GSM fry dying at feeding time

david335

New member
I need some help. I have about 200 GSM fry (17 days old). They tend to hang out more towards the bottom of the tank in schools. I feed them twice a day with crushed flake & NHBBS. The problem is whenever I put food down to feed them, some of them (10-15) swim really fast around the tank and turn over to their side and die. I lost about 6 to 8 fry everyday for the last 3 days. I don't know why. Can you help.
 
Is all of the food being eaten? Possible build up of waste... stress/shock of you being close when feeding?

The only time I raised fry was when goldfish of mine laid eggs on some lillies and I took them into a plastic container, then transferred them all to a fishbowl once hatches, and when I changed the water, they all died on me :(
 
I feed small amount at a time and suck all of the uneaten food off the bottom 1/2 hour later then I change 1 gallon of water. It only happens when I put the food in. Some of them will swim like crazy around the tank and just die. They now in 10gal tank w/ about 6 gal of water. I just check the water.
Amonia Alert at safe zone
Nitrate at 0
nitrite at 0
Gravity at 1.023
 
It could be the same thing that happened to my goldfish fry, they might be too young to adapt to the new water (I know it doesn't make sense but then again it does at the same time). I would make sure to not overfeed and maybe hold off on the WC for awhile, unless the water gets really bad.

Sounds like a bad thing to do (not doing WC), but I know from the past that it killed some of my fry.

Hopefully someone with a lot more knowledge will visit this and comment soon for you.
 
FWIW - I raise GSM's for 2 months in 5.5 gallong tanks without EVER doing a water change. I do not use flake food however. BBS alone from day 4-14 then I do BBS plus super small micron food particles Otohime A for another week. Then drop a sponge filter in the tank and stop the BBS.

Work well for me!

Good Luck --Kurt
 
Do they die at the momento you are feeding, when you siphon on at the water change?

If it is at feeding time It seems to me they are scared to death... Y would cover the tank laterals (so they know the will crash) and maybe put some caulerpa in it.
 
Landlord: The reason that I use flake food is that a breeder from another forum had the same problem "BBS syndrome". He fed flake food and no fish lost after that. I am also waiting for the Otohime to arrive. I feed some flake & crushed pellet this morning & only 1 dead.

JulioCC: Yes, Some swim erratically when I put the food in & die within 10-15 sec later.
 
Guess I've been lucky and never had this "BBS syndrome" Are you positive that no shells are getting into the tank when you feed them BBS. They can choke on the shells / cysts.
 
Guess I've been lucky and never had this "BBS syndrome" Are you positive that no shells are getting into the tank when you feed them BBS. They can choke on the shells / cysts.

I used decapsulated eggs. I put NHBBS in a glass jar to check for any shell before I put them in the tank. Do i have to fill my 10gal full of water or just keep 6 gal like it is now? At what age, you will fill the tank full of water. TIA
 
Here is the pic at 15 days



p5280212.jpg
 
Describe exactly how you are feeding them? Anything beyond gently placing the food at the surface and leaving is too much activity.

It sounds to me like you are scaring them. The spinning around on the bottom and then kicking over is exactly what happens when they get frightened. I see that all too often on a tank transfer.

I wouldn't be turning on lights, changing water, sticking your face up to the glass, putting a hand/baster into the water, etc.

The only other thing as described by someone else's post would be BBS egg capsules, but if they are decapsulated - then that's not the problem.

Here's exactly what I do. When feeding rots or bbs, I use a turkey baster to wash them into a 3oz cup from the strainer is used - trying to use as little rinse water as possible from my sump water. I pour the cup at water level (no splashing) in and leave. When feeding Oto A, I leave one of those floating feeding squares in the aquarium at all times and sprinkle the food into it and leave.

The other thing you do have to do is water changes. I siphon/vacuum the bottom out with a clear rigid tube (clear to not scare them). I drip in via airline tubing over several hours the replacement water - never pour in change water on the fry. I change 30% of the fry water every 3rd day using this method. I also try to time not doing a water change during meta. I skip a change right at the peak of their meta for a 6 day stretch of no water changes. My percs meta right around day 14. Around meta they are very sensitive. BTW - I only use my display water as the replacement water for my clown grow out water - new mix up water only replaces my display.

-John
 
I just put a little crushed flake food at the surface & let it disperses. For the NHBBS, I washed it & put in a small clear plastic cup w/ some water & pour into the tank. I use water from my display tank to do the water change. I change about 1 gal everyday b/c I have to clean out the bottom of the tank (uneaten flake food)
 
get a few of the dead ones out and look at them through a magnifying glass,i had the same problem and it turned out they were overeating and literally exploding,their stomach ruptures,and can be clearly seen

ive found that spiraling and swimming in circles before dying is caused by toxic shock and ammonia poisoning
 
This morning, I saw a lot of tinny white worms crawling on the front glass. I don't know how they got into the tank. Do you think that the frys eat them & cause the sudden fright syndrome? Can you tell me how to get it of them (any worm medications)? I am thinking about transferring the frys to another tank. You can look at the pic & tell me what kind of worms. It's tinny, size of the hair, & about 1/8".
Thanks



Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
Those look like what I ahve in my FW tank, the ones in FW are planaria, I'm not sure about saltwater, might be worth looking into.

ert.jpg

^The expression on that clown. Just... I lol everytime.
 
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The worms are most likely harmless nematodes feeding on organics.

What you are describing does sound like some stress response. I'd test the ammonia with a good kit to double check the ammonia alert. That's often the number one problem with dense culture, so it will pay to double check. At that size, you should be able to start feeding them some cyclop-eze as well. It will help with the nutritional aspects. Might also pay to start feeding them enriched artemia with selcon and phyto. They can easily eat 2 day old artemia, so after hatching, just grow some out for a day with the enrichment ;)
 
Another quick thought, make sure that heater isn't leaking any current. I've seen minor electrolysis from barely perceptible electrical equipment leaks cause problems with larvae.
 
I just tested with API & Salifer Amonia test kit. It is 0. I started feeding them enriched artemia with selcon and phyto since day 7. Right now, No more BBS for them b/c when I put BBS in. I will lose about 15-20 frys within 30 seconds. I am feeding some crushed flake food & I lose only several per feeding. I ordered frozen cyclop-eze & Otohime. I hope that there will be no more dead w/ the new food. I will change the new heater to see if any improvement.
 
Instead of pouring in the BBS,how about syphoning it into the tank.Mabey there is to much of a change in the water from the BBS culture and the Maroon clown culture water.Sounds to me every thing is stress related.Feed and leave is what is best.
 
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