Free swimming fry

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 7.5
• PO4: 1.25
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL Flourish, 20 mL Melafix, 15 mL Excel (same yesterday), 7.5 ppm NO3, 1.2 ppm PO4
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 32.5:3.8 = 8.6

Notes:
The fry became free swimming today afternoon, about a half day slower than the last batch, probably because the tank temperatures have been cooler, about 78 degrees. I fed them once in the late afternoon, after most of them became free swimming.


I thought the cage vent slits would be small enough to prevent the fry from slipping out, but they still managed to wiggle out. I used the plastic dividers that came with the cage to partially block the vents, and I wrapped the cage in a freezer bag to prevent the adult angelfish from sucking the fry out. The male was very attentive to the fry, herding any loose fry and attempting to spit them out to join the cloud of fry. The female, though, had apparently forgotten about her children, and was busy eating whatever fry the male spit out.

Some of the fry were curiously deformed, larger and with these bubble like growths protruding from their bodies. They basically were unable to swim very well, if at all.

Another pic of the fry:

About hatching the brine shrimp in fresh water. Although they do hatch in fresh water, they became gummed up until they were swirling in gummy chunks of brine shrimp, so I wouldn't recommend doing so.