ok so have posted this elsewhere with no feedback i stripped my 5cm maingano of her fry today and she was holding 4 fry at around 2-3mm they are strong little swimmers
i currently have them in a tea strainer over an airstone in there own little tank and my questions are when can i put them in a 2ft tank to grow them out with a sponge filter for current as this is the first time i have had cichlids breed for me so any help would be muchly appreciated also i will be feeding them on baby brine shrimp and was wondering if ground down hikari cichlid gold pellets to a dust kind of form would also be suitable

please help me with all the knowledge i need as i love this hobby (addiction) and want to expand

thanks jon

Gday Mate

If they are free swimming, off egg sack and going into a tank on their own - go nuts - let them be free

As long as there are no bigger mouths in there then they will be fine, and as you said they are strong swimers.

As for food - any fry powder, BBS or ground pellet is fine - just dont start to feed them until their egg sack has completely gone (ie the yellowy bulge under their pec fins).

When you say "own little tank" is this the 2'? If you have them in a "fry saver" for the time being, let them loose in that first as it will be easier to see if they are feeding in there than in the two footer - if you dont have a choice, then into the bigger water they go.

Other than that mate - you are away - now you just have the issue of trying to see the little buggers in their own tank! lol

Well done on the first breed

Good luck

cheers

Kadango

thanks for the advice kadango very helpful have them in their tank now and wow i cant believe how much colour they have already the fins are a beautiful neon blue and they are staring to get defiant stripes and they are only around 1cm