Caring For Baby Fish

Caring For Baby Fish

What kinds of things do you need to keep in mind when your fish have babies? How do you help them grow up to be healthy adults?
Baby fish are known as "fry". Typically healthy adult fish will breed on some sort of cycle so sooner or later you will have to care for fry to some extent. Fry are very vulnerable and few survive to grow up, although there are ways for you to maximize you success rate.

Separate tanks:
Most experts recommend moving pregnant fish into a separate tank, however usually you are unaware of your fish's maternal status. Just keep an extra tank around so that if fry appear you can evacuate them immediately. Make sure the new tank looks very similar to their destination environment and that pH levels are similar so your fry can adjust.

New home, better lighting:
A couple of factors will need to change in the fry's tank, specifically lighting. Bright lighting will encourage you fry to be active and when active they will eat more. The fry need the extra food to grow so keep a steady light on your fish.

New home, different filter:
Fry have a tendency to get caught in filters so try and under gravel or sponge filter as a precautionary measure.

New food:
Notice how your fry are born; if hatched the best food choices are artemia or infusoria. When the fish are larger ask a pet store employee what food best fits your purpose.

Weekly care:
Just like your adult tank make sure to test and check water temperature and chemistry regularly. Fry are even more susceptible to sudden changes and need a stable environment. Make sure to remove dead fish and ammonia every day. If you take good care of your fry and your adult fish you may very well have a large family of pets in no time.