I saw something last night that reminded me of past experiences fishwatching - a mystery fry. I know what it is and where it came from, but it's still interesting. Here's the story...
I tried to breed pencilfish, Nanostomus beckfordi, a few weeks ago. After it didn't work, I left the tank sitting. Yesterday, cleaning up, I saw a small number of well fed pencils scoot out from behind the filter. Around the same time, I had a surprise spawning of Microctenopoma congigum, an African "gourami". They gave me about 300 fry, but they were so tiny I didn't have food ready for them. I thought I had lost the lot.
I kept putting food into the tank, just in case, as it has a lot of plants for fry to hide in. Last week, I gave up. Yesterday, 10 or so fish put on a protest, gathering at the glass as chunky miniature versions of their parents, demanding better rations. They'd clearly been doing pretty well on micro-organisms in the weeds. Today, they're swimming all over the tank, relaxed and visible.
A lot of fry vanish within a few days of freeswimming. It makes sense - it's an incredibly vulnerable time. I have a couple of killies that have been going in natural set ups for over 10 years, and yet I never see babies. They show up as one cm juveniles. You can move plants and mops, and you don't see fry. But fry are there. It's like a lot of bird species where we rarely see the young, even after they can fly. I've had fry show up after their gap month from pencils, tetras, livebearers, killies, barbs, blue eyes - from small egg layers in general. So if you think your fish have bred and you have them in single species or breeding tanks, don't give up too soon.
I tried to breed pencilfish, Nanostomus beckfordi, a few weeks ago. After it didn't work, I left the tank sitting. Yesterday, cleaning up, I saw a small number of well fed pencils scoot out from behind the filter. Around the same time, I had a surprise spawning of Microctenopoma congigum, an African "gourami". They gave me about 300 fry, but they were so tiny I didn't have food ready for them. I thought I had lost the lot.
I kept putting food into the tank, just in case, as it has a lot of plants for fry to hide in. Last week, I gave up. Yesterday, 10 or so fish put on a protest, gathering at the glass as chunky miniature versions of their parents, demanding better rations. They'd clearly been doing pretty well on micro-organisms in the weeds. Today, they're swimming all over the tank, relaxed and visible.
A lot of fry vanish within a few days of freeswimming. It makes sense - it's an incredibly vulnerable time. I have a couple of killies that have been going in natural set ups for over 10 years, and yet I never see babies. They show up as one cm juveniles. You can move plants and mops, and you don't see fry. But fry are there. It's like a lot of bird species where we rarely see the young, even after they can fly. I've had fry show up after their gap month from pencils, tetras, livebearers, killies, barbs, blue eyes - from small egg layers in general. So if you think your fish have bred and you have them in single species or breeding tanks, don't give up too soon.
