# Geophagus Spawn -- Advice Needed



## Emily (May 4, 2010)

Hi everyone,

My Red Head Tapajos spawned (to my surprise) in my 120g community tank. I know if I leave them to be raised naturally they will probably slowly get eaten, so I am wondering what you guys would recommend. My options seem to be:

1. Remove the rock with the eggs and put it in a small tank with methylene blue and an airstone, so raise them without parents at all.
2. Remove both parents once they hold the eggs and move them to a spare 20g (I wish I had bigger, but that's all I have).
3. Let the parents hold them for a while, then strip them and move fry to a small tank. 
4. See if I can fashion a tank divider and leave parents with fry in a space about 1/4th the tank size, then eventually move larger fry into a small tank

Also, when should I begin trying to feed the fry? If anyone could advise on what they would recommend I would really appreciate it.


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## mollyb (May 18, 2010)

your best bet would be to remove the rock and artificially raise the fry. They need more aggressive water movement than say, angels, but very similar. they stay with the yolk sac much longer, so no rush to feed. wait till they free swim, then baby brine shrimp. also crushed flake and eventually small pellets. You could try a divider, if you want to see the mouth brooding, which is very cool, but really, the pair should be their own tank as the transition from the substrate to the mouth can be upsetting to new pairs. Good job getting them to spawn, they will likely continue, so you have a few chances to get it right.


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## Emily (May 4, 2010)

Thanks so much for your response. I think I will probably use a divider and let the parents get some experience, I would like to raise them but simply for interest's sake so it's not a huge deal if the fry die or the yield is low. I'm thinking I may let the parents keep the fry for a week or two, then I'll collect them and move them to their own tanks. The tank has pretty good water flow, though I worry the fry will get sucked into the filter or swept away. I read that most people remove fry from their Africans around the two week mark, would that be a good time to do so?


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## mollyb (May 18, 2010)

well, if it's just for experience, let the parents do it till they are tired. put a sponge, or sock over the filter inflo to prevent fry getting sucked up. Good luck.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

If it is their first time, I would also think it is best for the parents to get some experience.


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## stratos (Apr 21, 2010)

I've done your options 1, 3 and 4 with Geos and found #3 worked the best for me.


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## Emily (May 4, 2010)

stratos said:


> I've done your options 1, 3 and 4 with Geos and found #3 worked the best for me.


This is what I ended up doing. I just wanted to report back and say that so far it has been very successful


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## Batman (Feb 23, 2013)

agreed i have found stripping the fry and raising separetly worked the best


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