Fresh water BABYS!!!!

[NanoReefNoob]

Ok well I gave my 4 year old daughter her own fresh water fish tank about 3 months ago. She got her fish and start doing every thing it takes to take care of them. Well I am proud to say, today when we went to do a water change We noticed that the Barbs that my daughter loves so much gave birth or what ever it is that fish do and now we have alot of little ones swimming all over the bottom of our little 5G. She is going nuts lol. I had to let every one know :spin2:

[papagimp]

:thumbsup:

very nice! have you named them all yet?

[spieszak]

I don't want to be a downer, really I don't.... but I have to say this, only because you mentioned the young age of your daughter. Babies in general are pretty resilient, but they have a lot of things working against them right now. Parents that might eventually see them as a snack, small changes in water conditions that affect their tiny systems ALOT more than a grown fish, filters, lack of food. Some babies grow and mature with little to no effort by the hobbiest, some make it a day or two with the hobbiest working their hardest to keep them...
Explaining life and death to a 4 year old is tough. I have no idea how your 4 year old will react, so I just want to throw this out there, hoping you have a "plan" in place if you need it.
Done being a downer now... Can you get pictures? Baby fish are awesome!

[NanoReefNoob]

I tryed to get Pics but they are so small that my stock lens just can not see them.

And yes I know most if not all will die. And yes my daughter knows about life and death. Being in the military sadly it is far worse then just fish. Though it will be interesting to see how she reacts to something that passes away that she is taking care of. But in the end I am not worried about it, The fish tank was given to her to be a learning lesson.

[spieszak]

Military?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SACRIFICE AND SERVICE

All other things seem insignificant to post beyond that... but my nephew went through a babies/where are the babies thing when he was younger and trying to explain it was tough. Not having a plan before hand would have been tougher, so I thought I'd throw it out there..

[NanoReefNoob]

Na no worries I understand :)

[NanoReefNoob]

http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n538/NanoReefNoob/DSC01266.jpg

Here is the best one I could get he came right up to the Glass :) He is right in the center still clear and every thing

[spieszak]

Those cheap plastic baby hider things do a decent job of giving them a place to hang out. Live plants (if you have decent lighting) allow for feeding off the algae growth. I raised cichlids prior to my saltwater foray, but they were easier as they were mouth brooders. Good luck with them!

[johnc99]

Get some Anacharis or hornwort and throw it in the tank and let it float. The fry will gravitate to the cover and protection of the plants. Once in the plants the fry will be fairly well protected from predation by the parents. When the fry get large enough to no longer be "food" you might want to consider buying a 10G as a grow-out tank.

For the plants I mentioned - you don't need a lot of light. I've had anacharis grow (and grow fast) with ambient light.

[leporinus]

nice!!