Blue Acara Fry Keep Getting Eaten By There Parents

[carloss76]

Please help blue acara fry keep getting eaten by there parents. Any info in how to stop them from eating the fry. Thanks

 

[Ludwig Venter]

LOL... this takes me back 45 years..... when I bred my first Blue Acara... all available literature at the time still proclaimed even Blue Acara as.... "Not yet bred in captivity".... lol... I sent an account of the breeding procedure to the TFH Magazine .... hoping that the fish species would be named after me, but.... lol.... was never even publicized.... Well... Cichlids are very unpredictable... and each "Couple" responds differently to caring for and rearing their fry....
 
My rule of thumb is.... that if the fry gets eaten 3 times under ideal conditions... (meaning no disturbance during hatching and rearing) ....  Remove the eggs and artificially hatch them with Methylene blue and aeration in the water....
 
You have a naturally nervous parent pair..... This has the advantage of more frequent broods.... (once a week)... as opposed to once per month..... although the survival rates decline somewhat, but worth the effort.....so.... that is what I will suggest in your situation... remove the eggs to a hatching tank... (below water level in a container)... and... add about 12% solution of Methylene Blue to the water... (obtained from your local pharmacy).... with an air-stone at a trickle about an inch from the eggs.....
 
Feed the fry infusoria before even hatching...( Liquifry no.2)  and then straight onto live brine shrimp.... (or fry flakes for live-bearers) .... when they get free swimming in about 4 to 5 days...