Wits end!!

[Princess x]

On thurs 21 may my sterbai spawned, had in region of 100 eggs, lost a fair few to fungus, left with roughly 70 you know how hard it is to count wrigglers, hatching went well (sun)and seemed to be thriving however the last two days they have been dropping like flies literally,

they were in a small floating tub with an airstone, food was given (instant baby brine shrimp and liquifry no 3)
given with a dab of my little finger 3 times a day, waterchange of 75% each time before feeding.

in a bid to remedy the situation i moved them to a much bigger tub and added a fine scattering of sand on the bottom (washed thoroughly beforehand)
i decided that it may be best given the numbers to move them to their own grow on tank, with the added benefit of an air driven filter? temp is a constant 26c again fine scattering of sand, they are still dying

can anyone pinpoint what i'm doing wrong??

 

[N2Biomes]

Congrats on the spawn, and regrets at the fry die-off

75% WC is very large. Fry are very sensitive to changing water conditions, so try changing less volume at one time. Another thought is to thin them out, making 2 or oven 3 smaller groupings of the fry. How strong is the aeration? It should be enough to move the water around, but not strong enough to whip the fry around.

Are the fry free-swimming yet? Usually you don't begin feeding until they are free-swimming and the egg sack is almost used up. Feed them just enough to be eaten in a reasonable time. I suggest staying with the BBS, I found that liquifry formulations foul the water way too much and have shied away from them.

Do you have any microworms? I feed my cory fry microworms. They are small enough for the fry to consume, and will stay alive for quite some time, on the order of a day or more, so they don't foul the water and are a constant source of food for the fry.

Have you added any Java moss to their containers? Not only does it give refuge from the aeration currents, there are infusoria on the moss strands that the fry can eat. For a clean-up crew, add either one or two mature pond snails or a small filterfeeding shrimp such as a Cherry Red. Neither of these will eat the fry, and do a good job cleaning up left overs. Snails output gives infusoria food, and their poo is easy to vacuum up.

I hope you are able to keep some fry alive - Sterbai's are one of my favorite corys! Now that your adults are spawning, they should continue to spawn, so stay positive. You'll get the hang of raising corys in no time!

HTH!

 

[Princess x]

they are a week old today, no i don't have any microworm i hoped the cheating with instant baby brine shrimp would suffice, :wb:
air filter is not blowing them around just enough to airiate the surface and keep water moving around.
thank you for the added info regarding adding shrimp and java moss i have added a small group of crystal's one i keep an eye on their breeding habits better, and if they help i'm all for that. :thumbup:
i also took a coco bridge that was covered in java moss out of their tank so that covers that too thank you! might raid more loose floating java moss.

keeping the fry alive i do hope so.

Thank you so much it has helped :hug:

 

[Doodles]

Good luck:yes:

 

[Bubbles]

Good luck Princess x and congrats on the spawn, you will have to get some pics up of your little wriggers : D

 

[scottie73]

hey u...its always the hardest time...keeping them going for the first few weeks!!if you want some microworm culture let me know..ive just cultured another big tub which has taken really well (added some yeast as you suggested to me other day.. )

 

[Princess x]

Thank you for all your comments :hug:
Bubbles i do have pics of the early days, but i fear i only have two sighted wriggler's left

Scottie very kind offer however i don't feel these will last the evening

I am deeply saddened not only for the large quantity of fry lost but for whom i was entrusted by with them :wb: you know who you are

 

[Bubbles]

Thank you for all your comments :hug:
Bubbles i do have pics of the early days, but i fear i only have two sighted wriggler's left

I am so sorry for your losses, but dont give up yet ok, you still have the two sighted wrigglers and you never know those lil guys made it this far.

I will keep my fingers crossed :hug:

I am so sorry i cant give you any constructive help or advice but my best wishes are with you and your wrigglers.

 

[scottie73]

sorry to hear that A..but its the first time,so dont be too disheartened...i have lost a fair few too...i just learn from my mistakes...next time you will be over run by them...

 

[scatz]

sorry that you didn't have more success, hopefully you'll have better luck with the next lot

 

[Irene0100]

sorry to hear thet, raising fry is a big learning curve!.
I agree with the advice given, water quality is so vital to get right.
Also have some sand from adults tank, rather than new sand out of a bag. old sand will have micro organisms on them that help the fry.
Also I use golden apple snails as they are supposed to produce insuforia which help feed tiny fry.
I am sure the adults will breed again soon.

 

[Doodles]

Thats sad, good luck for next time.

 

[Princess x]

Thank's all i have a clearer picture of what will be best now and i'm sure i will have better success next time :hug:

Scottie i will take you up on your offer as soon as they spawn again :yes: