Babies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

muffy350 · 07-03-2007, 10:02 AM

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to share the great news! A month or so ago I posted a question on here because my smaller green terror had turned dark, I also asked the pet store and researched it myself. One site said when they are ready to breed they change colors, but only one so we really didn't dare to hope. But last night we saw the most incredible thing! Babies everywhere!!! I have removed all other fish except mom and dad to avoid losing little ones. It is incredible to watch mom take care of the babies. She will scoop any that get too far away in her mouth and deposit them back in the group. When my husband first saw her he was like "oh no she's eating them!!" But I told him just watch and sure enough she just moved them. If I get too close to the tank she rushes at me to protect them. Anyone have any suggestions, have dealt with babies before, just let me know what worked and what didn't for you about anything, all suggestions would be appreciated. We had baby platys before but this is a whole different beast!! Here are some pics I managed to snap of the babies. Not too clear because they are so tiny.

Tommy Gun · 07-03-2007, 09:21 PM

Hey, congrats Muffy350!!! I was just watching a show about certain fish (mainly cichlids) that will spit out fry so they can swim free for a certain period of time, but then 'scoop' them all back up later. Actually, there is a good article on the same thing in this months edition of tropical fish hobbyist as well, IF I remember right that is.

While I have been able to breed some cichlids before, as well as mollies and platties, I haven't yet bred any fish in which the fry are safe being in the same tank as mom and dad so I am not sure how much I can help...if there is any difference anyways. In all of my situations, I just made sure that my filter intakes (as well as any water pumps) were protected well so they didn't suck in an unwary fry or two. Other than that, I fed often, mostly with crushed flake foods and baby brine shrimp (frozen version) until they were too large for any fishes' mouth.

So, after all of the initial excitement, do you have any plans as far as what to do with all those fry? From your photo, it looks as though there are a ton of little guys swimming around. I just read a little bit about breeding these fish on one website which states that they can have as many as 400 fry at a time!!! Out of curiousity...if you had to, how many fry do you think you have?

muffy350 · 07-04-2007, 02:27 PM

Hey thanks!! I have been watching the tank carefully and I think the babies will be fine. If you get too close to the tank mom and dad get very angry and even run into the tank to scare you away! I can't even sit on the couch near the tank without them watching me! Mom is very protective and if one gets too far away she runs after it, guess they haven't figured out there are no other fish in the tank yet. There are at least 150, maybe 200??? Hard to tell they are so small. That picture I posted is not in the least all of them. That is just all I could capture in one shot! Hopefully I can sell some to local pet stores and maybe some on evansvillecheapcycle where I live. I plan to keep at least 2 so we can raise them, I think that will be fun. Other than that, I do not have room for 100 or more Green Terrors!!!

Tommy Gun · 07-04-2007, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Other than that, I do not have room for 100 or more Green Terrors!!!

Sounds great muffy350! For the record, I dont know very many people who do have room for 100 or more green terrors so I dont think you are in the minority!