Hi, my goldies had babies and three of them are still alive. They are one month old now but I don't think they have grown a lot. How big should they be at this age? Mom's a shubunkin and the father(s) are a common and a shubunkin. I feed them three, four times a day with Wardley Small Fry and frozen brine shrimp. Is that to often though they doesn't seem hungry? Later I can see them swimming at the bottom of the fry net and it looks like they eat a little of what has fallen down. It's so hard to know if they eat enough, if they know what is food and how I know if their hungry. Can I "teach" them or are they too young?
My big fishies almost jump out of the tank when I feed them, but the little ones doesn't even bother to look at the food.

TheOldHag

Oh, I guess they are eating enough... when I looked in my fry net I discovered two newly hatched fry... I don't know how they got inside, but my goldies were spawning again a couple of days ago. In some way they managed to get inside the net, so I have to keep them. They are so small, so my "old" fry really have grown...!
I'm from Sweden and I apologize if my english isn't correct!

I think your english is very good. I'm new at taking care of fry as well. I started feeding mine today because they were swimming around instead of staying to the side of the container. I honestly could not tell if they were eating or not. I don't think you will have to teach them, I'm sure instict and their love for food takes care of that. I guess we are so used to seeing the big ones gobble up that food and the babies are so tiny it's hard to tell.

I'm glad to hear your babies are doing well. I couldn't get any frozen brine shrimp around here but I was able to get the Hikari First Bites so that's what I'm feeding mine. I'll have to go back and re-read the thread but I think I read that we need to feed them 4 or 5 times a day.

Thank you. The fry are still doing well, I now have three big ones and three that just started to swim! They are doing alright together, the small ones swims away when a big one comes to close! I hope they'll all survive. It's amazing just to sit and watch them... !!!

Because frys are clear,you could actually see food inside of them if you look closely at their belly

Amazing. I think I need a magnifying glass in order to see that. Mine are so tiny right now but this morning I actually saw one eat. This is really fun.

I look at my fry everyday with a magnifying glass. I can now see them open their tiny mouths and take a piece of food...I can see all their fins, ooh yes this is fantastic, to see these little creatures live and grow...

OldHag

It is a joy to be able to see them grow day by day

Good Luck with your babies!!!

Cool! I got eggs this morning and I piced them out into a separate container. I don't know which ones are fertilied. I've got around 50 eggs or so. I hope they all live. How long should i wait till they hatch? Then what should i do after? I'm totally a newbie.

The mother is a fantail and the FATHERS are a red cap oranda and a pearlscale.

For me, it took only 2-3 days before the egg hatched. Then about 3-4 days before the fry were free swimming and I had to feed them. I bought something called Wardley Small Fry liquid food and gave them one drop four or five times a day. Then I found frozen brine shrimp and they have it once a day. My fry has also two fathers, I'm so curious to see how they look when they grow.

Oh ok. Am really scared because they just sink to the bottom after wiggling a bit. Am afraid that some would die. Some hatched before the others. Hope they'd all survive. Is this normal when they just sink to the bottom and lye there for hours without moving at all?

Yes, it took my fry 3-4 days before they were free swimming. They lay at the bottom or hang at the sides in the beginning of their lives!

You say you have your newly hatched fry in with your 1 month old fry? I would think the larger fry would eat the smaller ones. I know this happened with betta fry. I would seperate them.

My fry hatched a month ago yesterday. They vary is size some being about this long: --------- and some only ------- They have started to look like goldies, but I see no color or anything yet.

Good luck!

Yes, I was afraid of that in the beginning, so I have watched them closely. I have one small fry left, (because the other got stuck in the corner of the net when I was cleaning the tank), and it seems that the small one swims away, very quickly, when a big one comes to close!
I bought a new magnifier and watch the fry very close, and I can see differences in their color! They have small dots so I think they all are small shubunkins. One of them has black eyes, like mom, and are much lighter, just like the mum. I think she (he) will be a little copy of mom!

It was a tragic story of those fry, they got sqeezed under that plastic construction that holds the net. They were hiding when I was siphoning the gravel in the tank, and by the time I got them out they were dead.
If I ever raise fry again I'll change the net so there wont be a death trap. My older fry are too big to get stuck, so they'll be okay, but I have no other place to keep them, until they are big enough to join their parents.
Have anyone used such a net? What are your experiences?The name of the net is Marina, I don't know where it's made.

we live and learn. its okay. sorry for your loss though!

Aww..so sorry you lost some of your frys I know exactly how you feel coz I lost lots of mine too.How many do you have left?I hope you feel better soon.

I have three fry that are about 6 weeks, and the little one is almost two weeks. They seems to get along just fine, and the little one grows so fast! I know because I saw some newly hatched today... my fish are producing all the time. But I can't keep any more fry...

I know the feeling.I had to separate the males and females just to stop them from spawning
I hope your frys grow to be healthy goldies Good Luck with them.
How big are they now?

Mom is a shubunkin, very light colored with black eyes, and the father(s) are a calico shubunkin and a common with red cap.

Sorry i reread your post and found out what the parents were and edited my post

That's OK. My fry are about that size (---------) Not so very big but I use a magnifier to watch them. I never knew it was this fun to have goldfish! I'm totally addicted! My husband made a pond this summer and suggested that we should have som fish in it. And thats how it started!

Old Hag

I'm totally addicted to them too I got them for my 7 year old daughter and now they're mine
I've attached a picture of my fry when they were 6 weeks old.Oh they are soooooo cute

I'm sorry to hear about what happend to your fry. What kind of net is it and why do you need to put a net? I have my fry in a small 2 gal tub as of now which is easier to keep. I'l place them in a 15gal tub in around a couple of weeks when they get bigger. Am so happy! just bought fry food for them. Those powderized fry food. the brand is Sera. Anyone tried this?

I have them in a fry net with plastic frames in the big tank so the parents should not eat them. I have no room for another tank, so I'll put them in the big tank when they are big enough.

Old Hag

I have to work now, but I just want to say that I love to be here with the people who knows what I'm talking about! My husband didn't realize what he did when he dug a pond and made a tank for the fish. He thinks I've become totally crazy about the fish. When I speak to them he always says Fish can't answer! But they do, they are happy! And those fry! Oh I'm at work now, but I just wanna go home to look at the fry...

Well I feed the fry three times a day with frozen brine shrimp and powderized food, and I clean every day, remove uneaten food. Sometimes there is much leftovers, sometimes it's not, but I suppose they eat as much as they want, there's nothing more to do. They don't grow fast, but they seems to be healthy.
I have't named them yet, though. My female shubunkins, the mother, name is Gullet (Cutie) because she has a turned-up nose and big black eyes. The calico shubunkin is called Buse (Rascal) and the common red cap is named Brain...

Old Hag

I have been told that feeding live food is good to promote their growth I have started feeding mine with live tubifex worms.But it kinda grossed me out when I saw worms coming out of their gills Maybe you should try it

I couldn't find any live tubifex worms here, just freeze dried like my brine shrimp. That is no difference, is it? Well, I'll look for it.

OldHag

It's okay if you can't find any It was just a suggestion My frys did well with frozen brine shrimp but I wanted to try a variety of foods and compare which food is better for promoting growth

Yes of course it's good to vary the fish food, but I'm so unsure. I think it's difficult to know, 'cause there is so much! When I bought my big fishies, they are pond fish from the beginning, I got a box with food and they said this is the best for them. I'ts a kind of pellets, red, yellow and green.They have some peas too everyday and they love it. But when I tried to feed them brine shrimp they got scared and hid under the root. Where I bought my fish they say: Goldfish are vegetarian and don't eat shrimp. So it's difficult. How do I know I give my fish the most nutricious food?

Old Hag

Maybe you should try and check the GOLDFISH FOOD section on this board.There's a lot of info about goldfish food and some great gel food recipes that are nutritious for your fish

Ok, I'll do that! How old are your fry now? The picture was great!
I gave my fry peas yesterday and they ate the smallest pieces. They have grown! They have big bellies!

OldHag

Thanks I love taking pictures of them.
They are almost 10 weeks now and have grown a lot They haven't got any color though.They are still goldish.
Hope you could post pics of your frys I would love to see them.

I've taken a lot of pictures now, maybe next week I'll have them developed. Hopefully at least one of them is good... As I don't have a digital camera I use Photo CD or scanner. You all here seems so good at photographing! All your pictures are wonderful. How do you make it?
Three of my fry are dark on the back (small black spots) and have red bellies, and the fourth is clear with black eyes. It's so exciting to see what will become of them. They seems to be happy and healthy!

Old Hag

It's great to hear that your frys are doing good Can't wait to see the pics.
As for photographing,I'm not that good with taking pictures so I just take a lot of shots and out of those,pick the ones that are good

Yes, thats exactly how I'm doing right now! I'm practising! Next Friday I'll have my new pictures. You can see an example of my photography skills in my signature. I've edited the picture of my fish a hundred times before I could show it for anyone. The trouble is the light, either to dark or just to light and blurry... if I use the flash it's only reflections...
I' like to now, shall I use swedish or english name on my fish? Brain is an english name but the other two? What do you prefer here on Kokos?
From the left in my signature is Buse (Rascal), Gullet (Cutie) and Brain.
I haven't named my fry yet because I don' know which one I' gonna keep.

Old Hag

All my fish were named by my daughter and they all have japanese names.You can name them in whatever language you prefer in my opinion Good Luck!!

I still have two fry left... the big one and a small pale one. They are the same age and they were the same size from the beginning. There must be something wrong with the small one, isn't it so? It moves and eats so I don't know why it isn't growing. I'll just wait and see. I wonder if the big fry, Maxi, killed the other two (because he wanted more space?) and if he will take this one too...
What is your experiences about different fry sizes and big fry eating smaller ones... ?

Hi there!Sorry you lost another fry.I hope the other two left survive and live happy long lives
Well,about size difference,it would be better to separate the bigger frys from the smaller ones because the big ones will eat the small ones.I had a similar experience.3 of my frys ended up having torn fins and one missing half of it's dorsal fin.Some small ones disappearing without a trace I'm pretty sure they got eaten.
Good luck with your babies.I hope they do survive.I'll keep my fingers crossed for you

It happened again. My big fry maxi scared me. When I came in he was laying on his side on the bottom! When he saw me he got up quick as a lightning and started to swim like nothing happened. Is maxi the strangest fish on earth? Could he be sleeping laying on his side on the bottom... ?
Is that even possible...
Or could it be something else...

Confused OldHag

I'm sorry but I don't know Maybe you should start a new thread about this problem so that other people with more knowledge about frys can help.I'm sorry I'm not much help,I'm sure someone can clear this out for you.Good Luck.

Maxi's been doing good lately, start acting like a grown fish. He shows great interest in food and swims up and starts to eat at once, when I feed him. I feed and clean, feed and clean and wait for him to grow up! I was a little worried that he would feel alone in his fry net. But so far he seems to be doing OK, and I'm happy. I wish I could take a picture that shows his color, black and silverbelly, but thats difficult when he's in the fry cage and I don't want to stress him and take him up. So I'll just wait!

OldHag

When should a fry/young fish be able to eat grownup pellets? I'm afraid to let Maxi move to the big tank because of his hungry parents. If they do not take him for lunch then they probably eat all food and there'll be nothing left for him. How big should he be before he moves out, anyone knows? He is only two months now.

OldHag

Anyone knows? Are my thread too long?

OldHag

Hi Anette
Remember those tiny pellets I got from a breeder?I started feeding those to my frys and they seem to like it I give 2 pellets for the big ones and 1 for the smaller ones.I don't know if it will be okay to put Maxi with his parents because he's still small...most likely he'll end up as food so maybe it'll be better to leave him where he is until he gets a lot more bigger.Just my opinion though

Thanks! Yes I think too that he must stay a while in the fry cage, though I'm afraid that he feels alone and bored there .
He must grow otherwise he won't be able to compete with his hungry parents. They will take all food and leave him nothing.
He eats and poops good.(I think he grows a little everyday!)He acts like a real goldfish now and eats everything I give him .

You can only join them with the bigger fish when you are absolutely sure that they won't fit into the mouth of the bigger fish. i'd say around 6 months.

You have to change the water regularly even if you have a filter. I change the water in my tanks every two days. And feed them live brine shrimp. They're 2 months old now and still have 60 fry from the 150 that i originally had.

Does anyone know how much food a fry of 2 months should have? I feed Maxi two (three on weekends) times a day (small meals!), and he eats everything I give him. Crushed peas, goldfish flakes, pellets or freeze dried brine shrimp, he seems to like it all!
I clean up after him once a day but I'm always afraid that there should be bacteria in the water! (I test it often, of course)
Maybe I worry to much :crp

Isn't it all the same with the first "babies", human or fish wise - we worry and worry!
It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job, OldHag, and I would continue on this path. 2-3 meals a day are perfectly fine for a little guy like that. I always remember what a breeder said whose family breeds goldfish in Thailand - he lets them eat and eat and eat, all day long. Although its a different food, not pellets, flakes or anything like that. Its either live food, or a thick homemade paste, similar to the gelfood we are making. That paste food gets plopped into the fry ponds in one piece, and over the course of the day fish nibble it down to nothing.
Smaller, more frequent meals are definetely better than one huge meal a day....