Feeding young fish for a healthy growth
While feeding fish can prove to be a challenge, feeding young fish is a tougher task. It is a very crucial and important time, and if they are not provided with proper nutrition, chances are that they will die before they attain maturity. Baby fish are extremely delicate, and taking care of their nutritional needs and keeping them alive is a job.
Additionally, a lot of young fish (also called fish fry) will only consume moving food. A baby fish must adjust to non-moving food or it will perish.
When the fish eggs hatch, you have just started the process of breeding fish and rearing their young. It's much harder to keep fries alive.
This article will talk about a variety of foods you can feed your delicate darlings. You should combine a variety of foods to help satisfy your baby fish's hunger and also provide them with sufficient nutritional value.
If you speak to seasoned breeders, they will tell you that young brine shrimp is the greatest diet to feed young fish. Baby fish love the nutritious yolk sacs of newly hatched brine shrimp because they are rich in proteins and good lipids. Because they are live food, their jerky movements will entice and tempt the fry to consume more, causing them to grow larger and faster. Simply immerse the brine shrimp eggs in salt water, add aeration, and boil the water to facilitate hatching. The young brine shrimp can be harvested in 18–36 hours.
Baby brine shrimp are between 400 and 500 microns in size and can be easily consumed by baby livebearers, African cichlids, and other species as these lay larger eggs.
Most young fish in the wild consume 20–300 micron-sized invertebrate larvae and protozoans, among other microorganisms. There are numerous techniques for cultivating this freshwater plankton, which fishkeepers refer to as infusoria. One of the most common methods is to add a piece of banana peel, catalpa leaves, quick yeast, or other organic materials to a large jar after it has been filled with a litre of old tank water. For quicker outcomes, heat the water to a tropical temperature and add aeration to reduce the odour. The water will start to cloud as soon as the food is broken down by bacteria and then become clear when the infusoria consumes the bacteria.
They are easy to culture and take little time. They are the live food and very small in size which makes it ideal for feeding young fish which can be easily eaten by these baby fishes. Also, vinegar eels can survive in aquarium water for a long time—often up to 24 hours—so they won't dirty the water rapidly and will provide your fry access to food all day.
These do not include live foods and include boiled egg yolk, liquid fish food, powdered egg yolk, and commercial fry flake. Feeding young fish with powdered food is beneficial as they are readily available on the market and hence you don’t have to put in extra effort or time to prepare their feed.
Boiling eggs: This food is simple and affordable to serve to young fish. Additionally, it avoids the unpleasant odour that live cultures frequently produce. Also, don't add too much food to the aquarium or too much yolk to your combination, which can cause contamination.
Powdered Egg Yolk: The powdered egg yolk, which is frequently sold at pet stores, is combined with a variety of additional ingredients to help supply vitamins and minerals that can support fish growth. Due to its smaller size, this food is ideal for small fish. When feeding the tiniest of fry, it can be quite beneficial.
Liquid Fish Food: One major plus point of this kind of food is that it is suspended in water and stays there long enough for fish to consume it.
The size of green water is similar to that of infusoria, but the green colour is more prominent because of the microalgae and other phytoplankton that make up the majority of it. These organisms produce energy through photosynthesis. Green water has numerous advantages, like cleaning the water, making it more difficult for adult fish to feed on their young, curing minor illnesses, and providing food for young fish.
Summary
As we humans are particular about our food, we should also look after what the young fishes are consuming. It is important to keep in mind to not overfeed them and provide them with all the necessary nutrients which they require for healthy growth and survival. At Intan, we are here to provide you with premium fish feed. Our feed is tailored to meet the specific needs of each species. We truly believe every feed can spark positive change and create a future promoting quality, resilience, and well-being. We aim to serve the needs of hobbyists and breeders for the best quality of each species' unique requirements. To know more about us, check out our Instagram page.