circling fry

[fishgeek]

i have large spawn of ram fry
pleasingly surprised by how well the parents are caring fro them

i was wondering if anyone knows of a reason for circling fry and poor bouyancy
the parents have managed to keep the little fella with the gropu for 3 days though he is obviously not feeding well and approx half the size of the rest of a 3 week old spawn

is this what is meant by bent tails as a birth defect?

andrew

 

[Cathy G]

From what I understand they are prone to this defect - something wrong with their swim bladders. I have a couple like this too, they will grow, but not as well. I didn't have the heart to cull them, so they are still scooting along the bottom of the tank. (Won't sell them/spawn them of course).
Cathy

 

[Mike Wise]

Those are the type of fish that I give to Muggsy, my 10"/25 cm electric catfish. Anyone who seriously plans to breed fish needs some way to quickly dispose of such fry or they could eventually overwealm your extra tanks. It may seem cruel but it is the same as happens to most even healthy dwarf cichlids in the wild.

 

[Cathy G]

I doesn't seem cruel and if I had bunches it would quickly turn into a problem. But, I just have 1 left now. It is I suppose to be expected, but these seem to be the fish that will die easily, like when I moved them into a bigger tank and had to net the young fry. Or, when I was too vigorous cleaning the tanks, etc.

I don't have a problem with culling, in nature there are forces at work which insure the survival of the fittest. We have to be those forces in our tanks...

To tell the truth, I am interested in watching the one I have left and the way the others treat it. They don't 'go after' it at all, and make room for it to feed, etc. These are Bolivians and they seem to really be a more kinder gentler cichlid. They are much more tolerant of this little runt than I would ever have expected.

Cathy

 

[Cathy G]

Ok, no sooner did I mention this little runt, than he decides he can swim afterall. Though he is much smaller, and has been a belly whomper all his life - I could be mistaken here, he is swimming today. I won't be breeding/selling him or anything, but I wonder if he recovered from some illness/stress. I do keep the water is very good condition. Hmm, this would imply that it is not necessarily a birth defect.

Cathy

 

[Cathy G]

Nevermind the last one, he's back on his belly.
Cathy