[Harbrook]

Hi, hope you all can help...
I have seen maingano fry swimming around in my tank, they are about 1cm now, and are hiding and eating well.

My tank is 30 gallons and 3.5 ft long. In it (not including the fry), are a group of 5 maingano and 4 yellow labs, the maingano are 2-3" and the labs 3". In the tank, is plenty of Holey and Lava rock, making good hiding space for them.

I really want the fry to survive,, and i dont know wether to leave them to there own defences, or the rip the tank apart so i can net them, and set up a small birth tank..,
please help, these are the first fry i have ever had, and im clueless!

Thanks
Darren

 

[gbleeker]

I wouldn't think you would really be able to catch them at all. I'd let them see who survives- your fish can always have more.

If in the future they do have more, catch the holding females before they spit (about 2.5 to 3 weeks after they start holding) and strip the babies from the mom into another small fry tank (10 gallon works well).

 

[Hoosier Tank]

Or if stripping fish scares you like it does me, catch the holding female, put in the 10g and let her go full term. When she spits feed her for a couple days to regain her strength and then return her to the main tank.

 

[eagl97]

Just leave them be, trying to rip the tank apart and catch them may cause to much stress on them and kill them any ways. I had Kenyi fry and just took my tank apart to clean it and they got stressed and died.

 

[Linka]

I would leave them in there as well. I had 5 Acei`s that survived in my 142 g amongst alot of fish so I think that if they manage to survive this far they will most likely survive longer.

Good luck with ur fry.

Linka