Feeding Goldfish Fry

[RandomWiktor]

Ack! My common goldies have taken to spawning like mad on nearly a weekly basis! I've been suctioning eggs out of everywhere like a mad-woman, but a few have hatched and managed to not get eaten for a week, so my mom wants me to raise a few for a pond we might be putting in to our back yard next spring. They seemed to be living off of scraps from their parents' leftovers before moving to the net, but I'm guessing that they won't be getting anything like that in the fry net. I have Hikari First Bites, ground up guppy micropellets, and finely ground, freeze-dried daphnia. Can they eat these, or should I be hatching brine shrimp? They've only been in the net a day and seem to be picking at the FirstBites, but I honestly don't know much about goldfish spawning and would hate to give these guys a rough start just because my mom is sentimental and wants to see some baby fish grow up If it was up to me, I'd let the parents just eat 'em all; who knows if they'll have deformities since they're coming from feeder stock!

 

[black angel]

Well, I assume they will eat anything thats small enough but if you can get them to eat a more natural diet such as the bbs and daphnia and such then its obviously better for them. I imagine though they will take anything thats small enough and maybe specially prepared for baby fish.
The problem is the amount of room they need to grow healthily. Can you get them into their own tank?

 

[RandomWiktor]

Oh yeah, once they're a little bigger they're going in a 30g - they're in the net because I need to cycle it. I thought having them in cycled, high-oxygen, clean water for now would be more important that immediately having their own space, since it would mean compromising water quality. Depending on how fast they grow from there, they'll either stay in the 30g and go right to the pond this spring, or if need be, I'll use a 50g tub. I only have 3, and so even if they all were to survive (which I doubt since I'm so inexperienced), I could swing enough space to last till spring.
Bought some brine shrimp eggs and have them in a warm aerated tank for hatching. Thanks for help ^^

 

[PlecMama]

Oh good grief RW, I am constantly appauled at the lack of knowledge I seem to possess about who is who on here.
I thought you were a 40ish year old man until you said 'mad-woman' then I had a reality check and visited your profile and you're a 20 year old girl! I really must get with the program.

Anyway, I have nothing to add about goldfish, I just had a shock and wanted to apologise for thinking you were a bloke. Sorry.

 

[RandomWiktor]

::laughs::
Actually, a surprising number of people mistake me for an older male - its very odd. I must give off creepy old man vibes or something No problem at all ^^

And black angel, thanks for the help ^^ The little dudes LOVE the baby brine shrimp. They're also continuing to eat the Hikari FirstBites, which seem to be the perfect size for them. You can really see the difference between the three in the net and the few stragglers still surviving outside of it. Good nutrition works wonders.

Also... how often do goldfish breed? I ask because they've spawned again, and I spent all morning trying to suction out the numerous fertile, developing eggs that were scattered throughout the tank. A few allready hatched, though the parents are doing a good job of eating them. Should I be supplimenting the adults or something, since it must take a fair amount of energy on their part to continually produce so many eggs? Their diet is a mix of three high-quality Koi foods (Hikari, Satori, and Mazuri), and plenty of fresh leafy greens and veggies, with the occasional bit of orange or cube of bloodworms here and there. Should they get extra protien or something, or will munching all these babies be good enough?

Bah. I feel so ignorant; usually I know my stuff with fish, but I've never had fish breeding before - it was all quite accidental. Who would have thought I'd end up with one male and one female? Well, I guess there was a 50/50 chance...

 

[diburning]

Oh yeah, once they're a little bigger they're going in a 30g - they're in the net because I need to cycle it. I thought having them in cycled, high-oxygen, clean water for now would be more important that immediately having their own space, since it would mean compromising water quality. Depending on how fast they grow from there, they'll either stay in the 30g and go right to the pond this spring, or if need be, I'll use a 50g tub. I only have 3, and so even if they all were to survive (which I doubt since I'm so inexperienced), I could swing enough space to last till spring.
Bought some brine shrimp eggs and have them in a warm aerated tank for hatching. Thanks for help ^^

toss in a goldfish or two... it will be cycled in no time

 

[RandomWiktor]

Thanks, but no thanks; I don't support subjecting fish to the dangers of a cycle - I only do fishless. Besides, I have more than enough fish right now without buying a few feeders to cycle with!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

TetraFin Gold Growth is a very good fish food brand designed for goldfish fry, it comes in tiny pelets which sink slowly, making it ideal for small goldfish fry to catch and eat- as the name suggests, its also a good food for incouraging good strong growth in goldfish fry (as well as adult fish).
There are many other types of goldfish food by TetraFin for all sorts of goldfish, its great stuff !