so far everyone is great .I have 7 that is my final count ...I still have them in a large bucket that 10g looks wwwwaaaay to big yet.I have a question on culling since I may have to do it at some point when culling small fry how is it done ?..

I would suggest that you simply wait. You only have 7.

Culling is done by selecting the fish that you do not want and euthanizing them. The easiest method is an overdose of clove oil. I put them in a 1 litere beaker and add in a bit of water that has clove oil shaken into it.

Unless there is a fry with a VERY obvious problem such as a curved back that looks like an "S" or something, you do not need to cull at this time. There is plenty of time to make decisions when they start to grow and you can see them better.

If you are not looking specifically for a "show" fish or a fish with a specific body conformation, all you want is a healthy fish. That is something time will tell.

Many fry go through a " dangerous time" at about 5 weeks, 8 weeks and 10-12 weeks of age when many seem to outgrow their bodies ability to "live" and they die - without warning or anything you can do. Simply waiting until you get them past the first couple of dangerous times is a good idea, too.

thank goodness !! I have no obviouse deformed fish thats for sure ...they are simply for companionship .. thanks for the info on the weeks to simply watch out for. I always have my head in the bucket ..some of them even swim up when they see me if they can see ....some of them try and hide I have a hard time seeing if they are eating ..everything is sooo small..they seem to swim in the cloud of brine so assume they are . thanks daryl

Well, if you look like the pic in your avatar, I'm not surprised that some try and hide. That's one giant eyeball you have there!

I hope they'll all grow and be wonderful company for you!! Now... where are the pictures??? A picture of you with your head in the bucket might be funny...

Good luck with the li'l guys!!!! We're all rooting for them!! AND for you!!

Debbie

LOL yep thats me !!!only modified ..I am hopfully getting batteries this weekend for the camera as my husband burned them out taking pics of the bike he just built It is the kids b-day parties this weekend so I need the batteries and my hubby has to down load photo explosion again since he cleared ou t the hard drive and forgot to put it back on sooo I'm hoping by the end of the weekend !!!!I know....i can almost feel the koko stick!!!!!

Yes we want pics!
It's difficult to take pics of very young fry though , how old are yours?

last friday my first one hatched and the rest on saturday ..so around 3 days old .....my camera couldn't take a picture of a whale !!! we'll see how it does for fry

I had to cull one today ...I knew somthing was up because he would always sit at the bottom weird ..at first I thought he had only one eye but then realized it was the way he sat and swam so I have been keeping my eye on him and he wasn't growing like the others and was swimming in constant circles so I decided it was better to do it now then later before it got harder ..so I gave him a name tiny tim . so R.I.P tiny tim and I hope you make it to the big fish pond in heaven...

I am sorry. You can comfort youself a bit, knowing that the little fish was simply never "made right". He would not have lived long -but it would have been a lousy life. You saved him from slowly starving or something else worse.

thanks daryl ..I knew today for sure he wouldn't thrive . I do take comfort knowing I saved him from a slow death ..but the other little guys are growing fast I'm not sure what amazes me more how small they are or the rate they grow

Sorry you had to put one down, but it was definatly the right thing to do.

On a happier note, can't wait to see pics, I'd love to have some fry to watch them grow

Oh Sweety, I'm sorry that you had to do that. Tiny Tim - what a perfect name.
You did the right thing, but I'm sure it was hard. He's in the Heavenly Waters, I'm sure.
Maybe you can name one of them Tim - in his honor?

Rest In Peace, Tiny Tim You're a perfect fish now.

Debbie

thanks guys I am sadly reporting another loss I think I scared it to death I'm not sure... I was trying to scoop them up to put them in the 10 and the little guy stiffened up and died weird unless he was on his way out I don't know so little guy go be with your brother tiny tim ......so on a lighter note they are getting big.. well they are not big but growing and it is nice to se the side veiw so I can see their fat bellies and they look more like fish this way .The bucket seemed small so I'm seeding the filter in the bucket for now and letting them have the 10g when they get a bit bigger I will put the filter on .The 10g must seem like an ocean to them