime you have to do. Especially if you breed the fish that already bred to create the color and finnage.,etc. That means they tend to be bred to closely related fish to establish the color or whatever the characteristic they try to establish. And they tend to have shrunk their gene pool and carry the same undesirable characteristic also.

Yeah, I take any sick looking fish out and put them in the hospital tank, don't want anything spreading around. I think with my endlers I cull maybe 1 out of 100 or so, they seem to be quite healthy.

Anyway, I am also thinking about either get their 2nd tank or move them to bigger tank. I start with 5 adults in 10G but now I have 15 in there. Although I have 2 filters in there and at least twice weekly water change of 50% it is getting crowded. Not all reached to adults yet but I am pretty sure they all growing even the first 5 I had.

And you are right about the frys which self reared. They are the survivors who managed to find the food where we did not intentionally fed the small food for them. So they are the strong fish. But we also know that more fish means less food and less chance to tiny frys to survive. So adding more hiding spots and offering small food like micro or walter worms and infusioa or green water would helpful. After I put more small stones and driftwood to create some small space where only the small frys can hide and I start to see more tiny Panda after month later. I already have tons of Java Moss but it seems some hard objects on the bottom that create some small space seem help the missed eggs. And I always miss some eggs when I harvest them. Some are sneaky and good at hiding.

hehe I have 10 in a 20g at the moment. Once the tap water crisis is over they are getting moved downstairs into a display tank and will set it up with lots of hides and caves and just let them sort themselves out and scoop out the bigger fry and sell them on that way. If I can ever bring my self to sell any of my pandas LOL!!

Great story

It says a lot about the great condition your tank is in for the fry to survive like that with no help from you. Well done

yeah lol! Its well under stocked at the moment, but they have survived a lot, they are star fish lol. I wouldn't say the tank was top condition, as I have lost a few endlers from it, but the little pandas seem to be thriving where the other fish are failing. Its strange. Thanks though! LOL!

 

[jollysue]

My LPS sells water. You know specialty water for salt water tanks, but it might help with the water changes a little.

 

[saphphx]

My LPS sells water. You know specialty water for salt water tanks, but it might help with the water changes a little.

its £1 a gallon. Cheaper to go to Tesco and get big bottles of water for it lol

 

[jollysue]

How about filling buckets with tap water from friend or family?

Bottled water is not recommended for aquariums, although a few changes wouldn't hurt.

 

[saphphx]

its happening with friends across town. I guess it would be an hours trip to my mother-in-laws with big bottles.