How long do I keep the babies seperated?

Mindy · Post by **Mindy** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 9:03 am

My babies are getting close to a month old and appear to be eating solid foods. Due to dad abandoning the cave, I have raised them in a separate breeder trap, inside the tank.

My question is, how long do the babies have to stay in the breeder before letting them out into the tank? They're still small, around the 1/2" mark, but eating solid foods.

Do I need to keep them separated until they're big enough to eat normal foods (like brine shrimp, etc)? Or is there any practical advice for when to release them to the tank?

Any help is appreciated.

hamish99 · Post by **hamish99** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 9:58 am

i had a few choke on bloodworm and brine shrimp after being let back out in the main tank so now i keep them in a 2ft tank of their own, i do a 20% water change every 2 days, i haven't lost any fry since

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 12:25 pm

Hi Mindy

Glad to her they are still doing well.

Dependant on how confident you are with the floor of your tank, (and If I remember correctly it shoudl be just fine), there is no reason why you can't release then in the next week or so.

Be prepared however to not see them for a good few months!!

As this is your first release, I would suggest releasing just one initally. keep an eye on the tank to make sure he doesn't appear, dare isay..."demised"

. I doubt this will be an issue, but it is better safe than sorry.

Alternatively as Hamish rightly suggests, another tank made up of the exiting tankwater and seeded filter would do the job just fine. This also ensures that you can monitor the amount of food given to them.

rob (looking forward to receiving an article!!

)

Mindy · Post by **Mindy** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:51 pm

Well... I am about to set up another tank, but it wasn't meant to be another Zeb Only tank... It's going to be the same size as the Zeb tank, but I have other plans for it.

I am happy to leave the babies where they are in the breeder for now because I know they are getting plenty of food, they have good water circulation and I can control what they are fed (i.e. like the microworms I'm using at the moment). When they are much bigger and I'm happy to feed them along with the others, if I don't have a dedicated tank by then, then they will go in the main tank with the grown ups. I just don't want a situation where I'm afraid to feed the adults because of the babies...

Rob... I have next week off work. I will try to write my article then!

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 2:17 pm

good plan